LD Blog

Entertainer Bill Cosby showed his advocacy competence in a speech delivered to college students and others concerned with Learning Disabilities. According to a story by Mary Ellen Lowney published Saturday 15 April 2006, Mr. Cosby encouraged students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities to learn to advocate for themselves.

In a packed Student Union ballroom at the University of Massachusetts, the 68-year-old Shelburne resident spoke of his own son, the late Ennis Cosby, and his academic struggles leading up to his diagnosis as one of the approximate 12 million dyslexics in the United States.

“One of the best moments was when Ennis came back from his testing and said, ‘I’m dyslexic.’ My wife and I went ‘Thank God’ because we knew we could work from there,” said Cosby.

Kudos to Mr. Cosby for continuing to speak openly and honestly about Learning Disabilities.

Link to Ms. Lowney’s story. Read other coverage of the event by U. Mass’ news office. Note: Hello Friend is a foundation established by Bill Cosby and his family to honor the memory of Ennis Cosby, an individual with Learning Disabilities who met an untimely death in 1999. Visit Hello Friend.