SAVANNAH, Ga. – In a new interview on CNNMinnesota Governor Tim Walz says he is proud of his son, whose emotional moment at the Democratic National Convention went viral.
Walz sat next to Vice President Kamala Harris, his Democratic presidential candidateand told interviewer Dana Bash that he was surprised in the best possible way when his son stood up, clapped and shouted through tears, “That’s my dad!” during his vice presidential nomination speech.
The governor and his wife recently told People that their son is a “brilliant” teenager whose “secret strength” lies in his neurodiversity, as the teen lives with ADHD, an anxiety disorder and a nonverbal learning disorder.
“I don’t know, as a father I could never have 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 make my son feel a sense of pride in me, that I was trying to do the right thing, and it was, you know, you’re trying to protect your kids. You know, it brings, it brings notoriety and all that, but it was just such a visceral emotional moment that I, I’m just, I’m grateful that I got to experience it and I’m so proud of him.”
The viral moment sparked an outpouring of love and support on social media, with many families see themselves reflected in the Walz familyputting an end to the incidents of cyberbullying on social media that followed the teenager’s rise to fame on the world stage.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
“I think one thing is we talk about the era that we live in, our politics can be better, it can be different,” Walz said. “We can, we can show some of these things and we can engage families in this and I hope that there was, I hope that people felt that out there and I hope that they hug their children a little bit tighter.”
What is neurodiversity?
Medical experts tell CBS Minnesota Neurodivergence is a disorder in which a person’s brain processes information differently. Examples of such disorders include autism, autism spectrum disorder, dyslexia, and ADHD.
One of the biggest challenges for people with these types of disabilities is finding a job. According to Johns Hopkins University, the unemployment rate for people with neurodivergence can be as high as 30% to 40%. That’s huge when you consider that other people with disabilities are at about 10%. The average unemployment rate in the U.S. right now is about 4%.
An advocacy group called Korn Ferry calls neurodiversity “an untapped superpower” in the workplace and shares these ideas with neurodiverse employers and employees.
- Have neurodiverse employees wear sunglasses indoors. Many become overstimulated and are bothered by overhead lighting or even dramatic changes in lighting as they walk through a building.
- Make sure you have noise-canceling headphones to block out distractions.
- Create a safe and secure space where you can relax.
- Don’t require people to turn on their cameras for remote meetings. That’s because people with this type of disability often aren’t comfortable with eye contact.
