Gus Walz's tearful moment at DNC heartens neurodiversity community

CHICAGO — One of the most talked-about moments from Wednesday night at the Democratic National Convention was the son of vice-presidential hopeful, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, openly weeping as he clapped for his father , shouting "That's my dad!"

Seventeen-year-old Gus Walz's parents recently told media that he has a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder. They called his condition "his secret power." And that power is giving a number of others a chance to understand his condition.

Unlike learning disorders that make it difficult for a child to learn to read, a non-verbal learning disorder affects different kinds of learning, including the ability to notice patterns and learn concepts, according to the Child Mind Institute.

Amanda Timmerman, a speech language pathologist at CST Academy in Chicago, says a neurodivergent person is a person on the autism spectrum or someone whose brain processes information in a way that is not typical of most individuals.

"Neurodiversity in general is that very unique way that individuals learn and experience the world around them," Timmerman said. "It depends on the child and it depends on the individual. Some individuals may be non-speaking. However, they have other modalities of communication that we really provide and strive to support them with."

Even though it was Gov. Walz who took the DNC stage for his keynote speech Wednesday, seeing Gus Walz take the national stage hit home for Twin Cities journalist Rick Ellis, whose 19-year-old son Sam is also neurodivergent.

"It was really easy to see his reaction through the lens of knowing what my son goes through," said Ellis. "With Sam, he has autism and also has some anxiety disorder and ADHD as well."

Ellis said Sam has his strengths, like knowing obscure sports facts and statistics, but Sam also has his struggles.

Occupational therapist Samantha Duff said she wants people to know there's nothing wrong with being neurodivergent.

"I think sometimes there's a stigma. We see families come to us and kiddos have an autism diagnosis or ADHD and there have been situations where maybe they've been told that something about their child needs to be fixed," Duff said. "Their children are perfect the way that they are, and we're here to support them as a family with whatever they feel like is important to them."