Elio, frontman of Elio e le Storie Tese, talks about himself in an interview given to Walter Veltroni for Corriere della Sera where he talks about the concert that will be held on May 26th in Monza together with the Trio Medusa and also talks about his son’s autism Dante.
Dante’s autism
«We noticed it very soon – he says in the interview with Walter Veltroni – It was my wife who perceived some anomalies in Dante’s behaviour. I consoled her, told her that everything would be normal. But we have twins and the differences in their growth path were clearly visible. It was difficult to find someone who could give us a clear diagnosis and direct us. There is no telephone number to call, no address to go to. You immediately realize that a child’s autism is combined with the parents’ absolute loneliness. And this applies to every type of disability.” She advises parents to «move quickly, don’t wait for three years, don’t put it off. We saw that Dante had an obsessive attention to spinning tops, he also spun around and never stopped doing so. He paid attention to things and not to people. Autism can lead to serious relational difficulties, including mental, motor and cognitive delays.”
How are you
Then he explains how he is today: «Now he is 14 years old, he is aware. Even too much, he says it all the time. He did an impressive job, a heartbreaking effort. Even in this, autistic children pay a price compared to their peers. For him everything was effort: putting on a shirt, going to the bathroom, talking. He was taught everything. He worked hard, but we were able to allow him to be followed. But who doesn’t have money? Here too, just when the public hand should rebalance the differences, instead social inequalities are accentuated. There are associations, but they are private. There is nothing public that addresses the problem of autism and is close to families.”
Feiez’s death
Then Elio talks about the death of Paolo Panigada, aka Feiez, who died after an illness on stage. «He died before our eyes. I don’t know how many have seen a friend die like this, someone with whom you shared days, dreams, hopes, anger. He was 36 years old. When he collapsed, playing, I had the feeling that a piece of me was gone, that nothing would ever be the same again.”
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