xanyland Episode 3 - Late Onset Autism with Baron Vaughn
Going real deep with Baron Vaughn on this very special episode of xanyland. Funny story…Baron and I actually met in acting school at Boston University, I’ll admit 20 years ago. We then somehow both ended up across the country in Los Feliz, LA, making things happen. Now, Baron is an Atlanta-based stand-up comic who can be seen and heard on shows like “Grace and Frankie” and “Mystery Science Theater 3000,” just to name a few. He was also the co-creator and co-host of the Comedy Central variety series “The New Negroes” which highlighted rising Black comedians and musicians. Needless to say, he’s found success. If you like comedy, which, if you’re here, I’m assuming you do, I highly recommend checking out one of his hysterical specials — “Raised by Cable” or “Blaxistential Crisis”— you won’t be sorry.
But I must say, our conversation was much more serious than I thought it might be. Each episode takes me by surprise, which, honestly, is an amazing perk of this job. I was striving for every conversation to be organic and exactly what was needed in the moment, and I am consistently proven right by the format.
Leading me to a huge thesis for this ep: meet people where they’re at. And I think that’s exactly what Baron and I did.
Baron opened up about his personal experiences with Autism. His youngest son was diagnosed with Autism. Thus begins a parent’s journey to understanding their kid. Baron was incredibly vulnerable and transparent with me, which made this conversation so special. He spoke on how his son’s diagnosis made him reflect inward on his own potential journey with Autism. Although he has not been diagnosed officially, he is seeking answers.
Let’s start at the beginning. His childhood in Las Vegas. Sin city! A child of the 90s (promise not to reveal your age…we’ll leave it there). As a Black man in America, Baron spoke on code-switching, defined as a social strategy where one modifies their language, mannerisms, or appearance to fit in. It’s something I myself could relate to as a woman in America, obviously through a different lens, but yeah, relatable.
But was it always code-switching? Or was he just mirroring to fit in? The differences would be that code-switching is culturally driven, and mirroring would be more internally driven. Baron admits that he was probably doing both. The mantra “be a person” came up a lot. He said, “I’m not being a human correctly”. What the fuck does that mean? How is there a correct way to be human? “Be a person, as if I’m not one?” Feels a little breakthrough-y (therapist buzz word moment!). If you’re feeling like an alien among people, that might be a sign of something greater. It seemed like his son’s diagnosis opened up an entire world of reflection that Baron had no idea existed.
Society gives us all a template. It’s fully made up and driven by capitalism, which these days looooves mental health — but you could argue that capitalism is the enemy of mental health.
Watch the episode below, or find xanyland on your favorite podcast platform.