Tim Walz says he’s “proud” of son Gus, who lives with neurodivergence, and his viral DNC moment

Viral moment of Gus Walz cheering dad at DNC brings awareness to neurodiversity

SAVANNAH, Ga. — In a new interview on CNN, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says he’s proud of his son, whose emotional moment at the Democratic National Convention went viral. 

Walz sat alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic presidential running mate, and told interviewer Dana Bash he was taken by surprise in the best way possible when his son stood, clapped and tearfully shouted “That’s my dad!” during his vice presidential nomination speech. 

The governor and his wife recently told People their son is a “brilliant” teenager whose “secret power” lies in his neurodivergence, as the teen lives with ADHD, an anxiety disorder and a non-verbal learning disorder.

“I don’t know, as a father, I could have ever imagined that,” Walz said. “I’m grateful for so many reasons to be on this ticket, but that moment, to understand what was really important to, to have my son feel a sense of pride in me, that I was trying to do the right thing, and it was, you know, you try and protect your kids. You know, it brings, it brings notoriety and things, but it was just such a visceral emotional moment that I’m, I’m just, I’m grateful I got to experience it and I’m so proud of him.” 

The viral moment drew an outpouring of love and support on social media, with many families seeing themselves reflected in the Walz family, countering the instances of social media cyberbullying that followed the teen’s moment on the global stage. 

“I think the one thing is talking about the era we’re in is our politics can be better, it can be different,” Walz said. “We can, we can show some of these things and we can have families involved in this and I, I hope that there was, I hope people felt that out there and I hope they hug their kids a little tighter.”

What is neurodivergence?

Medical experts tell CBS Minnesota neurodivergence is when a person’s brain processes information differently, and this includes conditions like autism, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia and ADHD.

One of the key challenges for people with this kind of disability is getting a job. Johns Hopkins University says the unemployment rate for people who are neurodivergent can be as high as 30% to 40%. That’s huge when you consider that other people with disabilities are at about 10%. The U.S. average of unemployment right now is about 4%

An advocacy group called Korn Ferry calls neurodivergence “an untapped superpower” in the workplace, and shares these ideas for employers with neurodiverse workers.

• Let employees who are neurodiverse wear sunglasses inside. Many are overstimulated and bothered by overhead lights or even dramatic changes in lighting when walking around a building.
• Provide noise-canceling headphones to help block distractions.
• Create a safe and secure room just to decompress.
• Don’t require people to turn on their cameras for remote meetings. That’s because people living with this type of disability are often not comfortable making eye contact.