Can celebrities really manifest their dream roles through style choices?
In 2006, it became known that Posh and Becks' son Romeo had epilepsy. At the airport, Victoria Beckham cautioned paparazzi against using flashes, as these could trigger seizures in her son.
During an interview on Howard Stern's radio show, Brendan Fraser shared his experience raising his oldest son, Griffin, who has autism. Fraser, known for his role in 'The Whale', openly discussed the initial challenges his son's autism diagnosis brought. He recalled, "When I found out my kid's diagnosis at 22 or 24 months, I was crestfallen, to say the least. The first reaction that I had was, 'I want to know how to fix this. What's the cure? What does this mean?'" Fraser continued, "You're just hit with a baseball bat in the back of the side of the head. Like what? This isn't the way it's supposed to turn out. You blame yourself and you think, 'my genealogy' or 'I smoked weed in college,' you start blaming yourself over the reasons why." Fraser also spoke candidly about the fear of his son's future care and the struggles of advocating for children with autism.
"You will have to fight with school boards," he explained, adding that parents like him meet a lot of people with varying agendas for autistic kids but "how you navigate that comes down to how much you know that everything's going to be okay. You must believe that in spite of it. "But the struggle never overpowered the joy. "Then you learn quickly that, I wouldn't have it any other way," Fraser added. "This kid has the most joy onboard of anyone I know, and he happens to be related to me as my son. I want to know what he thinks is so gut-bustingly funny all day long, in a genuine way, he's cracking himself up." When Stern asked if Griffin's diagnosis contributed to the marital issues between him and ex-wife Afton Smith, Fraser explained that Griffin is actually what unites them and makes them able to look past their problems.
Music legend Neil Young has two sons (now adults) with cerebral palsy. Speaking to Rolling Stone about his son Ben in 1988, he said, " "He was brought into the world in this form, and this is the way he is. A lot of the things that we take for granted, that we can do, he can't do. But his soul is there, and I'm sure that he has an outlook on the world that we don't have because of the disabilities."
The actor's son, Seargeoh Stallone, was diagnosed with autism. Interestingly, the infant in 'Rocky II' (1979) was his real son! Seargeoh Stallone portrayed Robert Balboa, Jr.
In 2009, the actor experienced the tragic loss of his 16-year-old son, Jett, who had autism and suffered from Kawasaki disease. Jett had a seizure, fell, and fatally struck his head.
The singer's son, Diezel, was diagnosed with autism. Braxton became involved with Autism Speaks, and in 2016, she controversially claimed that her son was no longer autistic.
Mia Farrow’s son Ronan opened up about his family: “I am so proud of my family. I grew up across the table from Moses, who has cerebral palsy, and next to my sister Quincy, born of a drug-addicted inner-city mother, and Minh, who is blind. I could never have understood what it means to grow up blind or with cerebral palsy. I saw problems and needs, so the next thing you think is: O.K., what are you going to do about it?”
Backstreet Boys singer Brian Littrell's son, Baylee, was diagnosed with atypical Kawasaki Disease at age six.
The actress has four children (out of 14) with special needs. Thaddeus (pictured), had polio and sadly passed away in 2016. Additionally, Moses Farrow was born with cerebral palsy, Frankie-Minh Farrow is visually impaired, and Quincy Farrow had early challenges due to prenatal drug exposure.
The former Alaska governor's son, Trig, was born with Down syndrome. Palin shared that "some people have been quite cruel," especially online.
Baylee underwent open-heart surgery in his early 20s. Littrell opened up about the family's experience. “You feel helpless as a parent because you’re relying on people who are educated about these things. It’s been an emotional roller coaster. Fans all over the world were praying for Baylee. We felt that love.”
“I am on the Internet and… [have seen] some horrible ads about him that he should have never been born. But, for the most part, people have been so loving and supportive of us that that encourages us and it makes us know that there is … a lot of hope and there is a lot of love in this country,” said the politician.
The actress is on a quest to find the best alternative treatment for her son Evan's autism. "Evan couldn’t talk—now he talks. Evan couldn’t make eye contact—now he makes eye contact. Evan was antisocial—now he makes friends. It was amazing to watch, over the course of doing this, how certain therapies work for certain kids and they completely don’t work for others.”
The actor's son, Lucas, has Asperger’s syndrome. “We got a diagnosis fairly late. He was nine years old, which is kind of the blessing and the curse of that diagnosis. Because he’s very high functioning we didn’t really know that something was off until later,” Gorham explained. “It’s upsetting to hear that something is wrong with your child. At the same time, it’s a relief to know what’s wrong with your child because if you know what’s wrong then you can start to take steps to help them,” added the actor.
"So parenting Max and parenting Billie represent two polar opposites on the spoken-word spectrum. How we parent them in the same household and find a happy middle has been really interesting and continues to be," added the actor.
“I love having the opportunity to be able to show people [what it’s like to live with autism],” she said. “Because honestly, what’s given me strength is listening to everyone else’s stories, their struggles, their successes. That’s what gives us hope and strength, so if I can do that for someone else, then it feels so good to me,” added Laurita.
“When I look back and see RJ, this strapping young man who’s 20 and has a job—he’s doing all these things that I was told he would never do. It really makes you emotional, because I can’t believe he’s come so far, and I’m still so blessed," she said in 2018.
“I’m a control freak, as we all are, especially for our kids, we want the best for them, and with something out of control like seizures, you want to do something," he said. “How can I make an impact in this community? And talking about it is what we need to do,” Grunberg added.
The actor's son, Jake, suffers from severe epilepsy, and at one point was having up to 200 seizures per day. Jake underwent brain surgery and recovered, and he's now managing the condition with medication.
The British celeb's son, Harvey, was born with blindness, autism, and Prader-Willi syndrome. "The syndrome he has means he feels hungry all the time so he’ll just eat and eat and eat. It is really tough at times," she said.
The former NFL quarterback's son, Michael is autistic. "We're going to do whatever we can to help Michael to get the best help. We want to give him the best chance he can have to succeed in life," Marino said when his son was diagnosed at the age of three.
The 'Grey's Anatomy' star's young daughter, Pippa, has Down syndrome. Scorsone admitted to feeling afraid when she first learned of Pippa's diagnosis, but she's now a passionate advocate helping others to understand what it's like to raise a child with this condition. "There is no standard, objective, perfect human being. The metrics of perfection are arbitrary and imposed in the service of those who fit them. My daughter is perfect. Exactly the way she is," Corsone told People.
Sources: (She Knows) (Ranker) (Mom) (USA Today)
The actor's daughter, Mia has autism. "We thought if we were going to face this, let’s all face it together. Let’s do this as a family," said Mantegna.
The American football player's son, Doug Flutie, Jr., was diagnosed with autism. "Dougie has taught us to keep our lives in the right perspective. He has taught us to take it one day at a time, don't take anything for granted and appreciate everything about life, especially the small things," said Flutie. "But most especially he has taught us how to smile and be happy and look at every aspect of life in the most positive way possible," he added.
The actor's son, James, has a rare genetic condition called Angelman Syndrome. “By virtue of his honesty, struggle, persistence and his personality, James brings out the best in people. He literally saved my life. I was on a destructive path. When I couldn’t make the changes in my life for myself, I made them for James. He gave me the reason to be a better man and father,” said Farrell.
The actress's son, Xen, was diagnosed with autism. “As a mother of a child who had to go through specific struggles, you want the best for them, but when you get this particular diagnosis you have to retrain your brain to think of your dreams and aspirations when it comes to your child to be a little bit more basic,” Campbell said.
The '21 Jump Street' actress's son, JR, was diagnosed with autism.
The actress' son, Mason, has cerebral palsy. "We don’t have a really constructive or positive view of disability really around the world. But what would happen if the doctor said to you, instead of these ridiculously heartbreaking predictions, which are so often not true, why don’t they say to you, ‘Look, this is the greatest gift you’re going to be given’,” said Giacomo.
Nicholas, the son of 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey' star, is autistic.
The actor's daughter, Addie, was diagnosed with a rare heart condition. "It's a miracle. All those surgeons, doctors, and nurses who helped her remind me what an honor and privilege it is to get to pretend to be one of them," said Feuerstein.
The actress' daughter, Eloise, was diagnosed with a chromosome disorder. "I don’t know if [Eloise] is ever going to talk like a typical child, but as a parent, you want what’s best for your children, and you just do it,” said Richards.
The actor' son, Max, was born with Down syndrome. “[My daughter Billie's] biggest strength is language. She’s extraordinarily verbal, and Max’s biggest challenge is his lack of spoken language. He can read at a certain level and do arithmetic, but he doesn’t form sentences," said McGinley.
“You don’t have time to feel guilty, you don’t have time to feel sorry for him, for yourself, or your family—it’s time to get down and busy,” she added.
The actor's daughter, Mary, is autistic. “People with autism, I don’t like to think of it as a disability, I like to think of it as another way of thinking or perceiving. And I felt my job was to try to perceive everything on some level through her eyes so I could know what it was like to walk in her shoes,” Cole said.
“My youngest son, as everyone knows, my son Diezel suffers from – or I should say suffered from autism. I am one of the lucky parents. Early diagnosis changes everything. I will tell you this. I will shout it from the rooftops,” said the 'Un-Break My Heart' singer.
The actor discussed the difficulty he faced connecting with his son due to the condition.“There is no real father-and-son thing there. I have to become his playmate. With a child like this, you have to put away your ego. You can’t force him into your world. I sort of go along with whatever he is doing,” said Stallone.
Having a disability doesn't mean a person's dreams are unreachable. In reality, many successful celebrities live with developmental disorders like autism and ADHD. Yet, having a child with a physical or developmental disorder can significantly alter the experience of parenthood. Many well-known figures have gone through this and have spoken openly about raising kids who face conditions like autism spectrum disorder and cerebral palsy.
Browse through the following gallery and check what these stars have to say about parenting children with different needs.
Celebrities open up about raising children with disabilities
These stars have opened up about the joys and challenges of life with neurodivergent children
CELEBRITY Parents
Having a disability doesn't mean a person's dreams are unreachable. In reality, many successful celebrities live with developmental disorders like autism and ADHD. Yet, having a child with a physical or developmental disorder can significantly alter the experience of parenthood. Many well-known figures have gone through this and have spoken openly about raising kids who face conditions like autism spectrum disorder and cerebral palsy.
Browse through the following gallery and check what these stars have to say about parenting children with different needs.