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 ...
I agree 100% with Savage in that this disorder is WAY over diagnosed, and also incorrectly diagnosed. I’ve only known of three situations where a child was labelled “autistic” and I knew the family well. In each of these instances, the MOTHER was a hovering whiner herself who basically talked over and around the child about this supposed “condition” and stuffed the kid full of pills continually. Not only that, but I asked about the boy improving with one of these mothers who quickly pointed out IN FRONT OF the child “my boy will never be any better.”. NICE!!!
Call me what you will...and hold onto your excuses for poor parenting because that is the #1 cause of all childhood mental maladies. pathetic looser parents who don’t get it and ruin their kids.
He identifies himself - and is culturally identified - as a conservative opinion leader.
As such, he makes the conservative movement look uninformed and unhinged.
So I guess you have no problem with Mrs Obama?
One more reason I don’t listen to Michael Weiner
ASA statement on Michael Savage Radio Comments
Friday, July 18, 2008
By: Carin Yavorcik
ASA will continue to work to raise awareness
This week, talk show host Michael Savage made inaccurate and derogatory comments about autism on his radio show, calling the condition “a fraud” and the result of a lack of parental discipline.
Mr. Savage’s unsubstantiated comments reflect the misconceptions of over 50 years ago that autism was caused by “refrigerator mothers” or unemotional parenting, which have been completely disproven by the scientific community.
Autism is a neuro-developmental medical condition that requires early identification and lifelong treatment.
For over 40 years, the Autism Society of America has worked tirelessly to educate people on the nature of autism spectrum disorders, the services and support families need, and the tremendous potential of people on the autism spectrum.
We are dismayed that these grossly inaccurate remarks would be aired in any platform, much less on a nationally syndicated show.
We will continue to work with families, people with autism and the broader public to raise awareness of autism spectrum disorders.
He's a major putz.
.
Savage already has many “liberal” positions, its not really like a secret or something. He is not a conservative on all issues, especially corporations, wall street, the minimum wage, etc.
I value his analysis on most issues, though I disagree sometimes.
People can identify themselves as anything they want. McCain calls himself a conservative. Does that mean conservatives have to accept him as a definition of a conservative?
You know, if he had said Attention Deficit instead of autism, I may have agreed with him.
So, does he stand by them, or not.
And, what of the Freepers here yesterday claiming Media Matters faked the tape or took him out of context?
There are pleanty of brats out there, some with or without issues, however paiting autism as brattiness simply shows a lack of understanding of autism.
Can a child be a brat and autistic? Sure, but saying autism is nothing more than brattiness is just flat out ignorance.
My wife works with severely autistic children, Savage is full of shit.
However, to understand Michael, one needs to understand the "shock jock" nature of the San Francisco Area and its markets.
Global Warming, overpopulation, everything will kill you, ad nauseum, has all its roots in San Francisco.
Anyone besides me remember Alex Bennett? He was the pioneer in San Francisco Bay Area for "shock jockism". A friend of mine was doing a college "media related" project, asked me to interview Alex or Joe for the project, and to go onsite at the radio station with him to the Alex & Joe show, when they were broadcasting in SF. Alex was wild on air; and a very civil and courtly gentleman once the mike was off. He was a doll. I did a live project take with Joe. Joe was a delightful, polite man. Early 1980s.
For the larger part, Michael is right about all the autism spectrum stuff. It is lax parenting. Or rather, frightful parenting. Parents are too frightened to parent properly; or just simply don't care enough to figure things out on their own.
And then, there's the state, and what the State can do to parents who disagree with Big Sisterism.
This is, of course, your psychoanalytical diagnosis rendered from years of schooling and clinical observations, yes?
"His comment on autism is off base and hurtful."
And, you are familiar with the term "irony" and its definition, yes?
Obviously, our experiences, yours and mine, differ.
And Thomas Sowell’s training as a photographer and economist make him a medical expert? You’ll note he quotes one expert on the subject, a subject about which honest and knowledgeable people disagree. Savage is neither knowledgeable nor honest (he admits he was exaggerating) about it.
I have no doubt whatsoever that some who are labeled autistic are not. But neither do I believe that 99 percent are kids who would straighten up if their parents just ridiculed them a little more.
I get his point though.
My son was also a late talker. The standard was that boys had to speak as well and as much as little girls do, back then. My son speaks multiple languages, and majors in linguistics. He doesn’t forget what he was put through, nor do I.
I think it was Walter Williams on Jewishworldreview.com who noted that many children with Einstein syndrome (late talkers, don’t care if they’re alone, obsessive interests) are high IQ kids who aren’t highly social, and thus get slapped with an autism spectrum disorder. He likens it to say your kid has a blindness spectrum disorder and needs glasses.
Then there is the fact that the mental retardation diagnosis rate is down. Why? Because they are being labeled autistic instead.
Part of the huge spike in autism is mis-diagnosis. Part of it is moving one category into the new one (from retarded to autistic). Neither of these groups is helped by a big slap on the butt to fix the problem.
What I do not know is if Apsberger Syndrome and rage disorders would be better handled with stronger discipline.
“Savage, in my opinion, is definitely a man with a bipolar disorder untreated, or else he’s a recovered alcoholic still on a dry drunk.”
This is, of course, your psychoanalytical diagnosis rendered from years of schooling and clinical observations, yes?
“His comment on autism is off base and hurtful.”
And, you are familiar with the term “irony” and its definition, yes?”
These were not my comments.
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