David Byrne unveils potential health scare: 'Very difficult'

David Byrne has revealed that he may be on the autism spectrum.

In a new conversation on The Louis Theroux Podcast, the Talking Heads frontman reflected on his social experiences and how music has shaped the way he navigates the world.

As per PEOPLE Magazine, Byrne, 73, recalled first considering the possibility back in the 1990s. 

“That might have been in the ‘90s or something — there were articles in magazines about this idea of the spectrum,” he shared.

“There’s fairly severe autism where people don’t talk at all and it’s very, very difficult for them to communicate. And then there’s milder and milder, until it’s on the very mild side,” he continued.

 “It tends to be people who can be very focused on an 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 thought of it as a disability, but I can see that there’s a part of me that is like that,” he said.

The Burning Down the House musician also reflected on past moments of social misunderstanding. 

“I’ve had the experience where someone will say, ‘Well, I clearly said no,’ and then I’ll replay the conversation and the word ‘no’ was not there,” he explained. 

“They expected their facial expression or tone to be read — and I wasn’t able to read that.”

Despite these challenges, Byrne said he has grown more attuned over time, “I’ve gotten a lot better at that now than I was in the past.”