Tom Holland has opened up about the challenges he faces as an actor, revealing for the first time that he has been diagnosed with ADHD. The star, who was diagnosed with dyslexia at age seven, said the conditions can make developing a character feel “intimidating.”
“I have ADHD and I’m dyslexic, and I find sometimes when someone gives me a blank canvas that it can be slightly intimidating,” Holland explained. “And sometimes you are met with those challenges when developing a character.”
When most people think of learning disorders, they think of dyslexia, which affects the areas of the brain that process language, making it difficult to read and relate speech sounds to letters and words. It's the most common of learning disorders, but there are many others like dyscalculia, which involves difficulty comprehending arithmetic. There is also dyspraxia, which is a neurological disorder that impacts your ability to plan and process motor tasks, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which can cause abnormal levels of hyperactive and impulsive behaviors and lead to trouble focusing or sitting still.
It’s important to raise awareness of these learning disorders so that people can get the help they need earlier on, and so that the people around them can stop labeling them as "lazy" or “stupid," which is unfortunately too often the case.
For many, it could be comforting to know that even celebrities were doubted by their teachers or family members when they struggled with things others kids had whizzed through, and many only learned decades later that they were simply wired differently from other people.
Intrigued? Click through to see which stars have achieved greatness despite, or oftentimes because of, their learning disorders.