Posted on 07/21/2008 11:23:49 AM PDT by camerakid400
Michael Savage, the incendiary radio host who last week characterized nearly every autistic child as “a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out,” said in a telephone interview Monday morning that he stood by his remarks and had no intention of apologizing to those advocates and parents who have called for his firing over the matter.
“My main point remains true,” Mr. Savage, whose radio audience ranks in size behind only those of Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, said in an interview on Monday. “It is an overdiagnosed medical condition. In my readings, there is no definitive medical diagnosis for autism.”
On his program lastWednesday, Mr. Savage suggested that “99 percent of the cases” of autism were a result of lax parenting. He told his audience: “They don’t have a father around to tell them, ‘Don’t act like a moron. You’ll get nowhere in life.“ He added, “Straighten up. Act like a man. Don’t sit there crying and screaming, idiot.’ ”
Asked Monday if he actually believed that 99 out every 100 cases of autism was misdiagnosed, Mr. Savage conceded that figure was “a little high.” “It was hyperbole,” he said.
But he said he was proud to have prodded discussion on the subject, and planned to give over his entire show on Monday — broadcast live from northern California from 3 to 6 p.m. Pacific time — to parents and other callers who wished to disagree with him, and to educate him.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Precisely. Talk to teachers that have dedicated decades to the disease. Talk to them and see the level of frustration as their classrooms get crowded with unruly children, those same children that would have been diagnosed ADHD if that particular disease was fashionable enough to be worn like a badge of honor like those bad parents now wear when they hear “oh my, it isn’t your fault he won’t listen to you, your child is autistic and needs medication, special classes, and social work.”. Of course, everything comes at a price to taxpayers and as a newly minted “disease extraordinaire” profit for others.
How dare you refer to Levin’s mouth as nothing more than a ‘pie hole’, bite your tongue.
You have no way to know that.
When mothers take their 6-weeks-old babies to daycare and those babies sit in their carriers for 10-hours being ignored something is going to go wrong.
You know those babies by the bald spots on the back of their heads. Let's do a study of that.
"Spectrum definitions" are another name for "fee charts" to make money off a fad.
Just want to say to thank you for sharing this in your reply. One of the things I saw with my friend is that although he can certainly do things that make you scratch your head, he has shown a great patience with his son.
I was really proud of him when I overheard this from another room. It made me feel glad that this boy had my friend as his father.
Trust that God has also put your son in good hands. Blessings to you and your family.
Thanks, bfl
Apologies. I did a C&P from the wrong post.
nikos1121 (has been pinged, herein. Please refer to my post #94, above.
Interesting. We have a very gifted autistic child in our family. Parenting is not the problem. Finding schools to teach him is a problem. Medications are a problem.
The mother was afraid of "messing up her child"; so she submitted. Now, her other two kids are not getting the attention they need from her; her son is being shuttled all over the map; and she has to be part of a parenting group which meetings each week; or lose the funding.
This little boy is as normal as rain. A very bright, observant little boy. Now, he's treated as some type of damaged goods; and his sisters can't help but be slightly resentful of all the "special" attention he gets.
It's very saddening.
I’m a physician. From the other comments here, it sounds like his on air persona is “cooked up” and he’s different in person. He comes across on air as someone who has an extremely intolerant, thinly cloaked fuse. So, if that’s the case, I don’t know what to think. From listening to him, he strikes me as someone needing meds.
I've a number of friends who've been teachers for years -- they are leaving the profession; many have already left. Why? For the very reasons you've cited.
His cup has a hole in the bottom.
I’m not taking it personally. Why would I? But I am sympathetic to families going through this. In fact, the divorce rate for parents with autism is very, very high.
And I’ve seen this all through a friend.
That does not mean I’m leading any censorship on Savage. That’s not what’s important to me.
Early diagnosis of autism could backfire
http://www.vindy.com/news/2008/jul/16/early-diagnosis-of-autism-could-backfire/
Autism diagnosis: The latest trendy “ism” to get your kids
http://www.autismvox.com/is-autism-diagnosis-trendy/
Savage will say anything to get publicity. He may be a latent or repressed homosexual. His past relationships wih Alan Ginsberg and other homesexual Beatniks would indicate that.
Autism isn’t treatable by Ritalin. That’s for hyperactivity or whatever the hell ADD is.
>>I’ve never been able to decide whether he’s real sick or whether he’s just somewhat sick AND a shrewd buck grabber pretending to go off the deep end.<<
Neither. “Michael Savage” is the radio equivalent of a wrestling persona. (Damn, but I wish I knew what FReeper pointed that out to me first.)
My second could cut through liberal academic BS so fast, and at such an early age, the school put her in charge, in her classroom, of the ONLY non-English proficient speaking group of kids in her classroom. This was second grade.
Yes, such rewards for being such good students, gifted.
There is a difference between autistic and autistic spectrum. Again, meds aren’t really effective with autism itself. I treat and have know quite a few autistic children and they aren’t the result of good or bad parenting. Their brains are not right and they are extremely difficult to attend to, let alone parent.
Brain-injury isn’t something you can instruct away. Unfortunately, we don’t have a whole lot of tools to deal with it.
ADD, ADHD etc are an entirely different story. Also, school teachers/counselors are more than ready to drug behavioral problem students. I have also found this to be standard case.
Sorry, don’t know how it happened; my post misdirected to you. It should have gone to commonguymd.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.