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 ...
Are you equating a general lack of Savage-worship with Savage-hating?
You might want to dial back the hyperbole machine.
Yes, I also have concerns about how every child seems to be diagnosed with something, and medicated.
From your post, which mentioned Ritalin.
He was also a late reader. He did not read at all until he was nine. He was homeschooled and I had done enough reading by then to let him develop at his own rate. Once he started reading, he progressed quickly. By age ten, he was reading adult level books.
He scored in the top 10% on the ACT and got into college easily. He graduated with a degree in journalism.
Not all children develop there language abilities at the same time or at the same rate. I am glad I was able to let my son progress according to his own timetable.
I had many of the "symptoms" of autism: late/minimal talker, preferred solitary pursuits like puzzles, occasional outbursts (due to frustration of lack of ability to communicate), not wanting to share/communicate with other children (probably because I couldn't hear their soft delicate voices and it was too much work to try).
Once a bright teacher decided to have my hearing tested, they discovered my hearing problem. Then, my grandparents and everyone else around me made sure they spoke louder and more clearly to help me catch up.
With some speech therapy and lip reading, I did catch up and was able to attend regular kindergarten classes (becoming quite talkative) and never had to suffer the stigma of "mentally retarded" or "mentally ill". My grandparents used to say I was overtalking to catch with the time when I couldn't really talk at all.
Do I still have issues? Sure. I still hate social situations with large crowds of people. Trying to concentrate on conversing with tons of background noise is tiring and I just prefer to avoid such situations. Lipreading only takes you so far and is mentally draining.
When listening to lectures, I need to sit near the front so I can hear and read lips, if neccessary.
But prozac is just fine eh? Zoloft? Haldol?
http://pediatrics.about.com/od/autism/a/05_autism_rx_4.htm
“
...(Prozac) has been approved by the FDA for both OCD and depression in children age 7 and older. Three that have been approved for OCD are fluvoxamine (Luvox), age 8 and older; sertraline (Zoloft), age 6 and older; and clomipramine (Anafranil), age 10 and older.4 Treatment with these medications can be associated with decreased frequency of repetitive, ritualistic behavior and improvements in eye contact and social contacts. The FDA is studying and analyzing data to better understand how to use the SSRI’s safely, effectively, and at the lowest dose possible.
Behavioral problems. Antipsychotic medications have been used to treat severe behavioral problems. These medications work by reducing the activity in the brain of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Among the older, typical antipsychotics, such as haloperidol (Haldol), thioridazine, fluphenazine, and chlorpromazine, haloperidol was found in more than one study to be more effective than a placebo in treating serious behavioral problems. However, haloperidol, while helpful for reducing symptoms of aggression, can also have adverse side effects, such as sedation, muscle stiffness, and abnormal movements.
Placebo-controlled studies of the newer “atypical” antipsychotics are being conducted on children with autism. The first such study, conducted by the NIMH-supported Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology (RUPP) Autism Network, was on risperidone (Risperdal). Results of the 8-week study were reported in 2002 and showed that risperidone was effective and well tolerated for the treatment of severe behavioral problems in children with autism. The most common side effects were increased appetite, weight gain and sedation. Further long-term studies are needed to determine any long-term side effects. Other atypical antipsychotics that have been studied recently with encouraging results are olanzapine (Zyprexa) and ziprasidone (Geodon). Ziprasidone has not been associated with significant weight gain.”
Yes, I absolutely think boys are different, often much more slow to speak. My son also was a late talker. He was very active, walked at nine months, but showed no interest in talking. I had a couple of relatives who thought he might be autistic ... scared the life out of me. Thankfully, his pediatrician allayed my fears right away. The experience has made me very sympathetic to the parents of children with disorders like autism. It was very scary for me envisioning an uncertain future for my son.
We did end up putting tubes in his ears, as he had so many ear infections, he wasn’t able to hear us speak clearly. He had some speech therapy in pre-school, and now is a straight A student.
>>And, what of the Freepers here yesterday claiming Media Matters faked the tape or took him out of context?<<
I cannot WAIT to see the backpedaling.
I've posted my own story in this thread in re my "late talking son". I also post later in the thread methods I used with him and many other "late talkers" around the San Francisco Bay Area which were successful in guiding them to speak, articulate, and thereby escape the gauntlet of the state entrapment programs.
Autism is real. “autism-spectrum disorders” are a con to get more kids, particularly boys, doped up to make the pharmaceutical companies and schools loads of money!
“His private life (and his campaign donations) reveal him to be just another liberal.”
I’ve only heard him a little and it sure sounds like a schtick. But what are referencing in his life and the donations?
RE: Your FReepmail - you picked up on my intent.
RE: Rest of the post.
Thanks for you CV. It is all too often that people will make “clinical” diagnoses from the safety of their life-experience. Often, they make themselves look worse-personality-wise than the person they have inappropriately diagnosed.
Ah, that makes sense. Thanks for the explanation!
I’m not big on neuromeds at all. Don’t know why you posted this.
“I’m not taking it personally”
then I’m not talking about you.
Savage had a relationship with Ginsberg? That guy was a pedophile no? Oh and he wrote some crappy poetry before everyone who could publish on the internet did so.
Though you'll probably have to...
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