Back in the mid 1960’s – a time when parents were routinely told to institutionalize their disabled children, The Royer’s were determined to create a future of possibilities for their autistic son, David. Long before autism was front page news, and decades before the advent of the internet with easy access to a myriad of supports, the Royer’s filled their home with love, folk and classical music, and a determination that autism would never be an excuse for lowering expectations of their son.
Though he didn’t speak until he was five years old, Dave’s inquisitive nature and aptitude for tinkering with gadgets and electronics had him consistently taking things apart and putting them back together. In his teens, he began to blend his passion for music with a highly advanced knowledge of electrical engineering by recycling electronics and other unusual objects to build microphones and musical equipment.
After Dave’s father died unexpectedly when he was a young boy, his mother, Georgina, was left to raise her four children as a single mother in an era when neither single parenting nor autism were social norms. With the grit and tenacity of a lioness, she braved the challenges of raising her kids, meeting her son’s special needs while working to support her family, in large part by studying and investing in the stock market. Perhaps it was a bit of this tenacity and determination that inspired a fierce drive and independence in Dave beyond the solitude of autism’s hallmarks.
At 21 Dave purchased an old tape recorder and some off-the-shelf microphones to record his own music. Unhappy with early results, those initial efforts begat a lifelong study of microphone design and electronic theory. In a new paradigm of pairing business experts with Dave’s quirky genius, in 1998, Grammy-winning Royer Labs was founded and Dave’s dynamic team set out to change the world of recorded music.
Today, Royer Ribbon Microphones are used by many of the world’s most famous musicians and bands. From Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Pearlman, Arturo Sandoval, Willie Nelson, Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Van Halen and the Rolling Stones, to dozens of other iconic names in music, Royer mics are used by the best musicians and recording engineers in the world. Several award-winning engineers interviewed in A Sound Paradigm, share insights and Royer stories never heard publicly before.
Interviews with Dave’s mother, Georgina, alternate between endearing, historical and humorous-yet-always riveting. At 90 years old, this pioneer in autism takes us back to a time when raising a disabled child was a lonely and isolating journey; a time when there were no protections under the law to safeguard the disabled or their families; a time when the disabled were shunned by society.
More than just the story of Dave Royer, however, is also the story of a community of support that surrounded Dave to help him administrate and direct his creativity which was often challenged by autism’s difficulties. Interviews with key people including business partners Rick Perotta and John Jennings and others who work at Royer Labs follow the intense and long-standing committed relationships they forged as a team.
Interviews with internationally recognized autism experts Michelle Garcia-Winner (Social Thinking) and Matt Asner (Vice President of Development, Autism Society of America) will be a conduit through which knowledge and heart flows to bind the Dave Royer story into a world of possibility for futures for so many with autism and other learning disabilities.
Ultimately a story that warms the heart and captures possibilities in autism, A Sound Paradigm provides an unprecedented view for a new generation of autistic business pioneers to witness inspired, symbiotic joint ventures. And though not all autistics are able to pursue mainstream jobs or careers, this film provides a view to futures where possibilities can be explored.