Michael Phelps
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By Zahavit Paz

“I had a teacher tell me that I would never amount to anything and I would never be successful. So it was a challenge and it was a struggle, but for me, it was something I’m thankful happened. And I’m thankful that I am how I am.

I look at myself every day and I’m so proud and so happy of who I am and who I’ve been able to become.”  So says Michael Phelps, winner of 28 medals, including 23 all-time records for Olympic gold, 13 Olympic gold medals in individual events, and 16 Olympic medals in individual events. This is the same Michael Phelps who was diagnosed with ADHD when he was 9 years old.

A Boy’s Dream and a Mother’s Support

Michael said many times that he attributes much of his success to his mother’s parenting skills. In fact, his mother, Debbie Phelps, claims that Michael didn’t always love sport of swimming. “When he was 7 years old, he didn’t want to put his face in the water. So I started him with a backstroke.”

For anyone to become an Olympic swimmer, it requires focus, hard work, dedication and perseverance … all the characteristics rarely associated with a child with  ADHD.

As a young child in kindergarten, Phelps had trouble with inattention. A teacher told his mother  “Your son will never be able to focus on anything.” But Debbie Phelps, who had taught middle school for more than two decades, was a staunch advocate for her son.

“Whenever a teacher would say, ‘Michael can’t do this,’ I’d counter with, ‘Well, what are you doing to help him?’ I knew that, if I collaborated with Michael, he could achieve anything he set his mind to.”

Once he was diagnosed with ADHD in the sixth grade , the doctor prescribed medication that helped him focus in school. His mother established a routine at home, modified his diet to reduce his sugar intake and provided the strategies that helped him succeed.

Though at that time his parents were going through a divorce, Michael had the support of his two older sisters,  Hilary and Whitney, as well as his mother’s unwavering faith in him. His two older sisters swam at a local aquatic club, so his mother decided Michael should go as well.

Debbie Phelps believed that swimming helped Michael with his ADHD as well as his anxiety issues that often go hand in hand with ADHD.  Her decision to help Michael succeed through exercise has been validated.

According to Patrick O’Connor, professor in the UGA College of Education’s kinesiology department “exercise can help control symptoms of ADHD by raising the baseline of dopamine.” In fact, he asserts that “exercise, even a small amount, can help alleviate symptoms of ADHD in adults.” (Source: Science Daily)

More than an Olympic champion, a champion for the people

As a result of his experiences, Michael is a spokesperson for mental health. In 2009, his book No Limits: The Will to Succeed provides insight to the journey he took that enabled him to overcome the challenges he faced.  

Then in 2017 Michael spoke candidly about his anxiety and depression publicly in the film Angst, a 56-minute film that explores anxiety, its causes, effects and what we can do about it.  In the movie, Phelps has a conversation with a young boy experiencing anxiety. He tells the boy, “I just didn’t like who I was. If something was bothering me that would start to come up, and I would start feeling angry or depressed or upset, I would almost ignore it.”

According to Phelps “Many people don’t understand how debilitating mental illness truly can be, and even more than that, how common it is, yet people are afraid to have the serious discussions about it.”

To encourage young people to pursue their dreams, Michael established The Michael Phelps Foundation which promotes “water safety, healthy living and the pursuit of dreams.”

Believe in yourself, believe in your child

Both Michael and Debbie Phelps are staunch advocates for parents, children and adults who are challenged with ADHD. Michael serves as a living symbol of what you can achieve with hard work and persistence. In an interview, Michael commented, “Your mind is the strongest medicine you can have…You can overcome anything if you think you can and you want to.”

Debbie has become a spokesperson for ADHD. She advises parents who have a child with ADHD to seek assistance and offer unconditional support. There’s no telling how far your child can go – maybe even all the way to Olympic gold. Here is Michael Phelps facts and his learning disability

Michael Phelps facts

Micheal Phelps Background

  1. Born June 30, 1985 in Baltimore, Maryland
  2. Grew up in the Rodgers Forge neighborhood of nearby Towson.
  3. He attended Rodgers Forge Elementary, Dumbarton Middle School, and Towson High School.
  4. The youngest of three children.
  5. His mother, Deborah Sue “Debbie” Phelps (née Davisson), is a middle school principal.
  6. His father, Michael Fred Phelps, is a retired Maryland State Trooper who played football in high school and college and tried out for the Washington Redskins in the 1970s.
  7. Phelps is of English, German, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh descent.
  8. His parents divorced in 1994, when he was nine years old, and his father remarried in 2000.
  9. 2003 – graduated from Towson High School in 2003.
  10. Began swimming at the age of seven,
  11. Micheal diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in 6th grade.
  12. By the age of 10, he held a national record for his age group (in the 100-meter butterfly)
  13. Began to train at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club under coach Bob Bowman.
  14. As of August 21, 2018, Phelps still held 11 age group records, eight in long course, and three in short course.

Michael Phelps College

  1. Michael Phelps Attended the University of Michigan While Training for the Olympics

Michael Phelps Career

  1. The most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, world record with a total of 28 medals.
  2. Holds the all-time greatest Olympian, records for Olympic gold medals (23), Olympic gold medals in individual events (13), and Olympic medals in individual events (16)
  3. Started the Michael Phelps Foundation in 2008
  4. 2012 -retired following the Olympics,
  5. 2914 – made a comeback in April 2014
  6. 2016 – was selected by his team to be the flag bearer of the United States
  7. 2016 – second retirement
  8. Is considered the greatest swimmer of all time.