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
Ive written for years about the problems Ive had with talk radio, and did so, for the most part with tongue tucked firmly in cheek. Ive even had my own show in L.A. so In some way, Ive 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.
"Ill tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, its a brat who hasnt been told to cut the act out. Thats what autism is. What do you mean they scream and theyre silent? They dont have a father around to tell them, Dont act like a moron. Youll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Dont sit there crying and screaming, idiot. (Full audio at:
http://mediamatters.org/items/200807170005?f=h_top)
Theres 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 cant behave maybe you shouldnt 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 Rebeccas 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 youd 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 cant control that child, keep her home! G-d forbid these people ask if there anything they can do to help you. Its something every parent of an autistic child has had to deal with most every day.
If you dont 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 masters 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 Rebeccas 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 doesnt 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 dont 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,
Rebeccas 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.
No compelling evidence exists to support the assertion of causality between the vaccines (MMR and TCVs) and autism.
The dramatic increases of autism cases would be expected given the low serum d scenarios with pregnant women of color in northern continents.
There are a lot of “fraudulent” autistic children out there.
That’s probably what he was talking about. Savage likes to hear himself talk and is full of crap a lot of the time, but this seems to be way out of character.
I would expect Savage to make the comment in relation to ADD because many times it is just an excuse for a hyperactive child. But not Autism.
I have a nephew who is Autistic. The child wants so badly to be like everyone else, but is trapped in his own world of attraction and distraction. His parents have become very strong people because of the challenges the son brings every minute of every day.
I never heard Savage say this alleged statement.
When will people learn that Savage is not a conservative? He is a caricature of how they see conservatives!
The voice in their recording doesn’t even sound a thing like Savage. What would compel these morons to produce something like this? Also, can Savage take any legal action?
Bingo! We have a winner. Schools get $$$$$$$ for every child diagnosed as "special". It's an open secret that learning disabled, autistic, etc. is waaay over diagnosed, in schools, at least. Schools also get $$$$$$ based on how many children qualify for free breakfast and lunch and are "in poverty"(rolls eyes). Cheating on these numbers is rampant. I'm not a fan of Savage but I've heard his rants like this before. He's full of hyperbole but he makes the point that, yes, some kids that my generation called "hyper" and "disruptive" (and some real brats) in class are now being labeled "autistic". He probably went overboard on his rant but I don't give anything from Media Matters a second thought.
Media Matters? Consider the source.
Yea, where were they when Bill Maher famously said some years ago that "mentally retarded children should be equated to dogs because that's how they should be considered as".
Key phrase. Leftist bastard.
Savage seems to do it every time I listen.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0U7HjzUe54
Either that, or someone is taking these people for a ride, and MM is falling for it.
My 4 year old grandson was diagnosed with a mild form of Autism, but is now beginning to say a few specific words. He uses sign language mostly. He has very specific interests.
I have doubted his Autism diagnoses from the beginning, but I'm not an authority by any means, so we'll see.
Wow, that's awesome!! Did you know him?
In my view, Savage was exaggerating when he said "in 99% of the cases..." Then again, anyone who listens to his show on a regular basis knows he's no stranger to exaggerating to make a point. It's part of his schtick.
The conservative black columnist and professor, Thomas Sowell has his own take on autism.
See here :
http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080720/OPINION/807200379/1015/OPINION
“New Ways to Diagnose Autism Earlier” read a recent headline in the Wall Street Journal. There is no question that you can diagnose anything as early as you want. The real question is whether the diagnosis will turn out to be correct.
My own awareness of how easy it is to make false diagnoses of autism grew out of experiences with a group of parents of late-talking children that I formed back in 1993.
A number of those children were diagnosed as autistic. But the passing years have shown most of the diagnoses to have been false, as most of these children have not only begun talking but have developed socially.
Some parents have even said, “Now I wish he would shut up.”
I did absolutely nothing to produce these results. As a layman, I refused to diagnose these children, much less suggest any treatment, even though many parents wanted such advice.
As word of my group spread, various parents would write to ask if they could bring their child to me to seek my impression or advice. I declined every time.
Yet, if I had concocted some half-baked method of diagnosing and treating these children, I could now claim a high rate of success in “curing” autism, based on case studies. Perhaps my success rate would be as high as that claimed by various programs being touted in the media.
If a child is not autistic to begin with, almost anything will “cure” him with the passage of time.
My work brought me into contact with Professor Stephen Camarata of Vanderbilt University, who has specialized in the study of late-talking children - and who is qualified to diagnose autism.
Professor Camarata has organized his own group of parents of late-talking children, which has grown to hundreds, as compared to the several dozen children in my group. Yet the kinds of children and the kinds of families are remarkably similar in the two groups, in ways spelled out in my book “The Einstein Syndrome.”
The difference is that Professor Camarata is not a layman but a dedicated professional, with decades of experience - and he too has expressed dismay at the number of false diagnoses of autism that he has encountered.
What Camarata has also encountered is something that I encountered in my smaller group - parents who have been told to allow their child to be diagnosed as autistic, in order to become eligible for government money that is available, and can be used for speech therapy or whatever other treatment the child might need.
How much this may have contributed to the soaring statistics on the number of children diagnosed as autistic is something that nobody knows - and apparently not many people are talking about it.
Another factor in the great increase in the number of children diagnosed as autistic is a growing practice of referring to children as being on “the autistic spectrum.”
In other words, a child may not actually be autistic but has a number of characteristics common among autistic children. The problem with this approach is that lots of children who are not autistic have characteristics that are common among autistic children.
For example, a study of high-IQ children by Professor Ellen Winner of Boston College found these children to have “obsessive interests” and “often play alone and enjoy solitude,” as well as being children who “seem to march to their own drummer” and have “prodigious memories.” Many of the children in my group and in Professor Camarata’s group have these characteristics.
Those who diagnose children by running down a checklist of “symptoms” can find many apparently “autistic” children or children on “the autism spectrum.”
Parents need to be spared the emotional trauma of false diagnoses and children need to be spared stressful treatments that follow false diagnoses. Yet the “autism spectrum” concept provides lots of wiggle room for those who are making false diagnoses.
Real autism may not get as much money as it needs if much of that money is dissipated on children who are not in fact autistic. But money is money to those who are running research projects - and a gullible media helps them get that money.
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