Posted on 07/26/2008 12:06:03 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Last week, radio talk-show host Michael Savage talked about autism:
I’ll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don’t have a father around to tell them, `Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don’t sit there crying and screaming, idiot.” I’m not an impartial observer here. My six-year-old son has high-functioning autism. He is exactly the kind of kid that Savage attacked.
Savage’s comments were wrong and harmful. Some autistic kids do learn to read and speak, which is why misinformed people may think that they are not “genuinely handicapped.” Yes, they are. Autism is a brain disorder that affects everything from social communication to physical coordination. Autistic people have multiple problems that make it hard for them to do things that the rest of us take for granted. It may take them years to learn how to toss a ball or nod their head.
And even when they can talk, they often have odd speech patterns that instantly mark them as autistic. Other kids taunt them with the very words that Savage used. If they respond verbally, their speech problems will draw even more taunting. If they respond with their fists, they run the risk that authorities will label them as “violent.”
Once in a while, parents take the approach that Savage recommends. It never works. Screaming insults at a handicapped kid is not child-rearing. It’s child abuse.
Conservatives need to speak out against Savage. Many news stories label him as “conservative” or “right-wing,” which may prompt some people to think that we agree with him. Savage has a long history of disgusting comments, which has led David Klinghoffer to speculate that his act is a giant liberal put-on, a “lefty’s cartoon mental picture of a ranting right-wing caveman.”
The liberal website Media Matters has spearheaded the backlash against Savage’s autism comments. Understandably, conservatives might be uneasy about siding with such an outfit. Savage has tried to exploit such feelings by casting his critics as PC leftists. But just because the folks at Media Matters oppose child abuse, it doesn’t follow that we conservatives should accept it just for the sake of disagreeing with them.
Besides, liberals do not have a corner on concern for autism. California’s 1969 Lanterman Act was a landmark in serving people with autism and other disabilities. Its sponsor was a Republican, as was the governor who signed it: Ronald Reagan. In 2006, President Bush signed the Combating Autism Act. Its author was Senator Rick Santorum (R., PA).
Savage has cited respectable commentators who suggest that many kids with the autistic label are merely late talkers. His defense fails on two counts. First, these commentators don’t speak in the hateful language that he has used. Second, although they make their argument in good faith, they get things backward.
When you first notice that your child has a speech delay — around his second birthday — autism is the last thing that you want to think about. Autism is devastating and frightening. It’s more comforting to think that your kid is just starting late and will catch up soon. Clutching the “late talker” security blanket, some parents wait months or years before admitting the possibility of autism.
At that point, they may indeed conclude that a formal diagnosis could be important in getting help. States and school districts often pay for the assessment. Every autism diagnosis means thousands of dollars for services that the federal government mandates but does not fully subsidize. With tight budgets, the authorities have no incentive to encourage overdiagnosis. Once in a while, a child may incorrectly get the autism label, but underdiagnosis is probably a much bigger problem.
We need more study of the causes and prevalence of autism. At the moment, though, the issue is Michael Savage’s attack. He has since claimed that he is a nice guy who wants help to go to those who truly need it. Nonsense. If he cared about autistic kids, he wouldn’t have spewed words such as “moron” and “idiot.”
And he shouldn’t claim to be a conservative. He has cheapened political discourse and hurt defenseless children. There’s nothing conservative about that.
—- John J. Pitney Jr. is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College.
>>>My definition of “a conservative” is someone who supports the rights of individuals over the rights of the collective, believes in free markets, representative government, traditional values and is a nationalist but usually not to the extreme.
So, how does this definition pertain in any way to Savage NOT being a conservative. He’s violating no one’s rights by expressing his opinion. Perhaps you don’t believe fully in the 1st amendment (which wouldn’t be terribly conservative of you), or perhaps you believe that people should be prohibited from speaking anything that might “hurt” someone’s feelings. (again, not terribly conservative of you)
Further: YOU are the one who first said that you never listened to him, and then jumped to the conclusion that he wasn’t conservative. Don’t blame me for your inarticularity.
>>>UC Berkeley in the early ‘80s
Well, I guess you’ve just blown your own conservative bona fides. If you were there, you aren’t conservative....
(or are you....)
Do you think that Dennis Prager is conservative? I don’t think you could rationally dispute that he is very conservative, all around. But he’ll tell you that in his younger days, he wasn’t. Gee, maybe around the early-’80s.
People and their ideologies change. If you are going by his having been at the mecca of Left-Coast communism in the early ‘80s to base your conslusions, you need to think a little bit harder, and actually LISTEN to Savage. (Now, not in the deep recesses of your UC Berkeley-hazed memory)
>>>Are you a rude
Yes!
>>> arrogant
No too much...
>>> sycophant?
No, I draw my own conclusions, and then express them.....
Yep, I am a 1968 baby. Actually I really liked being a kid in the 70s. Video games weren’t insanely difficult. A kid’s problems relatively weren’t all that serious and the temptations were tame compared to today. We didn’t have 500 channels but on the three networks, three local stations, and PBS there was always something to watch and it was charming. When there was nothing on, we just did something else.
The 70s takes some hits but there was a lot to offer back then.
Oh, and if you study the disease, there was a lot of blame 20-30 years ago about the mercury put into vaccinations for preservation causing high rates of Autism. That excuse is loooooooonnngggggg gone now that it has extra benefits in SSI and it is revitalizing old drugs with lowered age of precribes. Explain the 10 fold increase in a mere few years.
Of course. I don’t want him to lose his job over this... He was arrogant, ignorant, and insensitive, but not worthy of losing his show... It’s all of the other lib talking points he espouses, when speaking to 8 million folks, that makes me not mind the possibility he may lose his show...
You misunderstand my friend.
The character “Dr. Michael Savage” is a true blue conservative.
The individual, Dr. Michael Weiner looks to me like a complete phony.
As for the rest of your rant, I do not feel that we are contributing to the discussion.
” But some of parents can’t stand the fact that their kid is “different” and need to have the medical community label them as “diseased” in order to deal with the fact or just because they want a lazy explanation.”
do you personally know many people like this? They’re just lazy and cannot cope?
I haven’t met any parents like this.
Most parents I meet simply want a correct diagnosis so they can begin the proper therapy that most benefits their child.
Is it really parenting?
What about parents with many children? And only one child is affected?
Did they just forget to parent that child?
I treated all my children the same.
I have one child who is “different”.
I am not someone who cannot stand the fact he is different.
If he is not autistic, I don’t want him labelled autistic.
If he is autistic, I want to quickly find the proper therapy.
Right now - testing does not point to autism, but a brain disorder where sound is not properly interpreted (auditory processing disorder)
At times it is almost like dealing with a deaf child - only his ears are working fine - but the brain doesn’t always seem to interpret language correctly.
So right now we are waiting for a definitive diagnosis in order to help him find the best treatment.
All I am after is the truth - an accurate assessment of his condition. Then, from there, come up with a plan.
It would be great if all we had to do was just call him a moron or a retard - and that would snap him out of it.
C’mon parents give it a try!
Call your kid a retard tonight and tell them to quit acting like a moron - let’s see how that works!
“His mom came running over and protested that he had Tourhetts.”
While it’s true some people with Tourhetts will compulsively swear - I don’t think other children should have to be exposed to the language.
When one child’s disorder causes harm to another child, a parent shouldn’t force the issue.
But if the kid stopped swearing, chances are good he didn’t have that problem to begin with.
When I was growing up there was a member of our church who had that problem - you wouldn’t believe the vulgar words I used to hear if we sat too close to him on sundays!
Yes, bring back ATARI please. I do think the major hit in the 70’s was CARTER, the rest was good times. But now that we are talking about the subject of then and now, there is a more pressing issue that doesn’t get much attention is the fact that children are suffering from more skeletal and ligamental issues due to their lack of activity. Back in the day (the 70’s) we were more active and were told to go outside and play, now it is straight to the computer, television or playstation. And don’t get me started on the obeisity issue. If we gave our children more activity we wouldn’t have to drug them so extensively.
“Yeh, sure Mike. My son is just a ‘brat’.”
LOL!
well have you tried it hammerhead?
I’m sure all you have to do is call your son cruel names and to knock off the act - then all will be well.
You’ll save alot of money, and it will solve all your troubles! /s
I rarely listen to Savage, but this program I heard. He did not say there was no autism. He argued there was and was very empathetic with families whose children were autistic. What he slammed was that percentage of the medical establishment ready to classify as autistic anyone (including children as young as 18 months) with what I would call an overactive or difficult personality.
10 fold? Still just as many cracked brain people out there as there ever were. Could be they’re catching them these days.
I have a close relative who is a child psychiatrist
He says diagnosis of mental retardation are way down and for autism are way up.
What used to be called retardation is now called autism and autism can get the kid on SS!
Of course some children are genuinely autistic though as you say this is hard to define
” I am a 1968 baby.”
hey! me too! Happy 40th!
When I discussed the autism/ppd issue with my pediatrician, he made some good points.
He said when we were growing up “autism” was not a term used to refer to kids we said were “retarded” or “slow” or “special education.”
He said it’s the same group of kids, only we know more about what is going in their brains after studying them for a few decades.
So, he doesn’t seem to think there is such an increase in autism, as there has been a shifting in terms of describing symptoms.
I remember one particular kid in junior high that we called “spaceman”. He used to walk down the hallway humming to himself always with one shoulder brushing against the wall.
Never spoke to anyone, never looked people in the eye.
But he would sit in class, take a test, and get 100%.
He would beat the pants off everyone academically.
We called him “weird”. We thought maybe he was on drugs.
But now looking back, I’ll bet he was autistic.
I posted the links to the CDC that gives you the numbers last week. The CDC reported an increase from .5 in 1000 to 6 in 1000. How much of an increase in 3 years is that? 1% 2%? Start studying the disease and quit looking foolish.
Many of my friends know that I am a news junkie and a talk radio fan, and a few of them tell me to listen to Savage because he is soooooo fantastic. Everytime I have tried, I have lasted about 20-25 minutes simply because he ISN’T talk radio. He only takes callers as a formality, typically misquoting their arguments and ranting against the subsequent strawman, cuts them off, shouts over them, etc. ad nauseum. He isn’t even remotely interested in the debate, and I do not believe that he is capable of engaging in it. If that kind of thing appeals to some people, fine, I’m all for it. But his show sucks...JFK
There are cases ~
Most Tourette's, though, is not curable.
I do wish they'd simply learn some new words though.
She sounds exactly like Doc and me have discussed many times about our 8 year old autistic child.
So far we have spent over $340,000 dollars seeking cures in every nook and cranny of medicine.
The endless possession of Neurologists 4, Pediatricians 5, Psychiatrists 5, Psychologists 3, The Regional Center, Child Welfare, Various Charlatans, Vitamine Cures and the list goes on.
We have tried doctors here and in several foreign countries seeking any kind of cure for our precious but mixed up little boy.
The endless doses of over priced medicines.
The not being able to reach out and touch him and know that he is capable of returning the same kind of love.
To feel the hurt of overhearing neighbors make comments such as “I don't want my kids playing with that retard”.
The embarrassment of having a Child Protective Services Gestopo agent come to your door and say your family is at risk.
The endless prayers.
Yep, Life with a child with Autism has it's days.
“Who knows, maybe why there are so many serial and mass killers in this country is for some unknown reason we have more of this ASBERGERS’S SYNDROME(higher level autism) prevalent in this country! “
My understanding of Asperger’s is that it does not make a child more prone to violence - but it does make him more prone to be a computer scientist.
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