David Byrne has revealed that he may be on the autism spectrum.
In a new conversation about The Louis Theroux Podcasthe talking heads The frontman reflected on his social experiences and how music has shaped the way he navigates the world.
according to PEOPLE MagazineByrne, 73, recalled that he first considered this possibility in the 1990s.
“That might have been in the ’90s or something; there were magazine articles about this idea of the spectrum,” he shared.
“There’s quite severe autism where people don’t speak at all and it’s very, very difficult for them to communicate. And then there’s increasingly milder autism, all the way to the very mild side,” he continued.
“It tends to be people who can focus a lot on one idea, maybe have difficulty in social situations and things like that.”
Byrne added that he recognized some of those traits in himself.
“I’ve never considered it a disability, but I can see that there’s a part of me that is like that,” he said.
He burning the house The musician also reflected on past moments of social misunderstanding.
“I’ve had the experience of someone saying, ‘Well, I clearly said no,’ and then I repeat the conversation and the word ‘no’ wasn’t there,” he explained.
“They were expecting their facial expression or their tone to be read, and I couldn’t read that.”
Despite these challenges, Byrne said he has become more in tune with time: “I’m much better at it now than I was in the past.”
