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 ...
Some are on prescriptions, most I've know weren't on anything.
How do you explain a 10 fold increase in a few mere years?
I addressed that, mostly saying I don't know why the number is so large. I do know that it's not because 99% of autistic kids haven't had some genius like Savage read them the riot act to straighten them out.
Virtually anytime Savage mentions a childhood ailment that's covered by SSI and the like it's done in that context.
People can get their bowels in an uproar but it's a fact. Not all SSI claims are valid.
Few dare listen to Savage today defend his opinion but I guarantee that that will be high on the list of why not all cases are for real.
As someone who nearly got pigeon-hold into a diagonsis of autism, I am quite literate on the subject.
Mark Levin will be very well fed tonight if he chooses to have Savage for dinner....
>>My neighbor is a teacher that works specifically with children that have autism. She calls the over diagnosis akin to the new ADHD fad. Unfortunately, the tons of children that have no parenting at home being diagnosed with it are crowding out the truly affected. Savage is right on. Talk to the front lines, forget the folks in pharmaceuticals pushing it and forget those in government pushing more programs and those parents looking for an excuse for children that don’t listen. It is all about the dollar. It had nothing to do with the actual affected.<<
I was one that thought he was talking about ADD/ADHD as well. It looks like what is REALLY going on is that he is on the leading edge of the new fad: Autism is the new ADD/ADHD!
Thanks for answering the question, but I think you are misguided by personal experience - and that is just my opinion of course. As it relates, I know of the frustration from my neighbor as she has worked specifically with Autism for many years exclusively. She is frustrated and thinking of retiring because the truly needy are getting pushed aside. She calls it the fashion badge for excuse. She has children that may be odd, may be gifted, may be unruly, but they are not Autistic by any means. She relates how the parents are actually happy and pleased to wear that badge, whereas the parents of those that are truly afflicted have so much to deal with getting by day by day.
I tend to believe her, and in just poking around to research, she seems to be correct. Even the CDC can’t explain as I pointed out previously. It is the new catchall to excuse bad parenting and it is hurting those truly affected. imo.
“‘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.’ ”
I hate to say it, but I like Michael Savage. He says what no one else has the guts to say.
Is she in daycare? Did you breast feed? Does she watch TV?
Maybe she’s just active? Do you work? What does she eat?
You tell us what happened.
>> Sorry but when “conservatism” gets involved in saying kids’ medical conditions don’t exist, count me out. Autism is not even a close call. My wife’s school has a whole class of autistics they are severely disabled.<<
But he didn’t say 100%.
For the record, although I am defending him on this one, I can’t stand listening to the guy and disagree with his methods.
If it doesn’t apply to you don’t be insulted.
If it does apply. Think about it.
Donna, I am 36 and have ADHD. I’ve had it all my life. When I was younger there were no meds available to help me and I stuggled through school and didn’t finish college because of it. I also have dyslexia,dysgraphia, and have an auditory proecessing disorder.
I came from a two parent home with grandparents that never divorced either.
Now my son has ADHD and is taking medication for it. He is blessed to have what wasn’t available to me. And he has a mom and dad as well.
Be careful what you say. Your insult to people like me and my son are nothing more than nieve and stupid.
Apparently others disagree with my (and your) assessment. hehe
Hey, SCP. How ya been?
No daycare..I was a stay at home mom
Nursed for 6 + months
Very careful diet, free of refined sugars and dyes
We lived in the country in her formative years, no TV reception, VCR's were just coming along and were too expensive for our small family
So you are the one with the bombshells saying that ADHD = absent dad/husband disorder. I just wanted to illustrate to you the stupidity of that comment.
Bingo and several prominent people have written articles on this over the past few years. It is the new fad. And those parents with a marginably difficult child wear that diagnosis as some kind of badge of honor. Honestly, everyone tries and wants to be a part of something larger than themselves when trying to find the excuses to certain oddities and relative normalcy that might be difficult to deal with. Everyone wants to be “special”.
Sorry, I don’t believe you.
All you had was a hyper-active child that you drugged.
The autistic children I see at camp are the real deal. You can't talk them out of being autistic. It would like trying to talk a stone into being a frog.
I couldn't agree more with you in re "the real deal" autistic. There's no mistaking it.
And the borderline cases; that involves other issues, so many that "spectrum" has been morphed; and I understand why, on the charitable side; and why; on the bureacratic abuse side.
But his contention is that 99% of autistic children can be snapped out of it by yelling at them. What an idiot.
I understand your sentiment, in re genuinely austistic children. But since so many who are not autistic are now called "autistic"; again, the real are included with the not "real". That's the problem with the one word "invectives" created by liberals and their bureacracies. Everyone becomes as Pavlov's dog whether snarling for or against.
We see this in politics, day after day, no? Don Imus "n" word. Banned, shamed, punished. Jesse Jackson "n" word; no penalties because he's one included as a member of that particular "invective" - he's okay to use the word. Nutz!!!
One reason is that they are correctly identifying it more now, rather than just calling autistic children retarded or crazy. And of course there are false diagnosis and fraud, but I don't think the number is enormous.
Our experiences differ, Dead. I do think the number of "mis-labelled" is enormous. I'm from an area of the country which gets off on labelling people. San Francisco Bay Area.
I'm not there anymore and in place where there just isn't that much labelling, in the news. But in conversations with various pharmacy workers, I'm blown away by the amounts of medications for depression in children. It's way overdiagnosed, IMHO; and for similar myriad of reasons as were those in the SF Bay area mis-diagnosed.
The regional splits on the "bureacracy" and how meds and labels have been assigned has resonancy for me. I do understand it; and I'm disgusted. In the past two years alone, I've seen children moved from category "depressed" to "autism spectrum". I don't necessarily trust that this is due to "better accuracy" in diagnoses.
What I see is that this entire nation has been put at odds with each other based upon a larger schematic involving politics and money.
The anti-war left in the West was huge on ADD/ADH, and I wouldn't be suprised to learn this was due the fact that then, the military could not accept those "applicants" who'd been on retilin.
The military has revised those standards; but also tightened their standards in different ways. However, the west gets what it wants.
Whereas, in The South, where I am, has lots of "depressed people" because of all their "backwardness" and in being "racists" - I read the press; I read the MSM. I've read all their "4-score" anti-Southern articles about rednecks, and gun/religion clingings. It just isn't too hard to connect the dots in re regional differences in how each region is "presented" to we, the people.
The thing which hurt me from the get-go is in knowing these genuinely autistic children may be looked upon with very ugly attitudes, as tho their label is "false" and this is all due "over classification". On the flipside, there are so many non-autistic children being harmed by all forms of treatment that were and are entirely unecessary; but can create life-long problems for them which may have never come up in the first place.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, and since education wasn't being taught; please be advised that all these "special classes" were grown to amazingly huge proportions. It's how the unions figured employment, endless employment for adults who were or would like to become Union Members.
The more the real results of CA's indoctrination pub ed system became known, the more these special labels, and the monies for those programs grew.
Is there a connection. Causal? Correlation? Simultenaous big bang?
Parents have been terrified into accepting diagnoses from the SCHOOLS themselves, and demanding the parents comply, in the West. It shall come here to the South, but be phrased a bit more 'Southernly" in order to accomplish the same as was done in the West.
‘and many of the libs “little darlings” can’t be crossed.
A lot of them claim to be conservative and frequent FR.”
I agree, too many people these days have been conditioned by the relentless media and have a “enabling mentality.” There are excuses for every weakness of character. Not all, but enough of the kids who seem to be autistic are really out of control brats who need a sit down talking to if you know what I mean! Of course, I am not talking about those who are obviously afflicted, that’s a different story entirely.
“If it doesn’t apply to you don’t be insulted.
If it does apply. Think about it.”
You didn’t make a distinction. You made a blanket statement that ADHD is the result of absent dads and fathers. Your latest statement (don’t be insulted if it doesn’t apply to you and if it does think about it) shows your lack of logic. According to you, all ADHD kids must have absent fathers. That’s a silly statement.
Denied! (I hate when that happens.)
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