Posted on 07/26/2008 12:06:03 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Last week, radio talk-show host Michael Savage talked about autism:
I’ll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don’t have a father around to tell them, `Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don’t sit there crying and screaming, idiot.” I’m not an impartial observer here. My six-year-old son has high-functioning autism. He is exactly the kind of kid that Savage attacked.
Savage’s comments were wrong and harmful. Some autistic kids do learn to read and speak, which is why misinformed people may think that they are not “genuinely handicapped.” Yes, they are. Autism is a brain disorder that affects everything from social communication to physical coordination. Autistic people have multiple problems that make it hard for them to do things that the rest of us take for granted. It may take them years to learn how to toss a ball or nod their head.
And even when they can talk, they often have odd speech patterns that instantly mark them as autistic. Other kids taunt them with the very words that Savage used. If they respond verbally, their speech problems will draw even more taunting. If they respond with their fists, they run the risk that authorities will label them as “violent.”
Once in a while, parents take the approach that Savage recommends. It never works. Screaming insults at a handicapped kid is not child-rearing. It’s child abuse.
Conservatives need to speak out against Savage. Many news stories label him as “conservative” or “right-wing,” which may prompt some people to think that we agree with him. Savage has a long history of disgusting comments, which has led David Klinghoffer to speculate that his act is a giant liberal put-on, a “lefty’s cartoon mental picture of a ranting right-wing caveman.”
The liberal website Media Matters has spearheaded the backlash against Savage’s autism comments. Understandably, conservatives might be uneasy about siding with such an outfit. Savage has tried to exploit such feelings by casting his critics as PC leftists. But just because the folks at Media Matters oppose child abuse, it doesn’t follow that we conservatives should accept it just for the sake of disagreeing with them.
Besides, liberals do not have a corner on concern for autism. California’s 1969 Lanterman Act was a landmark in serving people with autism and other disabilities. Its sponsor was a Republican, as was the governor who signed it: Ronald Reagan. In 2006, President Bush signed the Combating Autism Act. Its author was Senator Rick Santorum (R., PA).
Savage has cited respectable commentators who suggest that many kids with the autistic label are merely late talkers. His defense fails on two counts. First, these commentators don’t speak in the hateful language that he has used. Second, although they make their argument in good faith, they get things backward.
When you first notice that your child has a speech delay — around his second birthday — autism is the last thing that you want to think about. Autism is devastating and frightening. It’s more comforting to think that your kid is just starting late and will catch up soon. Clutching the “late talker” security blanket, some parents wait months or years before admitting the possibility of autism.
At that point, they may indeed conclude that a formal diagnosis could be important in getting help. States and school districts often pay for the assessment. Every autism diagnosis means thousands of dollars for services that the federal government mandates but does not fully subsidize. With tight budgets, the authorities have no incentive to encourage overdiagnosis. Once in a while, a child may incorrectly get the autism label, but underdiagnosis is probably a much bigger problem.
We need more study of the causes and prevalence of autism. At the moment, though, the issue is Michael Savage’s attack. He has since claimed that he is a nice guy who wants help to go to those who truly need it. Nonsense. If he cared about autistic kids, he wouldn’t have spewed words such as “moron” and “idiot.”
And he shouldn’t claim to be a conservative. He has cheapened political discourse and hurt defenseless children. There’s nothing conservative about that.
—- John J. Pitney Jr. is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College.
I was taking shots back then for it and thanks to a mold exposure had to start taking them again two years ago. I take Claratin and Singular also. And I keep a Combivent inhaler around too. When it came back on me at first they thought it was Asthma. There may be more to it than the allergies but sinus allergies and ear infections can do damage. Some of the damage I may have been born with. In the late 50's and 60's not much was known.
Long term prognoses is the damage that's done is permanent. It won't kill me but it is life altering. I avoid places like Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart and limit shopping to late night if possible. This is due to their way too loud PA systems. I have to limit what TV shows I can watch usually I watch older shows on Nick at night and older cartoons or movies where special effects do not cause a flashing effect on the screen. Being in rooms with a lot of people talking is difficult as I can not understand anyone except with one on one conversations.
Concentration is a commodity for me. Any interruption in a task I'm doing or a thought process and i may or may not get the task train of thought back. Doing something like reading a book I gave up on about 10 years ago.
On the other hand I'm slowly going deaf which has lessened the attacks somewhat. I need hearing aids but wearing then would likely increase attack activity. Once an attack begins I have several choice. Remove myself from that environment sometimes helps. Xanax always helps or I grab my old 6 string guitar and by playing it that will stop the attack as it doesn't require me to concentrate.
I can spot a kid with C.A.P.D. pretty easy. First thing is in an enviroment like playing baseball. Look for delayed swings or avoiding the ball as in ducking away. The kid is responding in the way the brain demands as the brain knows there is a problem and sees a baseball as a danger and demands a response. Look at their shoes and see if they break over the sides. That is a good indication they are walking off balance. Look for poor coordination also. Therapy and corrective shoes can help somewhat. When they read out loud skipping lines and words is very common. When they write reversing letter sequence is common. We can not proof read as such as the brain doesn't recognize the error. Even if recognized can take several attempts to correctand things like missing words are common also.
Now for some ADD ADHD symptoms I was talking about. A lack of concentration. Agiation and frustration which may worsen after some activities like TV or a video game ec. Inappropiate responses to audio or visual events especially ones that scare. For example seeing a snake a kid might stop up their ears and hearing loud thunder close their eyes. Watch for this especially at a young age. It's not ADD ADHD but rather sensory processing damage. The kid can seem hyperactive as well or sometimes seem lazy.
The way I ended up is an extreme case but anxiety disorders in adults with this {Vestibular and sensory Disorders} however is not rare but as such is not recognized by mental health professionals as a cause. I found it looking in Vestibular related sites. Most do not have the seizure issues I have either.
There certainly are whacky moms and whacky teachers (whacky dads too), but it’s difficult to “fake” test results and to get a bunch of doctors and therapists to go along with it.
I’m not saying it doesn’t ever happen, but I doubt it is a very large number.
If many of these parents didn’t seek help for their troubled children - they would also be accused of negligence and neglect.
Either way - parents can’t seem to win in the eyes of certain people.
Agreed. Did you hear about this autism scale that some professionals want to implement? How can we create a scale for this when we don’t even understand autism yet? I like his analogy he used, “If we had a similar scale for blindness would people with glasses considered blind?”.
very interesting - thanks for sharing.
Sounds very similar to what we are going through with our son.
“So....by the standard of some of these “autism spectrum” experts, I’m still “autistic” because social situations exhaust me mentally because it’s takes a lot out of me mentally to make sure I hear the conversation.”
Is this what they told you? That you are on the spectrum?
From what I learned (when my son was tested) that when the problem is traced to a hearing issue, they rule out autism.
I was never given the impression that social issues related to hearing difficulty is considered an autistic trait.
I’ve a 22 year old son who I’m very proud of. I have not had the troubles so many others tell of with their kids. I thank GOD every night for that.
Rough being a parent and rough being a kid nowadays.
Too much competition from the get go.
Wife and I have always felt it necessary to keep him busy with neat positive interests. Seems to have worked.
Growing as a child with one parent harried by work and a kid.
Just too much.
I have no direct connection to autism only to free speech.
I have only the Internet to look for info, here's comments by Dr. Thomas Sowell
To wit, even when a nationally recognized expert testifies for the parents of a child whom the parents want removed from "treatment" state bureaucrats say, No!
Here a bureaucrat rules:
"'The difficulty of the testimony of Dr. Camarata, is that it is obvious that he is frequently relying on a medical definition of autism, as opposed to the one contained in Nebraska Department of Education Rule 51.'"
Calling Joe Friday: "Meanwhile, back in Washington, people are pushing for a federal dragnet to find 'autistic' children and subject them to 'treatment' that none of us would want to undergo. They assure us that 'experienced professionals' can identify autism in children as young as two years of age."
Let the Savage haters find other ways to get him off the air (let them try..) -- his doubts vis-a-vis the epidemic of autism are shared by other knowledgeable people.
Yes I know that no one wants to kick Savage off the air -- they just would like to see him leave because he (and the others?) are so mean.
I’m talking about kids diagnosed with Autism. Asbergers probably is over-diagnosed. If a kid doesn’t have symptoms severe enough to be diagnosed with autism so instead is diagnosed with Asbergers, its most likey something external (parents, teachers) perpetuating the problem.
Oh, dear. What have I missed, WITT?
As I have said on other posts, 10 boys in my son's kindergarten class were diagnosed with A.S.D.--two Asperger's the rest "autism". NONE of the girls were diagnosed. It is a scandal and a fraud.
If only these people would address what Dr. Savage REALLY siad, not what they want to have us belive that he said.
Savage had an autism activist (from one of the autism organizations) on the show, and she was critical of his remarks. But she agreed that autism is vastly overdiagnosed, which is all that Savage was saying. (nd Media Matters and this clown from Clarmont know it.)
You simply on’t know what you’re talking about. Too many trolls around here lately.
You simply don’t know what you’re talking about. Too many trolls around here lately.
Like Savage's brother?
Or don't you liberals care about anyone who isn't convenient to your narrow little ideology?
"Moderate is a base-stealing word for liberal Republicans." --Bill Buckley.
“A person who can not or will not control their children
want others people’s money.”
One question. Do YOU have an affected child?
Answer: No.
but you know all about ADHD/Aspergers/Down Syndrom/Autism dont you Doctor?
your such a stupid ass.
so you keep sitting behind that keyboard and typing out your stupidity you fatass redneck.
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