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 ...
Thank you!
Oh, right.
It’s about you.
Sorry, I forgot. Carry on.
There's no "proof" that autism is anything! Because no one yet knows what CAUSES autism! It is as likely to be genetic as anything else.
Since when did the sole subject of the thread become drugging kids? I thought we were talking about Michael Weiner and his idiotic comments about autism.
I was wondering if you could explain your comment to me:
“I don’t believe in AHDA or autism.”
When you say you don’t believe in autism, what do you mean? You don’t believe it exists? You don’t think there are autistic kids? What, exactly, does that mean?
As a father of a TRULY autistic child, let me say that neither you nor Mr. Weiner know what you're talking about if you think that 99% of autism diagnoses are bogus. I know more autistic kids and families with autistic kids than you ever will, and a helluva lot more than 1% are true cases of autism.
Don't you think in general, kids these days are over-diagnosed and over drugged? Can anything good be gleaned from the quotation you posted? Well, I think a couple of things:
1-Now, the illness du jour is autism.
It certainly seems like we're living in a age of the scare/worry fad. In the 80's was ozone and ADD and now it seems that its global warming and autism. Suddenly everyone has autism? Where did that come from?
2-They don’t have a father around
I, too, believe that a lot of these misdiagnosed kids are acting out their suffering from parental neglect (women's-lib and male-irresponsibility fallout).
I apologize if what I'm saying is causing more pain if you have a autistic child. That certainly is not my intention.
Probably when you posted: “You are against ALL medications?”
Thank goodness for the Weiner! Where would we be without him?
No. You must have short-term memory loss. I believe there’s medication for that.
I believe it was when you asked, “May the rest of us talk about the subject of drugging kids?”
He’s good for comic relief. I sure wouldn’t rely on him for medical advice.
B. I did not assert that parents would "fake their child's autism".
C. I don't need your wish for revenge upon me; life has given me battles surrounding the autism issues; and issues which involved the garnering of no sympathy, no monies, no government support, no "human" support. And, nor was I looking for any.
This having been said, I wish you and yours well.
I repeat:
I was wondering if you could explain your comment to me:
“I don’t believe in AHDA or autism.”
When you say you don’t believe in autism, what do you mean? You don’t believe it exists? You don’t think there are autistic kids? What, exactly, does that mean?
Oh, you forgot the absolute WORST: when he “raps.” I would rather skewer my eardrum with a pencil than ever hear that again.
Tell me what your definition is and I’ll discuss it with you.
The government estimates about 1 in 150 children have some form of autism. But many experts believe these unsociable behaviors were just about as common 30 or 40 years ago and that the increase is mostly caused by a surge in special education services and a corresponding shift in diagnoses.
Obviously, you uphold the first part of the sentence of that paragraph, whereas I uphold the latter part.
I said CAN be functional...come on...
Nice dodge!
You say “I don’t believe in X.”
I ask, What does that mean?
You say, “You define X and I’ll discuss it.”
You’re the one who categorically stated you don’t believe in autism. YOU define what that means. Do you mean there is no such thing as autism? All autistic kids are fakes? No autistic kids exist?
My son doesn’t exist? Or he’s not really autistic? Perhaps, in the wise words of Weiner, he’s an idiot and a putz and he needs to act like a man?
Do you have some links to these “experts” saying that the prevalence of autism was “just as common” 30 or 40 years ago? Or is this just more of a belief you hold?
A little high? LOL!
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