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Topics: Celebrity, Education, News, Parenting, Kelly Clarkson
Charisa Bossinakis
Topics: Celebrity, Education, News, Parenting, Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson has teared up while revealing her daughter gets bullied for being dyslexic.
During a recent episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show, the singer got candid about her daughter, River Rose, and her struggle with dyslexia.
She discussed the topic with sitcom icon Henry Winkler, who also lives with the learning disability.
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Winkler has written multiple books for children, which are inspired by his real-life experiences with undiagnosed dyslexia, which made him a classic childhood underachiever.
His Hank Zipzer series is about the high-spirited and funny adventures of a boy with learning differences.
Clarkson admitted she and her daughter consider him an inspirational figure.
"I was driving my daughter to school yesterday, and she's dyslexic," she began.
"You have told me that you're dyslexic as well - I find that amazing, to tell my daughter that you've written, like, 40 books and you're dyslexic."
Clarkson revealed River had been 'getting bullied' at school for 'not being able to read' at a similar pace to her classmates.
The former American Idol contestant went on to label multiple famous people who also struggled with dyslexia before adding: "It really empowered her [River] that y’all are so open about it."
However, Winkler assured her that one in five children deal with a dyslexic.
At this point, he looked down the lens of one of the studio cameras, where he had some pearls of wisdom for Clarkson's daughter.
"River! How you learn has nothing to do with how brilliant you are," he said.
Oh, god, someone hand me the tissues, stat!
Following his wise words, the talk show host began to tear up while sharing she 'didn't know how common' dyslexia was in children, adding: "My makeup artist is going to kill me."
During an interview with NPR, Winkler opened up about his personal struggles with the learning disorder.
He told NPR's Michel Martin that he always felt 'stupid' growing up, and it never dawned on him that he could ever write a book.
"I thought I was stupid ... You take that mantle with you when it's said often enough and when you're young enough. There is an emotional component, I think, that comes along with learning challenges, where I had no sense of self," he said.
But, despite his early life hardships, Winkler says that whenever someone tells him they've read one of his books, it's music to his ears.
"[It's] one of the greatest compliments, probably ever, in my life," he told the outlet.