As tributes to Malcom-Jamal Warner pour in following his death from drowning, fans and disability advocates are recalling the impact of seeing Theodore “Theo” Huxtable being diagnosed with dyslexia as a teen on “The Cosby Show.”

The character's learning disability was actually based on Bill Cosby's own son, Ennis Cosby, who had the condition.

“I think the turning point for Theo was when they diagnosed him with dyslexia,” Warner said in a 2023 interview with DCP Entertainment.

Malcolm-Jamal Warner as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show (NBC)

People with dyslexia struggle to understand written language, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Children diagnosed with this learning disability can work with an expert to bolster their reading skills.

A study from 2024 indicated that educators often fail to identify African American children with dyslexia. A missed or delayed diagnosis means that students do not receive early interventions to help them with their reading skills and academic performance. This also affects their self-esteem, with many children with undiagnosed dyslexia thinking of “themselves as ‘dumb,’” the study said.

In the episode from 1989, Theo’s parents seem happy that he received the diagnosis because they finally had an explanation for his academic struggles — and a way to address them. The plotline also touched on the emotional impact children and teens experience when they have difficulties reading.

“I’m not dumb, right?” Warner explained about the joy Theo experienced after his diagnosis. “We can work this out.”

Warner also revealed that throughout his life people shared with him how that episode changed their lives.

“People still tell me that it’s because of your show that I found out that I had dyslexia,” he told DCP Entertainment.

Malcolm Jamal-Warner as Theo Huxtable on "The Cosby Show." (Al Levine / NBCUniversal via Getty Images file)

Many fans on social media praised how Theo’s diagnosis with dyslexia offered one of the first, if not the first, nuanced portrayals of a Black teenager with a learning disability.

“Theo Huxtable’s struggle with dyslexia represented so much to Black boys who struggled in school,” he wrote on X.

Others pointed out how important Theo's diagnosis was to the character's academic and professional success later on.

“Part of the brilliance of that show was Theo’s arc from struggling with dyslexia to going to grad school and educating the youth at a community center in later seasons,” sports reporter Kevin Ryans said.

Social worker and disability advocated Vilissa Thompson added: “In thinking about Theo, that was the first time I saw a TV character with a learning disability. And how once Theo got diagnosed, the dots connect for the family about the academic bumps Theo had. We need more poignant depictions of Black teens with disabilities on TV."