Gus Walz’s unbridled emotion on the DNC stage opens the door to more understanding of neurodiversity

Gus Walz openly wept as he cheered for his father, Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images by Sneha Kohli Mathur, University of Southern California “That’s my dad. That’s MY DAD!” a visibly emotional Gus Walz exclaimed, with tears in his eyes, at the Democratic National Convention. It is rare to see this kind of wholesome love and admiration, especially in a public setting, from a teenager toward their parent. For most Americans, this was their first introduction to Gus, the neurodivergent son of Minnesota Governor and Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz. In a People interview published during the convention, Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, described Gus’ specific type of neurodivergence. They noted that he has been diagnosed with nonverbal learning disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, and anxiety. The public reactions to Gus’ display of emotion were mixed. There were negative responses like that of conservative pundit Ann Coulter, who posted, “Talk about weird …” in a now-deleted post on the social platform X. Others initially mocked Gus, a male teenager, for crying, but then apologized when they learned he was neurodivergent. But there were also...