Radio Host Michael Savage Says Autistic Kids Aren't Sick..."Just Brats"

AutismSpeaks.org ^ | July 18, 2008 | Steve and Ryan Young

[SeekAndFind]

Folks, I haven't heard Michael Savage say this.

Since the original source of the news is Media Matters, I would take this news with extreme caution as this group has been angling to get talks shows hosts like Rush Limbaugh off the air.

[Grunthor]

I agree that this should be taken with a huge grain of salt and while I agree that some fact checking is in order, this guy has been known to say some things that would lead one to believe that he “could have” said it.

[Always Right]

He probably said something to the effect that autism is like ADD, way over diagnosed. Certainly there are kids with serious problems, but it should not be to the point 1 out of three kids need to be on medication.

[HuntsvilleTxVeteran]

I am 68 and this Autism seems new as none of the children
I knew as a child had it.

[Devilinbaggypants]

I agree...I listen on a regular basis and don’t recall this. But I do know for a fact that Media Matters is an unreliable source at best and down right liars at worst.

[AnAmericanMother]

Autism as a separate diagnosis is relatively new.

The kids now categorized as "severely autistic" used to be diagnosed as "severely retarded" and were institutionalized.

That's why you didn't see the kids.

[Ronaldus Magnus Reagan]

Out in public, it's easy to confuse autism with brattiness. It's hard to tell the difference sometimes.

If true that Savage said that, then he is mistaken and should correct himself. As Rosie O'Donnell famously said to Bill O'Reilly many years ago, "if you are on the air for many years, you are bound to say something stupid"

[JasonC]

Correct. The rate of autism up to about 1980 was 4 per 10000. That is a good indicator of the incidence of the real disorder. But today, 4-5 times that number are diagnosed with autism. Speculations about real increases are too silly to merit comment. In one study, a researcher found that only 25% of those diagnosed today would have been under the standards and definitions prevailing in 1980. In other words, the meaning of the term was deliberately changed to sweep in a vastly larger number of cases. Then the sympathy and concern rightly focused on the original, actual sufferers, is appropriated by the larger, looser meaning and group. Which is typical stalinist claptrap and obscene. For some details from an independent (and uncommitted) source, see -

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=95

Fake epidemics deserve conservative scrutiny and scorn, because they have become a favorite left-wing social engineering tactic over the last generation.

[coloradan]

"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.” (Full audio at: http://mediamatters.org/items/200807170005?f=h_top)

They are claiming this is a direct quote and that there's audio. So if they are lying, they are doing so with great chutzpah (as is often typical of their side).

[AnAmericanMother]

I think this is an accurate observation.

Autism is over-diagnosed.

It used to be that only the profoundly autistic children were diagnosed as such -- the kids who're nonverbal, don't interact with others, and spend their days in repetitive actions such as rocking or banging their heads against the wall. Some friends of mine have a son who is profoundly autistic, and believe me there is no mistaking it, and no question that he will never be able to function on his own in any way. He will have to be institutionalized when his parents are no longer able to care for him.

Now they have "autistic spectrum disorder" and "Asperger's Syndrome" and so forth -- not children that you would immediately pick up as "autistic" in the usual sense. In fact, I would describe a lot of them as just "geeky kids".

As to why this is going on -- follow the money. Federal money for treatment, schooling, etc. = more diagnoses.

[perfect_rovian_storm]

They didn’t have a name for it or diagnose it except in very extreme cases.

I went to school with someone who was later diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, which is a mild form of autism, but nobody ever knew anything about it then. He was just a geeky kid who didn’t get along with everyone else and did math and was crazy for puzzles. I actually always admired these qualities and never had any idea they were symptoms of a syndrome.

Of course, he’s rich and famous now because he invented Bit Torrent, so these diseases do have a positive side, especially in their milder forms.

[steve8714]

Many are diagnosed with “mild” autism, like my cousin, who just need to step away from the video games.

[ryan71]

Sure, there are some kids with autism but I bet most little “brats” with ineffective “parents” that walk into a shrink’s office are labeled autistic.

Writing a “script” is more PC and less trouble than challenging parents to get the job done.

[ken21]

if he said this, he’s partly right, but very wrong.

he’s partly right that it’s being over-diagnosed. the professionals recently even expanded the umbrella of what they call autism.

but he’s very wrong. i have a friend who has a grand daughter who is autistic, fortunately for her she’s not the extreme case of a child you see on tv huddled in the corner with outbursts.

one of the key issues with her and of autism:

is the inability to make eye contact with others. many mothers notice this very early, 18 mos etc.

and the inability to feel that others are experiencing pain, pleasure, etc.

i’ve spent a lot of time around this kid and i notice a lot of improvement. she’s had professional training and benefited from it.

it will be interesting to see what she’s like in ten years.

[xcamel]

Because the statement is out of context, and not what he really said.

Paraphrasing here, he was talking about the boom in diagnosis of ADD, ADHD, and Autism, for purposes of getting on the government gravy train.
He was not talking about the truly autistic, or mentally disabled.

Remember, he had a brother who died, that was severely mentally disabled.

MM is on a jihad against free speech, and talk radio in particular.

[NCBraveheart]

I don’t want to disparage kids with real issues but I would agree with you. The drug co. and the “educators” and quick to create a spectrum diagnosis to cover damned near every kid. More victims to save!

[Mr Ramsbotham]

This reminds me of the time many years ago when some offended woman, the caretaker of a mentally ill person, phoned Rush Limbaugh to complain about his use of the word “straightjacket” to describe a device used for restraining the mentally ill.

I agree with Savage that the vast majority of children diagnosed with autism and/or ADHD are simply suffering from what I call bad child syndrome.

[Telepathic Intruder]

Now if he had called them nappy-headed ho’s... Actually I have heard Savage lividly accuse Howard Stern of making jokes about retarded people on his show. If that were true, you’d think Media Matters would go after Howard as well... well maybe not.

[tiredoflaundry]

Since the original source of the news is Media Matters, I would take this news with extreme caution as this group has been angling to get talks shows hosts like Rush Limbaugh off the air.

By no means am I a fan of Savage, but I agree with you. If Media matters is the "source", I would write this off as BS.

[Kleon]

Because the statement is out of context, and not what he really said.

Of course it's not what he said, he didn't say any of that. I'm a regular listener, so I should know.