Posted on 07/26/2008 12:06:03 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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 wouldn’t 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 Savage’s 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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