Brad Cohen

Brad Cohen
Born (1973-12-18) December 18, 1973 (age 50)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
EducationParkway Central High School
Occupations
  • Motivational speaker
  • teacher
  • school administrator
  • author
Spouse
Nancy Lazarus
​
​
(m. 2006)​
Children2

Brad Cohen (born December 18, 1973) is an American motivational speaker, teacher, school administrator, and author who has severe Tourette syndrome (TS).[1][2] Cohen described his experiences growing up with the condition in his 2005 book, Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, co-authored with Lisa Wysocky. The book has been made into a 2008 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie titled Front of the Class,[3][4] and adapted into a hit 2018 Bollywood film Hichki.[5]

Cohen was born December 18, 1973. During his childhood, Cohen was accused of being a troublemaker in school and was punished by his teachers for the tics and noises caused by TS. He decided to "become the teacher that he never had". After he graduated and received his teaching certificate, 24 elementary schools rejected him before he was hired at Tritt Elementary School in Cobb County, Georgia. As a new teacher, he was named Georgia's First Class Teacher of the Year.

  1. ^ Fussell, James A. (December 5, 2008). "One man's faith spurs Tourette sufferer to inspire others". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved on December 7, 2008. Also, Fussell, "I know all about living with Tourette syndrome".
  2. ^ "Front of the Class". Archived 2009-06-25 at the Wayback Machine Macmillan. Retrieved on November 21, 2008.
  3. ^ "Hallmark Hall of Fame Presents Front of the Class". Hallmark, November 10, 2008. Retrieved on December 4, 2008.
  4. ^ Andreeva, Nellie and Kimberly Nordyke."Three take seats in 'Class' telepic". The Hollywood Reporter, September 9, 2008. Retrieved on October 13, 2008.
  5. ^ Joshi, Namrata (2 March 2018). "I am No. 1 in my own game, says Rani Mukerji". Outlook. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2018.