Autistic Representation and David Byrne 

Gary Numan is another brilliant example, he used his many on stage personas to cope with his social anxiety and created such a brilliant catalogue, both David and Gary are heroes for me

Representation is so underrated. David is a true role model and inspiration to many. Thank you for making this video 😊

Dude... if cilantro is the "cure" to autism according to that Facebook person then I must be the most neurotypical person on earth.

I'm not sure what to say exactly, but I just wanted to say that this video is extremely well spoken and well done. I'm glad that more neurodivergent people are feeling more comfortable speaking out, and I hope that there eventually will be better autistic representation within modern media. Luckily, I and others have been seeing an increase in people speaking out about the treatment and stigma behind and of autism. I feel as though this is shoved to the side because of how people view autism as making somebody less human, in a sense, that leaves the people who have it less deserving of understanding. I am tired of people thinking pity is enough when it comes to representation. It takes little to pity, it takes attention and effort to understand.

Seeing the anti-autism organisations pisses me the f*** off. I as a person with Asperger's believe that they should use it to their advantage. Something in which David has inspired me to do especially through music, not get rid of it. I love to be different, I don't like being uniform with everyone else. On another note, this is a beautiful presentation.

Ever since I discovered David Byrne as a person and artist I feel like my view on my own life has started changing. And I relate to the parts of "True Stories" I've seen so far a lot (though I haven't seen the whole movie because I don't know where I can watch it or get a DVD) I'm so glad that I have found a role model that I can actually relate to. This video is great, and I LOVE that many autistic people are also discovering David Byrne as a role model and an artist. It's making me very happy seeing people write about how he takes a part in their own journey of autistic self-discovery.

I've only just in the last few dfays discovered that David Byrne is Autistic & now I love him and his music even more; what a fabulous role model & great representative of autistic people!

Well, I can't say enough about this. I'm a music historian who's spent the last two years writing a biography of Talking Heads, which will be published by HarperCollins in 2023. One of my goals with the book has been to explore role that Aspergers or "high-functioning" autism has played in David Byrne's creative sensibility. Not in a reductionist way, as if it explains everything about him. But rather as one of multiple "spectrums" of human cognition and creativity, of which the autism spectrum is but one. In my view, Byrne is not only to be commended for speaking out about his Aspergers, but also for putting it in context, as opposed to making it the trait that somehow defines him.

This is so beautiful, I want to cry. I am only now aware, aged 64, that my "difference" has always been a secret 'superpower'. This answers so many self analysis questions I've struggled to understand. Thank you so much for posting!

Friends, remember, David is so sharp at ONE thing, looking at the world from the outside!

This is so awesome, David is my biggest idol and i recently was diagnosed with asperger's so it explains why i've always felt a deeper connection to him than most artists. Thanks for the video, it was great. Have a good night

As someone who’s on the spectrum who hasn’t seen much positive representation for ASD, thank you for this video. I’m kind of tearing up watching it

I'm 60 yrs old. I was diagnosed with Autism [Asperger's Syndrome was named by a Nazi so being Jewish, having lost all my family in EU to the Holocaust, I am glad the term Autism is now the norm for what I have. As a child, I was thought to be stupid, put in special ed. and shunned by kids. However, I am a visual and auditory learner. I have a recording style memory of extraordinary levels of recall. I can recite movies lines from thousands of films with my recall which seems not to be fading. I worked my entire life, without taking meds to create a level of social interaction with the public. It's sad that our USA or global educational systems do not focus on visual and audio style levels to teach. David B., I saw him at CBGB in NYC when TH first hit. I knew he and I were sharing some of the same brain as both Autistic meters were firing at full blast. Being Autistic I now am not ashamed of being such and know I am not the FREAK I was called by so many. I am special in my way. All Autistic people are special and the term "High Functioning" is just a way for those who use it to try and provide some normality for us. Success to me is measured on a person's Soul and how they strive to be a good person in an Evil world.

Love love LOVE DB and this is such a fabulous, eloquent and well-researched video. I'm a self-diagnosed aspie as well and David's work has always spoken to that part of me. Off to hunt down a few of those newer interviews that I haven't seen yet!

As someone with autism that got a very rough start in life that they never quite recovered from, it is very nice to see one of us fly.

I remember watching him giving a speech at the rock and roll Hall of fame. He was stimming while giving it!!!

i was so happy to find out that david is autistic like me. really comforting to know i have a chance in the world. really really good video

Speaking as an autist, a good deal of the problems i have to face are created by the economy, our relationship with the material world and local ational societal and cultural norms. I dont want to see myself as being non-neurotypical however. I happen to be different but i recognise that just labelling myself in this way isnt going to fix my problems.

i just finished writing an analysis of autism representation and i'm very glad i found this video. david byrne is one of my favorite musical artists and creative minds, he has always been a form of inspiration for me as an autistic young adult and i am so relieved to see someone else who understands this. the "treatments" and "cures" these sick organizations advocate for have traumatized my friends and family, people like byrne being openly autistic makes me think we can move past this stigma eventually with the help of all those he has inspired.

Well done Layla! Did you know Anthony Hopkins is Aspie also?

I love this. Simple, well executed and insightful. David’s artistic journey is incredibly inspiring so it’s refreshing to see some light shed on it, Kudos!

thanks for posting all this ref on your channel! Talking Heads was one of my dad's favourite bands in the late 70s but he never really made me listen to them, so I'm just discovering them now in my 20s. Despite knowing a good lot of fellow autistic people, we're all different and some of Byrne's lyrics and behaviours are... pretty much the first time I've seen some important parts of my own specific thought processes and behaviours being exhibited by someone else, EVER. It's an insane feeling!!! I'm just so used to having to meet everyone halfway that I don't even know what to do with it. It's awesome to see his own relationship with autism evolve over the past few years too.

This is a great video! I hope you make more in a similar style in the future :)

Lovely vid thanks. Huge fan of David Byrne. I thought you had some incredibly interesting inserts in your vid, like when you mentioned David Byrnes former band Talking Heads, you showed the Australian band called the Wiggles, who's music is aimed at children... 😂

I'm a huge fan of DB and seeing this video after realising I'm autistic and after making the push to begin a diagnosis is super emotional I can't describe how important he is, thank u for this video

Mentions Talking Heads. Shows a picture of The Wiggles.

Bwaahaa.. mentions Talking Heads shows image of the Wiggles.. it's oddly appropriate.

Thank you for making this video and making people aware of autism. Thank you david for sharing your story with us

I not long ago had an argument with someone who was a doctor studying to specialize in autism. He kept insisting that all evidence points to outside factors, like mothers being exposed to chemicals, being the cause of the uptick in autism and wouldn't listen to anything I said or any studies I cited to rebutt his claims. It doesn't make any sense that numbers would rise _everywhere_ if it were certain chemical exposures. It makes far MORE sense that the uptick in numbers are people who would otherwise not be seen as having ASD because they can efficiently mask and don't have as severe sensory issues, and just would have been the people we called weird/eccentric in previous decades, are NOW being diagnosed. David Byrne is a prime example of this. He was just seen as weird/eccentric in the 80s. Nobody thought he had anything actually different about him. He was just a "weird artist type." The guy just completely talked down to me and was incredibly rude. I'd told him I had Asperger's and he had 0 respect for me or my thoughts. I told him he should reconsider his chosen specialty...

Great video. Thank you. I was nervous to watch because I wasn't sure if it'd be good or bad (you can hardly ever tell) because I was so excited to know he was autistic too, but I was pleasantly surprised :)

Great video, nicely done :) One thing though, 3:07 why are Talking Heads a picture of the Wiggles?

Amazing video! You gave me a different perspective about the movie True Stories. I always considered autism a superpower, and I liked the idea of thinking differently as a child. I can't believe people actually discriminate for something so cool!

thank you for making this video. As someone whos diagnosed with aspergers/autism, i appreciate this video very much, thank you again people on the spectrum dont act the same, its diffrent depending on wich person you talk to.

i grew up around my cousin who was diagnosed with autism at a very young age. my entire family treated it like something that had to be cured (my aunt was 1000% an autism speaks mom) i always knew i was different from other people, but because of my families view of autism, i always masked everything and stayed quiet. i discovered talking heads a few months ago when i started realizing there is a very real possibility i’m autistic. i saw a lot of myself in david byrne, and it’s so refreshing to see him be praised for behaviours i was often criticized for growing up. Your video is incredibly well made and well spoken (you speak at the perfect speed its so easy to follow) thank you for sharing your interests and knowledge

great video! Thanks for taking the time to make this, the world is better for it

Great video, always love the stuff you put out here and your account on insta

I fucking lost it when you used the picture of the wiggles lmao

I knew I liked the talking heads for a reasons

This video was really great and entertaining. Well said and Talking Heads is 👌

Hey, I'd love to see you talk about 'Joe Pera Talks With You.' I think the show is up there with 'True Stories' as one of the best representation of people on the spectrum. Although never explicitly stated as autistic, you'll find Joe exhibit many such traits without ever feeling demeaning. Joe's social quirks are part of his charm and are usually portrayed in a positive light. It is one of my favorite shows of all time and is extremely comforting. The series is on Hulu and on the Adult Swim website! Highly recommend you give it a shot!

Thank you.

This was a really nice video!

Brilliant video, I have autism and can relate a lot to what he said at 4:32 ha☺️

i know this video is not new but i just found your channel and i am watching and enjoying all the videos on it, i want to thank you for making this video in particular since i am a huge huge fan of david byrne and talking heads and i am also autistic and david byrne is my role model and it’s really cool to see someone talk about it like this so thank you very much!!

Thank you for this video 💜

This is a great video & your channel is awesome!! :^)

We stan an autistic KING 🤴❤️

I've accepted my weirdness. I remember when i would just stand there and start dancing in my own personal space in public and people would just look at me like "tf is he doing" haha

Thank you for showcasing David Byrne in this way! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

❤︎

this is amazing !!

I'm autistic this is so true

Keep on trucking

I guess david has an extraordinary mind and is an autistic savant. he is unique deal with it.

3:06 ROFL. Seriously though, really impressed with this video so far.

LMAO! The subliminal insertion of trump picture!!!

Very helpful to watch this...

Andy Warhol , David Byrne , darryl hannah , and I think Lex Friedman ❤️ brilliant people !

great video, thank you !

ANnther great example of someone who has made a tremendous impact is Temple Grandin

Brilliant video 👏 👏👏

2:30 psychological*

Putting strobe effects on this video is ironic considering that it demands of us the need to be aware of what can freak some people out.

Why the wiggles?

This was one of the best videos I’ve seen in a long, long time. Even though it’s heartbreaking to discover that there are ”anti-autism groups” out there! 😱😱 Autism is a name that a majority group has slapped onto a minority just because they don’t function the same way as they do. It’s a social construct in such a way that it proves the narrowness of the REST of society; that society isn’t ready to accept all types of people. It says that our society is built in such a way that only certain kinds of people will fit in, while failing to understand that people come in all types and shapes. That’s why I really don’t like the word ”neurodivergent” - yes, it is diverging from the confines of our society, but not from the natural variations within the human race. It’s like saying that you’re a problem just because you’re taller than 180cm/6ft, or left-handed. But any society that embraces the human differences will be at an advantage. When we all use oure unique strengths together, to complete and help each other, we are stronger together than a uniform society ever will be. That’s why there are companies that only hire Aspies, for instance. Some are hunters, some are gatherers, some are farmers. But our industrial/post-industrial Western capitalist world forces us all to be salary men. If anybody who doesn’t fit into that box is considered a problem and not an asset, then the box needs to be changed, not that person. Society is supposed to be for humans, not the other way round.

Doesn't he have aspergers?

This is not a very good representation of the ABA therapy we have experienced. Life skills, learning how to negotiate social situations, has not been dog training, or eliminating/fixing of autistic traits. Certainly, if the therapist is working from that POV RUN away! The examples of ABA shown here are rotten but that's not how anyone we've encountered has approached the subject. Byrne's approach to his own situation is pretty cool but self-diagnosis is kind of sketchy. If a person doesn't feel "wrong" obviously there is nothing to fix. Neurodiverse people sometimes have other issues that do need to be addressed and it would be a mistake to treat a person for "Autism" if that's not the issue that created the havoc. A quantitative EEG is far more specific than looking at some "quirky" behavior and taking a guess. It has been said (by a person on the spectrum) that if you have met one person on the spectrum you've met exactly one because every other person will be different. People actually experiencing this educating the misinformed NT world is really important. At the same time, there are a lot of professionals out there who are really coming up with new ways to make life better, and blanket dismissal of efforts by parents and others to improve outcomes for the people they care about is misguided. Yes, in fact, they may be getting some of it wrong, sometimes very wrong, but they have also committed time, emotional energy, and financial resources in the longterm to positive outcomes for the people they care about. That is a big ask. It's a commitment to accommodating other human beings who may or may not choose or be able to reciprocate. The vilification of the people who love the unique individual in their lives comes from all sides. Usually, the first volley is education and the medical community. Next friends and family think it's a failure of personal discipline by the NT companions. To berate support from non AS people as if they are indifferent, clueless, or intentionally cruel is short-sighted.