Posted on 07/20/2008 6:50:43 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A Savage Betrayal Of Humanity Radio Host Michael Savage Says Autistic Kids Aren't Sick..."Just Brats"
One Parent Begs To Differ
by Steve and Ryan Young
I’ve written for years about the problems I’ve had with talk radio, and did so, for the most part with tongue tucked firmly in cheek. I’ve even had my own show in L.A. so In some way, I’ve been a part of the problem I write about. I do get ticked off, but rarely does anything said on talk radio ever cause me to lose my sense of humor. Until this past Wednesday.
On his syndicated talk radio show, The Savage Nation, Michael Savage (real name: Michael Weiner), the third most listened to talk show host behind Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, and a bomb thrower like no other, called the disorder known as Autism, “a fraud” and “a racket.”
He went further.
"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)
There’s so much I wanted to say, not only to pound some actual knowledge into whatever Savage uses for a brain, but also to defend those families who have been besieged by the heartbreak and hardship of living with someone, especially their children, with Autism.
I wondered how Savage might feel it were his child who was constantly being met with disapproving stares from strangers who recommend that “if your child can’t behave maybe you shouldn’t take him out in public.” And how he might feel if the knew that it is going to happen every single day.
But as I began to write a note to Savage, I realized that it would be more appropriate to have someone who knows full well the devastation felt of not only hearing the diagnosis of your child as autistic, but having to live through the day to day sadness, frustration and pain you feel when it hits you that your child may never have what most would consider a typical life. For that I turned to my son Ryan…
From Ryan…
Mr. Savage,
My eight year old daughter Rebecca has a diagnosis of Autism.
Autism is a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication, and causes restricted and repetitive behavior. That diagnosis in itself may help define a set of Rebecca’s symptoms, but it far from defines who she is any more than insensitive or mean-spirited totally describes you.
Rebecca can be sweet, funny, happy, sad, angry, silly, frustrating, irritating, gentle, kind or any number of other adjectives you’d use to describe a typical eight year old, though brat is not one that her doctors have used to describe her. That usually only comes from those ignorant of her condition.
When Rebecca is having a meltdown or dealing with any other upsetting moment in a public place, we are almost always met with judgmental glares from onlookers who are thinking, boy, if that was my child… or who might even say, “If you can’t control that child, keep her home!” G-d forbid these people ask if there anything they can do to help you. It’s something every parent of an autistic child has had to deal with most every day.
If you don’t understand Autism, its very easy to say or think such things. I probably did too before my wife and I had Rebecca, but I never went on a radio show, where millions of people believe I am some sort of authority, to label innocent children as a moron or idiot. That you supposedly hold master’s degrees in medical botany and medical anthropology makes your actions even more shameful.
Imagine, Mr Savage, if you lacked the ability to express your feelings, thoughts or needs. Imagine if this were your child. Would you want your child smeared for something they had no control over? Many children with autism lack the capacity to verbalize their feelings instead act them out. This is not how they act like a putz. This is how they communicate.
Being her father, I see Rebecca’s many challenges, stressors and unexpected events that challenge her ability to get through each and every day. As parents, her stressful and frustrating moments become OUR stressful and frustrating moments. What loving parent doesn’t cheer when their child succeeds or aches when their child is hurt, frustrated or upset?
Because the world challenges Rebecca so incessantly it would be easy to want to keep her home, insulated from the world, protecting her against the whirlwind of circumstances that at once can delight her one moment or upset and anger her the next. But ours is a life built on “that which does not kill you, can only make you stronger.” With each challenge Rebecca meets head on, she can learn and grow, hopefully adapting to the world, one step at a time. With each fall that she rises from she learns to walk a little stronger; gains confidence, and actually learns to become the best Rebecca she can be.
What no parent of a special needs child wants is to be pre-judged or isolated and kept in the shadows so that people like you don’t have to look at a child with a disability. We want and need support of those around us and hope upon hope that our child be treated with compassion and understanding.
This week, you Mr. Savage, have made that a little harder.
Sincerely,
Rebecca’s Proud Dad, Ryan Young
For more information on Autism, go to: Autism Speaks at www.autismspeaks.org
Ryan Young is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York. His dad is author of “Great Failures of the Extremely Successful…Mistakes, Adversity, Failure and Other Steppingstones to Success.”
My kid’s needs are more special than yours...
The thing is that someone with undiagnosed hearing loss can have some of the same symptoms as autism-—unconversational, wanting to do solitary activities, frustration with inability to communicate your needs.
When you’re hard of hearing, social situations w/ more than 5-6 people are really, really draining. When I go to big parties, sometimes I stick myself in a corner and just read a magazine or a book because it’s really mentally taxing to listen to and keep track of multiple conversations. Hearing aids just amplify everything so have a limited usefullness as well.
Again, showing you know absolutely nothing about Savage.
Give it a rest petronski, you and media matters are kissin’ cousins when it comes to Savage, you never heard a slam from them you didn’t like whenever it involves Savage. You would almost wonder if you have a permanent case of autism yourself.
Weiner Alert
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048356/posts
Radio Host Michael Savage Says Autistic Kids Aren’t Sick...”Just Brats”
Link to audio of Weiner ranting: What a PUTZ
http://blatherwatch.blogs.com/talk_radio/2008/07/michael-savage.html
If he really said this, it was a horrid thing to say. One of my best friends has an autistic son. He is not badly behaved except in the way that any seriously retarded child might be because he isn’t capable of knowing any better. He will need help to take care of him all his life. It is a serious disability.
Hopefully he didn’t really say that or if he did, this is one of those times when an apology is in order. Disabled children need the love and support of conservatives. Liberals would like to just abort most of them. Who will stand up for them if we do not?
And, just to be much more serious for a moment, it's a rather comprehensive term that ropes in a broad range of symptoms. Not all the kids with "autism" are off in a corner vegetating, and not all of them are screaming their heads off all the time.
Celiac is caused by any one of 9 different genes with variant alleles.
It can, if left untreated, result in holes being torn into the walls of the small intestine. Undigested food can get into the blood stream as a consequence and cause all sorts of problems.
The treatment is total avoidance of gluten containing substances such as wheat, barley and rye.
No beer for you! And be very careful with those salad dressings and barbeque sauces made from malted barley (Jack Daniels for example).
Celiac, however, does not cause autism ~ rather, it causes misery if untreated, and less misery if treated. There's not even a good statistial relationship between the two situations, but I've heard from folks with such a child that his behavior was dramatically improved after gluten was removed from the diet.
When they first met him he could hardly speak. Now he holds lengthy conversations with folks on a wide variety of topics.
He didn't learn to count until he was a teenager. Today he can make change and handle his bank account.
His has been a story of gradual improvement over a long period of time.
Now that he's nearly 30 years old I'd bet he could pass regular highschool rather than just the special program he was in.
Still, we know his limits,but at the same time we know how lucky he was to run into my kids.
This is a kind of family tradition. My grandfather sat next to the retarded kid from gradeschool through highschool. My brother took care of the retarded kid next door.
Sometimes folks don't need the formal diagnosis to know what to do.
I believe the opposite. I think most are misdiagnosed on purpose to put them on a lifetime of psychiatric drugs, special needs programs, etc. so everyone can make a $$$ off them.
well when they say BOMB THROWER I knew this article would be bs, plus it is media matters.
Why? Do you not like the truth? Sure he exagerated but autism and Adhd are overdiagnosed, that fact does not change. My best friend's son has austim legitimately savage's comments did not bother me.
There is a LOOOOT of money in special interests in all forms of MR and autism. Mony for teachers. Heck, money in this state goes to theraputic riding programs that are paid for by the state for mr and autistic.
Ya think?!?
I had nad not heard about the missing brain stem. Obviously, different severities of the underlying conditions would be expected. I would have hoped that vitamin d could reverse some of the symptoms of young children. In many cases that would seem to not be possible. God help the parents of autistic children and those who believe autistic kids are brats. Thanks for your contribution.
look 99% is exaggerated why do you 2 take offense if you KNOW children that are, Heck I know one child is , his statement DOES NOT PISS ME OFF. ANd I do agree it is over diagnosed.
I find that hard to believe. Most autistic kids are pretty severely disabled. It’s not just “being annoying” it’s “being seriously cognitively impaired.” You can’t just ‘misdiagnose’ a normal child as retarded and have everybody accept that. It would be like saying a child has Down’s Syndrome when they do not! If something would get misdiagnosed on purpose I think it would be something like ADHD or depression because normal kids get hyper or sad sometimes so the diagnosis could be believable. But normal kids don’t just up and act retarded, so I don’t think anyone would believe their child had autism unless they really did.
Because, that kind of exaggeration is cruel to the parents who are lovingly raising their children through adversity. He just said that 99% of them are just bad fathers who have raised whiny brats. Now, knowing an autistic child, and having seen many badly behaved children from disfunctional families in my church’s family outreach program, I can say for sure that they don’t have anything in common at all. There is no way that the majority of the parents of severely retarded children are just bad parents who should have taught their children not to be retarded. And no way that the disfunctional kids would ever get diagnosed as autistic. I can’t see any way the two groups could ever be getting confused in real life.
I’m sorry, but I think it’s pretty low to be picking on Special Olympics kids and their parents. I really hope he thinks about it a little and apologizes. I consider valuing children with disabilities and honoring their parents as an important part of being pro-life.
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