Posted on 07/26/2008 12:06:03 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Last week, radio talk-show host Michael Savage talked about autism:
Ill tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, its a brat who hasnt been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They dont 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. Dont sit there crying and screaming, idiot. Im not an impartial observer here. My six-year-old son has high-functioning autism. He is exactly the kind of kid that Savage attacked.
Savages 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. Its 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 leftys cartoon mental picture of a ranting right-wing caveman.
The liberal website Media Matters has spearheaded the backlash against Savages 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 doesnt 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. Californias 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 dont 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. Its 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 Savages 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 wouldnt have spewed words such as moron and idiot.
And he shouldnt claim to be a conservative. He has cheapened political discourse and hurt defenseless children. Theres nothing conservative about that.
- John J. Pitney Jr. is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Government at Claremont McKenna College.
I completely agree. I spent the first couple of decades of my adult life working in mental health, many years locked psych, then in an out-patient situation. I am also a mother of three now grown adult children. There is indeed a large population of truly ill children, but they are not the majority of the children being diagnosed. Most diagnoses are made via the public school system which has a vested interest in diagnosing as many children as possible for the extra money they receive.
If you have a truly "sick" then you need to seek help and pay for that help. Do not ask me to pay for your problem. If you are nice, and I like the way you live your life I will probably offer to help you.
That was my feeling when I first encountered Savage almost ten years ago. He is such an extreme caricature of the angry white male that nobody could actually believe what he says. Besides his background as an academic, it seems to me that his real complaint is rejection by his liberal colleagues because they didn't want another white Jewish male tenured professor.
Michael Savage Is Not The Problem
http://mensnewsdaily.com/2008/07/23/michael-savage-is-not-the-problem/
No one from Berkley named “Doctor Weiner” is a conservative.
>>>If he cared about autistic kids, he wouldnt have spewed words such as moron and idiot
I have actually listened to much of what Savage said about this... and the terms “moron” and “idiot” were not directed at kids who actually have autism - it was directed at the kids who are blithely being treated as if they have autism, because its easier than dealing with whatever the real problems are, but who are not autistic.
How many out there criticizing Savage actually know that “autism” is NOT a diagnosis for a specific medical condition, it is a collection/description of a widely varying set of symptoms for which there is not actual medical diagnosis.
There is no test for autism. There is no single clear clinical definition for autism, except to say that kids/people with “autism” often exhibit such and such....
There is frequently dispute as to whether a particular individual is autistic or not. There is much to dispute.
And, if you were paying attention closely to Savage, one of his primary bomes of contention is that so-called “professionals” are “diagnosing” and then “treating”
kids with “autism” are an age FAAAAAR too young. You cannot hope to diagnose a child with autism (or a lot of these other so-called conditions, ADD, ADHD, etc) at 6 mos., 1 year, or even 2 years of age accurately.
So, there is must more to what Savage is saying than allegedly just calling kids names.
>>>Most diagnoses are made via the public school system which has a vested interest in diagnosing as many children as possible for the extra money they receive.
This is absolutely correct!!!
That’s another great reason to do away with the public screwell system.
I listen to Savage occasionally, but his style is not my cup of tea. But a couple of nights ago I tuned into his radio program because he was talking about this autism flap.
His position is NOT that autism is a phony disorder, but that many therapists are misdiagnosing kids as autistic who are not. Simple as that.
Maybe you should listen to his side of the argument before swallowing whole the media matters BS. http://www.savageonautism.com/
It bothers me that any conservative would believe ANYTHING that “Media Matters” says. They’re a far left propaganda mill funded by George Soros, who routinely pounce on a few words out of context and extract a pound of lies from an ounce of truth. Savage probably did exaggerate and use hyperbole in talking about this — when you are talking constantly for 3 hours it’s going to happen.
Judge-mentally Impaired Should Get Off Michael Savages Back
(Corrected link)
http://selwynduke.typepad.com/selwyndukecom/2008/07/judge-mentally.html
>>> I never listened to the guy. In the Bay Area he can now be found on the Clear Channel affiliate.
>>>The point is, I doubt he really is a conservative
Let me just ask you the question that Savage would likely ask you: Are you a moron?
First you say that you never listened to him... And then you say that you doubt he is a conservative. How dopey can you get?
What is your definition of a conservative?
Congratulations on somehow turning a thread focused on Michael Weiner's comments into an indictment of males.
My spouse was a special ed teacher for 36 years.
Letter from Savage syndicator Talkradionetwork backing Savage and placing the blame where it belongs (Media Matters)
http://michaelsavage.wnd.com/?pageId=1156
Every comment on http://www.savageonautism.com/ was made on July 20, 21, and 22 - well after his comments from July 16 became an issue.
It is dishonest for his syndicate to post his “cover my @ss” remarks as somehow negating his remarks on his show from a week earlier.
That beind said, I think Weiner has a point here even if he was making up numbers as he is wont to.
Now, could they suck in National Review? Sure they could. Their internal cadre of influential but bigotted sots did a job on Miss Meiers and thereby deprived us of an opportunity to convince Ruthy Ginsburg to retire. We would have still had Alito, but we'd also been rid of the vampire lady from Hell.
Ergo, if "Media Matters" tells a lie and National Review swears to it, that's two good reasons to ignore it.
Autism is fairly new. It wasn’t really understood a few years ago. It still isn’t really understood. ADD and ADHD are completely different. I’m not saying Savage doesn’t have a point. I’m just saying ADD and ADHD are much better examples of this over-diagnosis.
Sounds to me like he’s saying that many children diagnosed with autism don’t really have it.
My spouse was shown my e- mail and corrects me (would’nt you know it, being a teacher once).
She says without the Ritalin, the child would go back to screaming. This when the mother forgot to give it to him in the morning.
Michael Savage versus Big Pharma
http://www.webcommentary.com/asp/ShowArticle.asp?id=andersonb&date=080724
“To permit greedy doctors to include children in medical categories which may not be appropriate is a crime against that child and their family. Let the truly autistic be treated. Let the falsely diagnosed be free.”
My spouse was shown my e- mail and corrects me (would’nt you know it, being a teacher once).
She says without the Ritalin, the child would go back to screaming. This when the mother forgot to give it to him in the morning.
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