Famous People with Disabilities

People usually have a negative image when you ask them to think about a special needs person. A vision of blank-eyed individuals in wheelchairs is probably the first thing that comes to mind or people lying in nursing home beds. While some of these images are true, there are several people in the world living with disabilities who are thriving. Even famous.

Did you know that John "Cougar" Mellencamp has Spina Bifida? A condition he shares with Country Music great Hank Williams. Spina Bifida is a congenital (present at birth) defect of the neural tube. Simply put, with Spina Bifida (which means split spine in Latin), the spinal chord is not fully formed during the early phases of pregnancy and part of the spinal chord maybe on the outside of the vertebrate of the spinal column. John Mellencamp has recently become the spokesman of Spina Bifida & Hydrocephalus Canada. Hopefully he will be able to bring awareness of this condition and show that people with Spina Bifida can aim high.

Academy Award Winning actress Marlee Matlin and former Miss. America Heather Whitestone are both deaf. Both Matlin and Whitestone became deaf in infancy, but neither let their disability stop them from accomplishing great things. Marlee Matlin became an Oscar winner at the age of 21 for her role in Children of a Lesser God. Today she is the mother of four children, continues to act, and does sign language for the Baby Einstein's My First Signs. Whitestone is also a mother and has written a book about her life called Let God Surprise You: Trust God with Your Dreams.

When Chris Burke was born in 1965, his parents were told that they would be better off if they put him in an institution. Luckily, they did not follow their doctor's advice and brought their beautiful little boy home. Chris grew up to be an actor on a popular television series called Life Goes On, and he brought hope to the 350,000 people in America who share his condition, Down Syndrome. Today Chris Burke is active in his band, works in many different areas of the National Down Syndrome Conference, and gives speeches at universities across the country.