Will Smith and Michael Phelps’ Health Issues Show Similarity in Their Struggles During Childhood: “Had Trouble Paying Attention”

The success that Michael Phelps earned shows his determination to be the best. He dedicated his life to swimming after showcasing his passion for the sport. But, in his childhood, he had ADHD, a chronic condition that affects many children. Similarly, Academy Award winner Will Smith suffered the same problem during childhood. He once recalled the issues he faced as a child and could not concentrate during his childhood years. 

Phelps had the same issues in school as recalled by his mother. She remembered how his teachers came up to them to discuss the problems he encountered in school. After hearing about it from the teacher, Phelps’ mother took him to a doctor and got Michael diagnosed at age nine. Facing the same problems, Smith revealed how he struggled as a child. 

Will Smith’s ADHD issues

For Michael’s mother, Deborah Phelps, that news hit her hard. ADHD is a chronic condition that affects millions of kids and often goes into adulthood. Some issues include lack of attention, hyperactivity, and impulsive behavior. Most likely, children with ADHD suffer from poor performance, and Smith also recalled a story he experienced in school. 

“I was the fun one who had trouble paying attention. Today they’d diagnose me as a child with ADHD [attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder]. I was a B student who should’ve been getting A’s – classic underachiever. It was hard for me to read an entire book in two weeks,” mentioned Smith, who could not concentrate. He continued, “Today I buy a book and have someone read it for me on tape!”

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Despite being unable to concentrate, having a passion for something can help them overcome the problem. For Phelps, it was swimming, and Smith focused on getting better at acting. Famous actor Channing Tatum believes streamlining a multi-billion dollar company would help people to identify this problem at a young age. Parents play a significant role in helping their kids to grow, however. 

Michael Phelps’ road to success

While Phelps hated to read, Debbie handed him the sports section of the book to grab his attention. She developed a radical approach to her son’s problems and found positives in every step. Learning math is tedious for many students, and Debbie hired a tutor to help Phelps by connecting the math problems to his swimming routines. It worked wonders.

There are many ways of helping young kids to tackle the problem of ADHD. To sum up, parents played a crucial role in their development. It became the grandest achievement in Deborah Phelps’ life to help Phelps get through his problem with ADHD. She remains an example for tackling children with ADHD and enjoys resounding success in the future. 

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