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Gov. Tim Walz and his wife Gwen have two kids – 23-year-old Hope, and 17-year-old Gus. By all accounts, they’re just a really nice, no-drama Minnesota family, tight-knit and supportive of one another. Well, Tim Walz is getting a lot of attention for immediately disclosing, in a statement to People Magazine, that his son Gus has a learning disability. In technical terms, Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder. Instead of treating Gus like he needs to be hidden away, Tim Walz has used his family’s personal narrative to explain why he pursues certain policies. He’s also just a super-supportive father.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen, are opening up to PEOPLE about their “brilliant” 17-year-old son, Gus, who has a non-verbal learning disorder, ADHD and an anxiety disorder — all conditions that they call his “secret power.” In a statement shared exclusively with PEOPLE, Tim — who was just selected as Kamala Harris’ 2024 vice presidential candidate — and Gwen say that they saw glimmers of Gus’ unique qualities at an early age.
“When our youngest Gus was growing up, it became increasingly clear that he was different from his classmates,” the couple tell PEOPLE. “Gus preferred video games and spending more time by himself. When he was becoming a teenager, we learned that Gus has a non-verbal learning disorder in addition to an anxiety disorder and ADHD, conditions that millions of Americans also have.”
According to the Cleveland Clinic, non-verbal learning disorders like the one Gus has impact how children absorb and utilize information, but they are manageable with interventions that can help those who are affected learn in different ways. “Non-verbal” in this case is not the same as “non-speaking.”
“Like so many American families, it took us time to figure out how to make sure we did everything we could to make sure Gus would be set up for success as he was growing up,” the couple say. “It took time, but what became so immediately clear to us was that Gus’ condition is not a setback — it’s his secret power.”
Tim and Gwen have previously spoken about the obstacles they faced when they first wanted to start a family. During a March 2024 interview with the Star Tribune, Tim revealed that Gwen underwent fertility treatments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for seven years in hopes of getting pregnant.
You can read more about nonverbal learning disorders here – I was curious as well, and I wondered if it was about Gus being unable to learn through lectures and people speaking, like he has to read everything to learn. But it looks like NVLD is more of a catch-all for many different things, from lacking spatial awareness to understanding broad concepts. Gus seems to still be in high school, so I imagine we won’t see a lot of him on the campaign trail. I bet we’ll see a lot of Hope though.
Photos courtesy of Tim Walz’s IG.
