To see autism differently | The Press

He conducts interviews with public figures. He is known to restaurant owners in Sherbrooke and works for the Géogène micro-torréfacteur. But to use his expression, everything Mathieu Caron does is “atypical”. Portrait of a young man who wants to see autism differently.

Emilie Cote
The Press

(Sherbrooke) “In life, you have to live from your projects,” Mathieu Caron will tell us. We must have the impression of living our life. »

The 23-year-old from Sherbrooke is waiting for us in front of the Méchant Steak restaurant. He planned to talk to us 30 minutes before his “atypical interview” with singer Izabelle. The next day, it is the humorist Philippe Laprise that he must meet. The young man publishes his interviews on his Facebook page.

His big mission? Demystifying autism “from all angles”.

“Autists are associated with old clichés. I want us to talk about the inclusion of autism at work, ”says the man who also recently gave a lecture on autism at Montreal Comiccon, with his friend Marie-Soleil Parizeau.

Thwart the predictions

As a child, Mathieu Caron was diagnosed with what was called at the time “pervasive developmental disorder” and Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. At 18, a child psychiatrist also told him that he had mild intellectual disability (possibly caused by a coma that followed meningitis). A blow. He would have preferred not to know. Especially since he was not expected to survive meningitis.

” Fuck prejudices. My whole life has been to thwart the odds, ”says the young man who has just turned 23.

At the start of the pandemic, Mathieu Caron was studying computer science, but he did not feel like he was advancing. He wanted to conduct interviews, even though he lacked technical knowledge.

From one interview to another, Mathieu Caron made a name for himself in Sherbrooke. It must be said that he met many restaurateurs, including Anik Beaudoin and Maxime Saumier Demers, respectively owner of the restaurants Auguste and O’Chevreuil Taverne Américaine.

Mathieu Caron also conducted “atypical interviews” with Erik Caouette, from 2Frères, and with blogger Jonathan Gagné at the ZAB café in Montreal. You should know that the young man bathes in coffee. Last November, he found a part-time position at the Sherbrooke micro-torréfacteur Géogène. It is also while visiting the place for an article that we met him.

and politicians

Shortly after the interview, Mathieu Caron was proud to call us to tell us that he had gone to the National Assembly with his sister, at the invitation of MNA Geneviève Hébert. He was thus able to meet Lionel Carmant, Minister Delegate for Health and Social Services.

He also recently obtained an interview with the mayor of Sherbrooke, Évelyne Beaudin. Finally, Mathieu Caron presented a check for more than $2,000 to Autisme Estrie after a fundraising campaign.

“I like to bring positivism,” he says. What makes me vibrate is to pay it forward. »

“Being nice triggers dopamine, one of the happiness hormones,” explains Mathieu Caron. It can be just telling a waiter that we had good service. »

Of course, it happens that Mathieu Caron suffers setbacks or refusals. “But I don’t waste energy being angry. »

He also wants to emphasize how much his parents and his family are behind him.

In interview with Izabelle

“Mathieu takes great photos,” explains Méchant Steak restaurant chef Michael Cloutier Boutin. We do barter deals. He takes pictures and he comes to eat here. Today, we lend him the room for his interview. »

Mathieu Caron meets Izabelle, a singer-songwriter born in Coaticook and now based in Drummondville.

It starts with zany questions, including what excuse to give to go to the bathroom and leave the stage in performance. The discussion becomes more serious when Izabelle confides that her song Vulnerable follows an episode of domestic violence. As an artist, she no longer wants to see “vulnerability as a weakness”, but rather as an opportunity to entrust “real things” to the public.

During the interview, two friends of Mathieu Caron make the jump to Méchant Steak, namely William Marier, co-owner of the Kobo Ramen restaurant, and the doctor Melissa Genereux.

Just after the latter had announced her leap into politics under the banner of Québec solidaire, Mathieu Caron made her an interview request, which she accepted. “A crush,” she said. Then we started going out for coffee, and Mathieu became a friend. »

The D^D Généreux likes Mathieu’s authenticity.

“He has the values ​​in the right place,” adds William Marier.

No one could contradict him on that.

“I think people like my simplicity of being and the fact that I don’t go through four ways to say things, launches the main interested party. It takes people like me to make autism look different. »