Mickey Rowe
From Special Education To Broadway
- Topics:
- Belonging
- Disability Awareness
- Professional Development
- Audiences:
- Grade 6-12 Students
- Teachers & Staff
- Fundraising Events
Fee: More Than $5K
Invite Mickey• Grew Up as an Autistic Student with an IEP
• Artistic Director of the National Disability Theatre
• Featured by NY Times, TODAY show, Wall Street Journal
As an autistic and legally blind person, it was always made clear to Mickey the many things he was incapable of doing. But Mickey did them all anyway—and he succeeded because of, not despite, his autism.
He became the first autistic actor to play the lead role in the play The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, landed the title role in the play Amadeus, and founded the National Disability Theatre.
Mickey faced untold obstacles along the way, but his story ends in triumph.
Mickey inspires all people—autistic and non-autistic alike—that the things that make us different are often our biggest strengths.
Mickey has been featured in the New York Times, the TODAY show, PBS, Vogue, Playbill, NPR, CNN, Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Forbes, and Smarter in Seconds. He is the author of, “Fearlessly Different: An Autistic Actor’s Journey to Broadway’s Biggest Stage.”
He has been a keynote speaker at organizations such as the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Kennedy Center, Yale University, Columbia University, Disability Rights Washington, The Gershwin Theatre on Broadway, and more.
SPEAKING TOPICS: 2023 Top College Speakers
“Mickey Rowe absolutely exceeded expectations. He was the highlight of our conference and an incredible inspiration for our special education population. Before leaving the hotel, I bought his book on Audible and listened to it on the way home. That’s how impressive of a speaker he was.”Arizona Department of Education
“Mickey Rowe was absolutely exceptional! We truly could not have chosen a better speaker for our 75th Anniversary gala. His keynote remarks were energetic, funny, insightful, inspiring, and deeply honest and authentic. He got an enthusiastic standing ovation from our 400-person crowd.”The ARC NY
“Mickey was a HUGE hit at our conference. His ability to take his personal story and experiences and tailor it to our audience was artful, to say the least. I received so many positive comments. They started with text messages I received while he spoke that said, “Mickey is amazing!” and “incredible choice for a keynote.” It then continued during the two days of the conference, where dozens of people came up to me specifically to rave about Mickey.”International Council on Development and Learning