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.
Guy named Hawkings comes to mind..//////. affects everything from social communication to physical coordination.
All the more reason to make sure the diagnosis is used legitimately. Autism spectrum disorders especially. Yes, autism is real, as are other conditions. And while the 99% number is clear hyperbole, judging by the clinical definition of the term for diagnostic purposes (entirely qualitative), I would not be shocked if half of those children diagnosed do not have anything approaching a legitimate medical condition; rather, they are better described as falling into the broad range of “normal” behaviors.
Savage should stick to politics, which he knows a lot about, and stay away from autism, which he obviously knows nothing about, despite being right on some superficial political issues regarding it.
these are disgusting comments on Freepr. and then to use slang like ‘moron’ and ‘spastic”.
I am sure there are many kids misdiagnosed. but autism is a serious medical condition, along the lines of mental retardation. Obviously, the hysterical Savage and his freeper posters just use hyperbole and nasty words as they do not know that serious autisitc children are a very difficult , sad situation for the parents.
why don’t we just treat these kids like we used to treat mentally retarded children: lock them up in institutions; call them “retards’ and be sure to make fun of them !
Just because ADD is over diagnosed, or some children are not treated approraitely, these posters scream about ALL children with mental problems “just kick them in the ass”.
Savage does not necessarily tell the truth and his “courage” is limited to name calling and tirades while he makes millions and is hailed as a “conservative crusader”. Conservative is not defined as “screaming anything, true or not.” Savage is laughing at conservatives all the way to the bank.
I’m being slightly facetious here. I’ve read a lot about autism and the so-called autism-spectrum disorders and for people who are rendered completely non-functional my sympathies go out. However, I’m troubled by the definitions of autism-spectrum disorders which seem to effectively categorize geekdom or other socialization variants as a disease. Some kids aren’t going to be able to catch a ball very well or fit in with the crowd. Others are going to be introverts. Some are going to talk funny or have odd interests. These are natural variants of the human species and not disorders to be treated. But some of parents can’t stand the fact that their kid is “different” and need to have the medical community label them as “diseased” in order to deal with the fact or just because they want a lazy explanation.
You put it so well...he is a con man and appeals to the lowest common denominator...and just like other showmen, he makes a bundle.
. But here we have a guy from a MODERATE rag like National Review trying to tell me what conservatives to support and what conservatives not to, well they can kiss my A$$, thank you very much.
A ten fold increase in a mere few years and you think that is normal?
Exactly. If you believe it is a problem for you or your family, fine, you invest your money in solving the problem. Don't make me pay, under threat of imprisonment, to cure every social ill that is discovered or diagnosed.
For about 8 years I coached soccer at a local parks league.
I’ll never forget one spring when I have about 220 kids and had them all organized into 5 on 5 games with the help of the kids on my team.
I’d walk around and supervise as my kids would instruct and referee. During one game I heard one kid yelling very foul language and blew my whistle and stopped play. I called the foul mouthed kid over and told him NO ONE speaks like that on MY pitch.
His mom came running over and protested that he had Tourhetts.
I told her I didn’t give a damn if he was on fire if he yelled the f bomb again either he or the other 219 kids were off.
I never heard the kid swear again.
Dr. Michael Weiner was an associate professor at UC Berkeley. In the early 1980s he was aced out of a full professorship, and tenure, by the department heads who objected to some of his theories.
In order to get back at them he cut an audition tape and sent it to the management of KGO, the most popular talk radio station in the Bay Area. KGO’s policy was, in compliance with the “fairness doctrine”, to balance their liberal hosts with conservative hosts and they probably thought that he may one day be a replacement for the great Dr. Bill Wattenberg. Weiner landed a fill in gig as a “conservative” host. I don’t recall him having a full time show on KGO. I do remember that he openly insulted Dr. Wattenberg on the air. He moved to KSFO when that station was made into a full time conservative talk station. He later syndicated but a year or two later was bounced off KSFO for reasons I am not aware of - 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. I listened to him when he first started and I think it’s all an act. At best he’s a liberal who’s been mugged.
I look at pharmacy like i look at the military industrial complex. A lot is necessary, you don’t know if you need it or not until you try it, and there is an underlying profit motive pushing back.
You are wrong on they don’t drug kids for autism. I am just wondering if you meant that, yes, there is no “cure” for autism pharmaceutically, but what Doctors do prescribe are behavioral suppressing drugs usually classified as Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRI. And this is used to treat the SYMPTOMS. So when you say that athey don’t prescribe drugs could you please tell me what Zoloft, Prozac, Luvox and Wellbutrin are? According to my PDR, these are drugs, typically used in treating ADD and ADHD.
Your position is that because Savage speaks out against a racket that diagnoses kids as mentally ill just to sell medicines he is a child abuser? Do you really expect anyone to take you seriously after you throw out charges like that?
Well, he lost me long ago. Still, it's interesting. I suppose even illiterates need some form of escape.
Savage has had many calls and letters from lay people in support of him, here’s one from a teacher in S.F. of all places.
http://michaelsavage.wnd.com/?pageId=1166
Actually Hawkings communicates very well. He's written numerous journal articles and books. He regularly does lectures and TV appearances. He needs assistance in vocalizing his speech, but his communication skills are probably above average.
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