celebrities with disabilities

This week’s story has a cute twist. I’d found out about it a few months ago. When I finally got a chance to sit down and write it, who would’ve known it had gotten even better.

As a kid, and even a teen, I remember writing fan letters to different celebrities in the hopes of receiving a response. Unfortunately, I was never lucky enough to get that response back, much less have a disabled celebrity that I could send a letter to. In those days, there weren’t many celebrities that had a disability.

While on the Internet I found out about a deaf fan who wrote to Derrick Coleman. He’s a football player who plays for the Seattle Seahawks and happens to be deaf. This young fan wrote to him because she wanted to give him encouragement and let him know he was inspiring others. It’s not often you see children uplifting adults, but it can, and does happen. When it does, it makes you think twice about why you may be feeling down at that time or even think differently about situations in your own life that may be troubling. The letter probably gave him an idea of the impact he’s having on the lives of others because he plays professional football.

To amplify the impact of this letter, Derrick actually responded to his fan. It’s wonderful to see that despite what I imagine to be a very busy schedule, he was willing and able to take time to respond to her. Celebrities have their jobs because there are other people who follow and believe in them. It’s great to see those celebrities actually show their appreciation by the actions they take to also support their fans in any way they can.

Thanks for reading..

http://msn.foxsports.com/buzzer/story/hearing-impaired-fan-s-letter-to-derrick-coleman-is-awesome-012114

Today, while checking out “Good Morning America”, I saw the announcement for the new cast of “Dancing with the Stars”. If you’ve followed my posts before, you know that I’ve commented on the happenings of the show as it relates to disability awareness. Any show that’s going to positively impact the way the disabled population is viewed by the general public should receive praise. The show is always giving people with disabilities the spotlight as people first.

One of the new celebrities for this season is Jack Osbourne, the son of Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne. Since the ending of the reality show “The Osbourne’s” on MTV, the public has learned that he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis not too long ago. In the past, “Dancing with the Stars” has had such celebrities with disabilities like Marlee Matlin and Heather Mills-McCartney, so they’re no stranger to making accommodations for the disabled celebrity when necessary. It’ll be interesting to see what accommodations or obstacles Jack will overcome in order to compete on the show.

I know that Multiple Sclerosis affects everyone differently, just like every other disability but, I’m hoping that Jack’s appearance on the show can make those who have any disability see that just because you have a disability doesn’t mean that your dreams aren’t attainable or even that you still can’t participate in fun activities because that’s far from the truth.

Kudos, yet again, to “Dancing with the Stars” for being an inclusive show. Also for demonstrating to the world that no matter what your limitations, not only will they give you the opportunity to compete but, that dancing can make a difference in anyone’s life.

Seeing shows like “Dancing with the Stars”, how have they helped you realize your potential?

Thanks for reading..

For more on this story, you can go to:

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/dancing-stars-2013-season-17-cast-announced/story?id=20145315

Tag: celebrities with disabilities

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New “Dancing with the Stars” Cast Announced