Mon Jul 21, 6:59 PM ET
NEW YORK - Radio talk show host Michael Savage, who described 99 percent of children with autism as brats, said Monday he was trying to "boldly awaken" parents to his view that many people are being wrongly diagnosed.
Some parents of autistic children have called for Savage's firing after he described autism as a racket last week. "In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out," Savage said on his radio program last Wednesday.
Savage offered no apology in a message posted Monday on his Web site. He said greedy doctors and drug companies were creating a "national panic" by overdiagnosing autism, a mental disorder that inhibits a person's ability to communicate.
On his radio show last week, he said: "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, you idiot.'"
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.
Wendy Fournier of the National Autism Association, a parents' advocacy group, said she was invited to speak Monday on Savage's three-hour program by Savage's boss, Mark Masters of Talk Radio Network, which syndicates the show across the country. A spokeswoman from Talk Radio Network did not immediately return a call for comment.
Fournier called Savage's comments "way, way, way over the line and cruel."
"I'm hoping to make him see the reality of what these kids are facing," she said. "You can't fix it by telling a kid to shut up. It's like telling a kid with cancer to stop being sick."
Evelyn Ain, whose 8-year-old son has been diagnosed with autism, said she had never heard of Savage and couldn't believe what she had heard when she first listened to the remarks. She organized a demonstration Monday outside New York's WOR-AM, which broadcasts Savage.
"That isn't just freedom of speech, it is hateful speech when you say 99 percent of children with autism are brats," she said. "I'll tell you, I wish I had a brat."
Savage, with more than 8 million listeners a week, is talk radio's third most popular personality behind Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, according to Talkers magazine. He's made a living off bold, outrageous statements: His brief MSNBC show was canceled after he told a caller he should "get AIDS and die, you pig."
Peter Bell, executive vice president of national advocacy group Autism Speaks, said he isn't aware of any big controversy about overdiagnosis of autism. He said Savage's remarks, effectively blaming parents, reflect an outdated point of view.
"He's an entertainer, he does these things for attention," Bell said. "I think we should, to the best we can, ignore it."
At the risk of perseverating
At the risk of perseverating on this, I'm posting a link to a followup story I saw today written by David Bauder of the Associated Press:
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/080722/entertainment/savage_autism
The story is reporting on reactions to Mr. Savage's comments and I think bear out my comments that, even if Mr. Savage was merely trying to awaken an debate on how autism is diagnosed (as he claims to have been doing), his "shock" journalism tactics only spread fear and misconceptions and do not really encourage logical debate on the subject.
For example, this article quotes on parent as saying ""I'll tell you, I wish I had a brat."
A) I'm sure this isn't really true; and B) I'm sure it was just blurted out in angry reaction to Mr. Savage's comments without consideration to how it might have affected his/her autistic child's self esteem if that child were to have heard and understood the comment. We need, as a society, to all calm down and focus on trying to use our energies and financial resources as effectively as possible to ensure that those who need help in our society can get all the help they truly do need, without (as I said before) fear of being ostracized by their neighbours and the society in which they live.
I'm hopin' somebody will
I'm hopin' somebody will just shoot the son of a b*tch and get it over with!!
Oh, Oh - angry Texan with a
Oh, Oh - angry Texan with a gun... woefully unarmed Canadian is now beating a hasty retreat from the negotiating table.
Oh Perz you have my
Oh Perz you have my permission to beat the sh*t outa him with a hockey stick!
Wow... This torks me off.
Wow... This torks me off. After a year my son does not have a firm diagnosis, but by Savage's standards, I should blame this all on his dad for not being around, or blame myself and give up on all the*bleep*. I think that if there was a nation-wide petition for ASD parents to remove him from the air maybe something would be done. What a ignorant **
By comparing this news
By comparing this news article with the longer version of the Vancouver Sun article by Sharon Kirkey, I believe a continuum of the negative attitudes building in society against persons with ASD's can be, tragically, identified. While Mr. Savage's comments are more blatant and, therefore, more likely to cause people to vocalize their objections, the Kirkey article is actually more insidious. It pretends to come down on the side of people with ASDs but is filled with subtle stereotypes that also express the refusal of certain elements of society to adapt their behavior to accommodate people with ASDs. The objectionable line of thought is essentially the same in both articles - that "normal" society should not be "inconvenienced" by people with ASDs. It is a line of thought that benefits neither society nor people with disabilities in general.
Comments made in both articles attempt to place the responsibility for solving the social issues squarely on the shoulders of people with ASDs, while belying a myopic refusal to acknowledge that such expectations probably do not stand a "snowball's chance in H*ll" of being effective. While people with ASDs are capable of doing much more than we generally give them credit for, there is probably only one thing that they and their families are truly incapable of accomplishing - and that is solving the social difficulties related to autism on their own without the compassion, acceptance and assistance of the society in which they live.
Difficulties in social relationships, by definition, affect both sides of those relationships and we all must work together to solve the puzzles. The greater challenge, I fear, is not in finding ways to encourage people with ASDs to adapt their behaviors (for much has aleady been achieved in this area with current therapies); but to get society to adapt its behavior to better accommodate people with disabilities in general.
I believe Mr. Savage's extremely ridiculous comments and statistics are his warped way of spurring an open debate (by playing a devil's advocate, since he deliberately presents a ridiculously extreme position). Although there are more people with fewer symptoms of autism being diagnosed as being on the spectrum, they all do exhibit some symptoms; so it is unlikely that 99% could logically be taken off the spectrum. It should be kept in mind that the ASD spectrum is itself a continuum of scientific opinion and the issue being expressed by Mr. Savage concerns where the "ends" of the spectrum should be logically drawn. ideally, the spectrum would be "sized" to ensure that those who need help get the help they need from society with fear of resentment from that same society.
It should be kept in mind that the diagnostic label comes with both a positive side (access to therapies and funding) and a negative side (prejudice inherent with a "labelled" difference), so the debate of "how normal is normal" and "how autistic is autistic" does need to be thoroughly explored. However, I do strongly disagree with Mr. Savage''s tactic of generating sensationalism and in setting opinions about the causes of autism back 40 or 50 years. This sort of press does not encourage reasonable, level-headed discussion but feeds the fears of society and escalates the problems and misconceptions.
I just realized I made a
I just realized I made a serious typo in this post. In the second last paragraph, that last line should read:
Ideally, the spectrum would be "sized" to ensure that those who need help get the help they need without fear of resentment from that same society.
I apologize profusely to anyone who may have misunderstood my intentions as a result of this error. (My kingdom for a typist!).
Uh I just want his n*ts cut
Uh I just want his n*ts cut off =)~~~
In case you missed my bottom
In case you missed my bottom line - I wouldn't object to the procedure either.
I KNOW....... I'll let Elsie
I KNOW....... I'll let Elsie bite the damn things off, chew 'em up and spit
'em out!! (Sorry guys, all y'alls n*ts are safe lol)
and didn't you just say
and didn't you just say Elsie was a "pit" bully boxer? - LOL
I happen to be a fan of Pit
I happen to be a fan of Pit Bulls... I had one when I was little. The thing came home a drooling mess that would sleep up against me using my pillow. He was the sweetest thing until we moved and we had to keep him outside. He got attention hungry and was too much for me to handle :( I think thisguy needs a bigger dog sent after him... Something that weighs as much as him...
OK, lame joke. Sorry.
OK, lame joke. Sorry.
Gees for a minute there I
Gees for a minute there I thought you were talkin about me lol =)~~~
Hey come to think of it no
Hey come to think of it no sense in leavin the weiner, take that too Elsie........
sick um!!!!