David Byrne says he "had Asperger's"

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Don't be so ignorant. Many of us older people who were diagnosed late(r) in life have found rather sucessful methods of overcoming the Asperger's shortcomings without the aid or support of anyone person or organization. So much so in fact that we barely register on the spectrum at all anymore.
So yes, one CAN grow out of it (or at least adapt).
And NO, one doesn't need to suffer from Asperger's for life.

Thinking of his lyrics and the jerky angular dancing, it makes sense.

The Mark Motherbaugh idea has crossed my mind before, though I haven't actually heard anything on it.

I've been wanting to watch 'True Stories' for a while too, I like the snippets of conversation inbetween Talking Heads 'Storytelling Giant', I guess it's like a longer version of that.

Come on, there's no way he has AS. No person with AS would ever wear a stupid looking suit like the one he's wearing in the interview.

I very much doubt he has AS, I think he's just saying that because he thinks it'll win him credibility points (and I quite like Talking Heads, so I'm not biased in that respect). If he genuinely did have AS I think it would have lead to problems maintaining a career in the music industry (what with all the touring, constant changes in routine, and having to interact with strangers who only know you from your music on a daily basis).

Look at what happened to Craig Nicholls from the Vines - he had a breakdown and had to cancel the Vines' last tour because his AS made it impossible to cope. Gary Numan (who's also been diagnosed with AS) has taken long sabbaticals from performing which I suspect are related to his condition too.

Last edited by Locustman on 07 Jul 2009, 10:58 am, edited 1 time in total.

Not everyone with AS is exactly the same. Maybe Byrne's drive, talent and need to be heard is far greater than either Nicholls or Numan or both combined? He's got himself to a place where his AS doesn't affect him negatively so can discard it. The man is an inspiration, he's carved a place for himself in life and makes a good living doing what he loves, if his story can give even one other aspie the confidence or belief they need to do the same that's got to be a good thing no?

yeah maybe he had wealthy parents or some other kind of 'fallback' thing to cushion him.

I disagree, he is an Aspie, have a look at this ...

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE-mxVxFXLg[/youtube]

I think many, many creative people are AS. My son is currently doing an acting day camp, and of 15 participants, we know he is AS and another child is full on autistic. 2 out of 15, and that is only what we've got clear knowledge of. Quite a lot of AS are drawn to various arts, and are very good at them. Things with my son are just different when he's acting; so much of what impairs him isn't there in that venue. Wierd, but its the way it is.

I hope I'm not the only person who has realised the interview is a performance, and not spontaneous. It is theater. And pretty damned amusing. I just can't get over that suit, I want one too. Imagine walking down the street in that thing?

I've been following David Byrne's blog for years (and a fan of his music since the 70's) so this revelation is old news. He put it in his blog back in 2006.

http://journal.davidbyrne.com/

Sure, to a degree I can understand that - I play music myself and AS doesn't seem to impoact my ability to perform in front of people (although sadly it has affected my relationships with other bandmates at times).

That's what I think - although what he said about liking everything to be symmetrical did go some way to convince me his AS might be genuine (obsession with symmetry is one of my aspie traits too). But if he does have AS, he must definitely be at the higher functioning end of the scale, because he always seems to be aware of his quirkiness - his eccentricity sometimes comes across as studied, whereas from the footage I've seen of Craig Nicholls performing, he seems to have meltdowns where he genuinely loses control over his behaviour.

Sure, I like his music too - better than that of the Vines or Gary Numan, in fact. Although I'm not sure if I own enough of his albums to call myself a fan, I do really like "Remain in Light", and the "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" collaboration that he did with Brian Eno - that was such an obvious precursor to a lot of the electronica I liked in the early 90s that my jaw dropped when I was told it had been recorded ten years before. His Luaka Bop label has put out loads of cool Latin American music as well.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to read that whole blog as I'm on my lunchbreak at work, but does it mention whether or not he had an independent diagnosis, or whether he's self-diagnosed?

Last edited by Locustman on 09 Jul 2009, 8:41 am, edited 1 time in total.

In his blog he says "most likely" Asperger's. That makes it sound self-diagnosed to me.

Well, if such does turn out to be true, I'd not be surprised as, the drummer for the band"Rush" has Asperger Syndrome however, one does not outgrow AS as, probably an individual learns how to better react in some situations perhaps..That's the best I'm able to offer at this moment..