Top Radio Host: Autism Is "A Fraud, a Racket"
Host Michael Savage Mocks Those Living with Autism and Smears Minorities with Asthma
** For Audio/Transcript of the remarks, CLICK HERE **
Washington, DC - Media Matters for America today condemned nationally syndicated conservative radio host Michael Savage for incendiary comments directed at those who live with autism and their families. During the same broadcast, Savage, the No. 3 talk radio host in America, also attacked those in "the minority community" who suffer from asthma.
"What Michael Savage said was foolish, mean-spirited, and hurtful," said J. Jioni Palmer, spokesman for Media Matters. "It's unfortunate he would use his radio program to make fun of and belittle these kids. Instead of ridicule and cheap shots, the children suffering from autism and asthma and their families need support and compassion."
During the July 16 edition of his show, Savage claimed that autism is "[a] fraud, a racket. ... 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.' "
Savage also stated: "[W]hy was there an asthma epidemic amongst minority children? Because I'll tell you why: The children got extra welfare if they were disabled, and they got extra help in school. It was a money racket. Everyone went in and was told [fake cough], "When the nurse looks at you, you go [fake cough], "I don't know, the dust got me." "See, everyone had asthma from the minority community."
Talk Radio Network, which syndicates The Savage Nation, claims that Savage is heard on more than 350 radio stations. The Savage Nation reaches at least 8.25 million listeners each week, according to Talkers Magazine, making it one of the most listened-to talk radio shows in the nation, behind only The Rush Limbaugh Show and The Sean Hannity Show.
** For Audio/Transcript of the remarks, CLICK HERE **
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I had never heard of that debilitating disease before, so I had to look it up. Does this disease keep you from working? Are you on disability for this? How much did it cost to discover there was a reason for your difficult social interaction?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger_syndrome
Phil
I have worked work with a couple of guys who have had this. It is hard to explain, but if you worked with either of these guys, you would know pretty soon that there was something a little different about them. It was nothing that would jump out and grab you, and it is no specific thing that would make you really wonder, they just seem a little different. Both guys were very bright, and both held very good jobs. In both cases, it was a co-worker who told me what they each had. I dont know if this particular dis-order works like autism with people having different degrees of it. In short, if you were never told what they had, you would just kind of think so and so was a little different or had a quirk or two and pretty much leave it at that.
I have also never (that I know of) worked with a woman that had it, so I dont know what the rate is for men vs women, or if it affects women in the same manner or differently.
Autism is different, in that if you know what you are looking for, you can tell pretty eaisly, but the mild cases can be very hard to detect and properly diagnose. It is often confused with ADD, conduct disorders, or an attachment disorder. I have worked with several kids who have autism, and they can display a variety of different signs and symptoms. In the more mild cases, it is not until they hit grade school that they start to get services and the attention they need.
The wikipedia description of autism says in the 80's 1/1000 people were affected, with more diag'd now, but with no confirmation that the additional cases are real or not. Autismspeaks web site says 1/150 are affected.
It doesn't take much to be able to 'technically' diag someone with autism or one of it's off-shoot diseases. I did it with a poster farther down this thread. So, I'm sure if someone 'wants' to be diag'd with autism, he can be.
Wow! I usually agree with most things Michael says. However, he is way off the mark with this one.
I am the father of a severely autistic son. I am also a life-long conservative/retired military officer who believes in discipline and good parenting.
I have counseled at several autism camps for local children. I can assure you that all these kids are developmentally delayed. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that 99% are legit.
Don't misunderstand me. I have known of one or two cases where I felt the problem was either parenting or so mild as to not justify the classification of "autistic". But, to say that 99.9% are "brats" is outrageous, narrow-minded and simply not supported by any study, facts or even imperical evidence.
Mr. Savage owes an apology to the autism community. His words here are as offensive as the "N" word would be to African Americans.
So, what you are saying is that when Weiner goes off on his daily hate-filled, insane rants, you are in complete agreement. But, when he finally gets around to touching on a topic that you have personal experience in, you finally wake up to his disgusting piggishness, just for this one instance.
Well, I guess better late than never. I suggest taking a look back on the other horrible things he has said and think about how he made you feel in this instance. You know, empathy and all.
Reading his post I was thinking the same thing, but honestly this time around it's not about conservative or liberal issues. This is a humane issue. This demon spawn (I call him such because the term man, with all our imperfections, would be too great a compliment) does not deserve publicity or attention, but enough is enough! I don't care who you are, if you are able to procreate, it could be your child. I'm really saddened that people have to boycott to get advertisers to do the right thing. This is an extremely sad commentary on our society.
On another note, Eddy, thanks for sharing your situation. Seriously. I've worked as a special ed. teacher and on a psychiatry unit and I've seen first hand the difficulties for the family and the autistic children. Savage will regret these comments.
On the now-closed "Savage on autism" thread, a guy said he has 3 autistic kids and you call him a liar and compare his idiotic anger to our troops in Iraq because he had the audacity to agree with Savage. Is that how you handle differing opinion?!? Only the ones that match yours are viable?
augustheat (Friday July 18, 2008 12:57:56 PM) "You sound like an angry idiot. I seriously doubt you have three autistic children and weren't offended by this."
Well, I've thought Michael Savage was an idiot from the very first thing I've ever read from or about the man. BUT not being black, muslin, gay, female, etc... myself, I've never done anything more than smirk and shake my head in amazment that anyone listens to this garbage. But this hit me close to home, and for the first time I found myself really hating this man. (As much as I've ever hated ANY man.) Although I still can't imagine how anyone can "usually agree" with this scumbag, I have to admit that I'm no better in one way: My biggest moral outrage was saved for when I had a dog in the fight.
I hear you. We all are guilty of getting riled up when it's an issue we care about. What rubbed me the wrong way was his/her claim that he/she usually agrees with Savage.
It's one thing to know that he is a disgusting hater, but not get personally moved until he hits close to home. It's another to agree with him when he bashes women, gays, muslims, metally and physically challenged, etc. But when he finally gets around to smearing a goup you care about, suddenly his remarks were over the top. Not so much to understand that the whole rest of his collection of diatribes are subhuman, but just on this issue. That is what I see as the difference between what you are saying and what the other commenter said.
"It's one thing to know that he is a disgusting hater, but not get personally moved until he hits close to home. It's another to agree with him when he bashes women, gays, muslims, metally and physically challenged, etc. But when he finally gets around to smearing a goup you care about, suddenly his remarks were over the top."
What a vial hypocrit YOU are! Never did he say he knew Savage "is a disgusting hater". You inflect your own miserable opinion into someone else's statement then whine about how "over the top" his comments are. You obviously have some difficulty with social interaction, and your interests have a very stereotypical pattern of hatred. Sounds like you have asperger syndrome, also. Have you had that checked out?
What the hell are you ranting about? Why don't you keep your nose out of someone else's conversation.
I was comparing the first commenter's statement that he normally agrees with Savage, but now that Savage finally got around to saying hateful things about a group of people he cares about, suddenly he is offended with the second, who said that he knew that Savage was a vile worm, but didn't get too excited about it until know because he hit close to home.
I'm not sure where the hypocrisy comes in with that observation, nor do I agree with you that if you get angry at someone who spouts off such disgusting vitriol as Savage, then you are a hater. It's ok to be angry at someone who deserves it. I'm not going to apologize for that, and certainly not to you.
"but now that Savage finally got around to saying hateful things about a group of people he cares about, "
He said "off the mark" and "offensive". YOU inflict your opinion that he's using hate-ful remarks. I'm not wrong, you are.
BTW, I appreciate you letting me use this site to voice my opinion.
You're right. I am using my own terminology to say that what Savage spews is hatred, not "off the mark" comments. Any rational, humane, objective analysis of anything that comes out of his mouth leads to that conclusion. If you are objecting to my use of the term "hatred" to describe hatred, then have at it, but your argument does little else than to highlight your own skewed belief system.
As for your last statement, of course you are free to post on this site, but if you inject yourself into a conversation with an irrelevant argument that has no discernible point, then don't be surprised if you are called on it. Your attempt to paint that as some sort of censorship on my part is pathetic, transparent, and sadly typical.
"You're right. I am using my own terminology to say that what Savage spews is hatred, not "off the mark" comments."
" of course you are free to post on this site, but if you inject yourself into a conversation with an irrelevant argument that has no discernible point, then don't be surprised if you are called on it."
Thanks. I appreciate you letting me make my point while you agree with my point then whine that I'm making a point.
"Any rational, humane, objective analysis of anything that comes out of his mouth leads to that conclusion."
Rational? Humane? Objective? When your opinion seems irrational, inhumane and non-objective to those of another belief, then you aren't making a point. Otherwise, it seems you just demand everyone to agree with you and forbid opposite opinions from counting.
Rational? Humane? Objective? When your opinion seems irrational, inhumane and non-objective to those of another belief, then you aren't making a point.
If that's true, you have never made a point in your entire posting career on MMfA. You're probably the second-mosr irrational person here. The top spot is reserved for the inanity-spewing "Science101/Columbus1492."
Please sir, can we not equate a man's opinion on the medical field with the use of the "n-word?"
Savage thinks that there are certain individuals in the medical field that over diagnose such things simply to make a buck. That's all. He acknowledges that some cases are legitimate, but he just believes that some of these problems can be solved naturally.
Is it completely unfathomable to think that maybe, just maybe, some in the medical field are over diagnosing such things?
to Mr. Dork
So when Mr. Savage said 99% of the cases of autism were frauds he was just comenting on the over diagnosis? That's a hell of a lot of over diagnosis. I suspect that he pulled that figure out of someplace dark and smelly because he clearly doesn't know what he is talking about.
Autism is a spectrum disorder meaning that there are mild to severe cases and it may be difficult to know if the diagnosis at the age of two or three who will have mild or severe autism. Early intervention is key.
Savage thinks that there are certain individuals in the medical field that over diagnose such things simply to make a buck. That's all. He acknowledges that some cases are legitimate, but he just believes that some of these problems can be solved naturally.
Are the, like the worlds biggest Savage apolegist, or can you just not read? If that was what he'd said that would be fine. It's a legitimate point and bears discussion. But he went WAAAY beyond that. "Some legitimate cases"?! 1% - that's what he's labeling legit. "Certian Individuals" ?! 99% of the time. Then he goes on to blame absentee fathers?! So by that logic, I've got a 1% chance of being a decent father, and 99% of being some kind of kid-coddling girly man who's turning my kids into little monsters. If your not employed as Savage PR manager, then you're bign an idiot here.
It's not the overall point that anyone has a p[roblem with. It WHAT HE SAID, HOW HE SAID and the EXTENT that he took his hate-filled rant.
Look dude - there are ways to discuss these matters. This is not the way to do it. (This isn't the way intelligent human beings should discuss ANYTHING, let alone how to raise special needs children!) And beside he set out to be "provocative" and "contorversial." That's pretty much all he does. It's his stale bread and moldy butter. So don't try to cover for him when he succeeds in provoking a well deserved controversy.
"When contacting the media, please be polite and professional. Express your specific concerns regarding that particular news report or commentary, and be sure to indicate exactly what you would like the media outlet to do differently in the future."
PLEASE BE POLITE?! MICHAEL SAVAGE WAS IN NO WAY POLITE WHEN HE SPOKE OF MY SON, AND MILLIONS OF OTHER CHILDREN OUT THERE! WHY SHOULD I BE POLITE? I FAIL TO SEE HOW HE SEES AUTISM AS A FRAUD! DID HE NOT GET ENOUGH LOVE FROM HIS MOMMY WHEN HE WAS A KID?
I BELIEVE MICHAEL SAVAGE SHOULD BE BANNED FROM EVER SPEAKING ON AIR AGAIN, AND I ALSO BELIEVE MILLIONS OF OTHER PARENTS WOULD AGREE WITH ME!
What a piece of excrement.
"'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.' "
My brother has a stepson with autism and he loves him like his own.
I shouldn't say this, but if I ever ran into Savage on the street, I'd put him in a body cast.
"He can't back up ANY of what he says! EVER! He just makes angry statements that sound tough and reflect what we might feel after seeing some BS on the evening news and having a few beers "
That is NO different than the liberals who post here. They just make angry statements without being able to back them up, probably after a few beers. Savage isn't any different than the guy who drew that recent comic about O'bama and his wife. All you elitists understood the joke, but the other 200 million in the US (including O'bama) did not and were all 'offended' by such a disgustingly piggish joke. No different here, Savage makes a comment about autism and we have feign offense taken by everyone who isn't directly effected by autism. Which occurs in one tenth of 1% of the population.
However, it should be noted: "The number of people known to have autism has increased dramatically since the 1980s, at least partly due to changes in diagnostic practice; the question of whether actual prevalence has increased is unresolved." from wikipedia autism description. Autismspeaks.org says that 1 in 150 are diagnosed with autism ( http://www.autismspeaks.org/whatisit/index.php ). Since there is no proof of an actual increase in "prevalence" of autism since the '80s, what are these other diagnosed cases? Fakers or doctors who have an agenda? The difference between 1 in 150 and 1 in 1000 is nearly tenfold. With Savage saying 1% are properly diag'd, and science saying 10% are properly diag'd (today), Savage is only off by 9 percentage points.
Which could certainly lead Savage to his conclusion. However 'off base' it is, it is still ONLY an opinion. And, as someone already noted, he only does this for shock value. If he's boring then 8 million a day won't listen to him. Perhaps that's why liberal radio is so unpopular---it's boring.
Savage isn't any different than the guy who drew that recent comic about O'bama and his wife.
This satement reveales you to be a witless dolt, especially in the context that we're discussing it. I'd be mindful of saying to many things like this.
As for you woefully misinformed point on the rise in prevalence, it's expalined very simply: As our understanding of Autism has increased childeren who used to labelled such as "Retarded", "Developmentally Delayed" or something else are now being properly diagnosed. How do I know that the new dagnosis is better? Well, putting aside that people LEARN THIGNS and PROGRESS IS MADE over a 30 year time period, the fact is that our increased understanding HAS led to better and more effecive treatment. Why this is lost of people like you and Savage I have no idea.
And are developmental difficulties in general on the rise? Well, people who work in the field and DON'T rely on wikipedia for their info tell me that YES they ARE, and AI disorders in particular, and the new diagnostic crtieria does not account for it. Every PhD, Therapist and Researcher that I've spoken to or read from over the past few years (dozens by my informal count) have siad this. And there's lot of theories. No proof, but plenty of suspisious data, nd stuff to consider. For example: Changes in the number and timing of vaccine administration; And increase in the power used in pre-natal ultrasounds; Increased use of pesticides; Increased pollution (name your source) in general; (And no, so far I haven;t heard it blamed on global warming) but how about this: GREATER ACCESSIBILITY TO DECENT MEDICAL CARE, so that many kids that in the 1980's who wouldn't have been diagnosed (or even screened) AT ALL due to simple economics, now get screened and diagnosed.
Apparently you and Mister Savage think that good medical care for everyone is some kind of scam. (DO more screening, you'll find more cases. Pretty simple, that.) And besides: "Doctors" (meaning Pedi's and PCP's) don't give the diagnosis of Autism. Specialists do, and they hardly slap the label on everyone. (I know this first hand: my younger son participated in a study meant to improve diagnostic criteria. That's how he got diagnosed. Many (most, in fact) of the kids participating did not.
So next time, try doing more research than looking up wikipedia, or just admit YOU DON'T KNOW (there's nothing wrong with not knowing, but it takes a REAL MAN to admit it) and LISTEN to people who do. (And that would be DOCTORS, THERAPISTS and RESEARCHERS, not IDIOTS like Savage!)
"For example: Changes in the number and timing of vaccine administration; And increase in the power used in pre-natal ultrasounds; Increased use of pesticides; Increased pollution (name your source) in general; (And no, so far I haven;t heard it blamed on global warming) but how about this: GREATER ACCESSIBILITY TO DECENT MEDICAL CARE,"
You're funny.
Lori4091 says she has a 'severly' autistic 8-year old, and it took her 3 years of specialists to figure out what he had. Don't whine to me about the 'quality' of the medical profession until you know what you're talking about. It's obvious from your offers of reasons for the increase that science has NO clue what they are doing. Vaccines cause autism? Created by who? Ultrasounds cause autism? Performed/recommended by who? Oh, yeah...those doctors you so freely and blindly believe without question certainly know what they are doing!
Good thing they have people like you falling lockstep in line for whatever they tell you to do/say/eat/drink.
I've gotten the "look" from many an unknowing bystander. And my sons both sound a lot like yours does. ( Both the good and the chellenging.) I know exactly what you mean, and how it feels. (And I wish your family all the best!)
And, yeah, there's a difference between a "look" from one person who doesn't know any better (and who's behavior I might even have done myself, were our positions reversed) and a guy like this who touts his PhD and claimes an 8M member (?) radio audience. This guy should be ashamed and embrarrassed by his comments. Sad thing is he probably doesn't even remember them. It's just disgusting.
Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe. -Albert Einstein.
There is quite a bit of anecdotal evidence that Albert Einstein had Asperger Syndrome, an autism spectrum disorder. I cringe to think what our world would be today had young Albert been berated and beaten down by his parents as Mr. Savage suggests parents of children on the spectrum do. I suspect, in true Aspy fashion, Einstein would have ignored Mr. Savage's comments and continued on with his work. Thus, I would suggest those of us with children on the spectrum do the same.
I pity Mr. Savage for his ignorance and hope that one day soon he has an opportunity to spend time with some of our exceptional kids. Only then will he see and understand how rude and unintelligent his remarks are!
CKnick, Mobile, AL
"I pity Mr. Savage for his ignorance and hope that one day soon he has an opportunity to spend time with some of our exceptional kids."
Savage had a brother who was blind. There isn't a group of people more ignored, hated and demeaned than members of the blind community. How many of you would hire a blind person? How many would hire an autistic child? There's your answer. If you want to get even with Savage then join the other 200 million people in the US and segragate all your actions to exclude blind people...like you already do.
How many of you would hire a blind person?
That's a dumb question, as it depends on the JOB. If they could do the job, why not? But blindness, as muh as Autism can inhibited many people from doing most jobs. My job requires specilized knowledge, skills, critical thinking, etc... But I really don't know how I would do it without my sight. That's not to say that a blind person couldn't make a good engineer, but I don't know how I'd cope w/o my sight. As for high-funtioning autistics? Yeah, it possible that with the correct education, therapy and treatment that a high-funtioning Autistic could do this job. Given their tendency to have a well above averag eye for detail, they may be much better at some aspects of it. (Diagnosing problems in the product or process, for example. Do something useful and wiki Temple Grandin if you want an example.) This is not about abusing the handicapped. (Well, Savage's rant was, but no one else here is doing that!) If a blind person was qualified, I'd hire them. But some handicaps inhibit certain jobs more than others.
Whould I hire someone with HIV? Sure. But I'd think twice about it if I worked in a BLOOD BANK.
But NONE of this (or indeed any of your points) havce anything to do with what Savage said. If he did have a brother who was blind, then maybe he should have learned something about overcoming handicaps. Instead I guess it just made him bitter. And ignorant. (Well, he was probably BORN to be ignorant.)
" My job requires specilized knowledge, skills, critical thinking, etc... But I really don't know how I would do it without my sight"
Thanks for proving my point. You think the blind can't think, have no skills and can't specialize in anything. YOUR job is too important to leave in the hands of a blind guy. Afterall, how they going to find the bathroom, right?
My point is that Savage has experience with the handicapped. You may not like the opinion he developed of doctors who handle cases of the handicapped, but he developed his opinion and expressed it. You developed your own opinion and expressed it. Who is calling you a "disgusting pig" for expressing your opinion? I'm not and I don't agree with you. But, liberals are calling him that because they don't agree with him. It's got nothing to do with their 'feelings' on the subject, they just hate Savage and use any reason to vent.
I think he is the moron! He needs to wake up and live the world of autism for a week and tell us we are all frauds.
Mother of a 5 yr old with autism
This reminds me of an old SNL skit where Dan Akroid was running out of ideas trying to get his radio talk show "callers phone line" to ring. He finally ends up saying things like, “I like to kill puppies and eat them”. Then the phone line explodes with callers. This must be the Wheeny King's I need ratings “puppies” moment. What a pathetic waste of the airwaves.
It's made me think about the who "No such thing as bad publicity" notion. Especially since I've spent much of the last few days making sure that thousands of people who have never heard of Mike Savage know who he is and what he said. And I thought, "Am I actually helping him?" (You know - no such thing as bad publicity!)
But I think that's a very 1950's notion. It seems to me that it comes from a time when "Scandal" meant being photograohed coming out of a hotel lobby with a woman you weren't married to, and all of "middle america" was SHOCKED! Bascially, I think it comes from a time when "bad publicity" amounted to "He's so naughty!"
But in this day and age, it seems that "bad publicty", especially if it stems from say... MAKING FUN OF DISABLED CHILDEREN, can really do nothing but damage to your reputation and career. People call for boycott's over this kind of thing. (If Dunkin' Donuts pulls an ad because Raechel Ray was wearing a "Jihadit Head Scarf" (around her NECK!) Well whatever. People have power. Outrage (even when it's grossly misplaced) has power. And he's been fired before, and lost sponsors, and had his show cancelled, and been booted from markets, MANY TIMES.
So I do think there's such a thing as bad publicity. And I'd love think I might play the tiniest role in financially hurting him again in some way. (Sadly he proabbly won't get fired over this, though he should.)
I know the National Association for Autism is talking with Talk Radio Network about getting a retraction and apology and some time on his show to talk about Autism (and embarrass Savage.) The boss at TRN did not hear the show, but when told of the remarks, he was PO'd like the rest of us.
Don Imus got fired for saying something stupid and flip. This was pre-mediated and hateful. SAVAGE NEEDS TO BE FIRED IMMEDIATELY. I would guess it will take a boycott of his advertisers to accomplish that. CAN ANYONE FIND A LIST OF SAVAGE'S ADVERTISERS SO WE CAN CONTACT THEM AND BEGIN THE BOYCOTT?
- Matt's Dad in Denver
I honestly had never heard of this man until the word spread across the autism community about the comments he has made. Due to the fact that I know this now I feel obligated to stop the ignorance that spues out of the mouths of these abusers!
As parents of OUR autistic children it is OUR JOB to defend them when someone who feels they have the right to slander them in any way. That is what this man has done. So sit back and listen Michael Savage (though I have better words for you than your name)
I am very disappointed that in this day and age, with the epidemic of autism (that many of our children suffer from) that this garbage is not dealt with more severely. I am disgusted that people call this man smart. The only thing that I have heard that came out of his mouth that was smart is that his father called him an idiot. Good for you Dad! You were right your son is a total idiot!
My 8 year old boy suffers from autism. He has limited speech, severe sensory issues, and has a very hard time learning very simple tasks. The struggles that he endures daily take more work and endurance than this man puts into a years worth of his radio show.
I pray for him daily (my son) that God will heal him from this disorder. Maybe I need to spend more time praying that God will soften peoples hearts towards our kids. I have heard more disturbing things this last year dealing with airlines, school systems (Port St.Lucie) a county in Kentucky and more, things happening in restaurants, stores and now on talk radio, our children have taken enough abuse.
As a mother of a child with autism I am disgusted with these comments. I think this guy owes the whole Autism community an apology. He owes our children an apology!
This man has obviously never met an autistic person because he would realize that they are the most precious people God has ever put on this earth.
Yes my son does have the occasional public meltdown. But I assure you mister it is not because he is spoiled or I am telling him he can't have something. My son rarely ask for anything when we are shopping. When my son has a meltdown it is most likely to be because he is on sensory overload. It could be to many patterns or colors, to much noise. Whatever the case may be IT IS NOT BECAUSE HE IS SPOILED!
Oh and by the way my husband is a Marine who fought for our country in Desert Storm so there is no absent father my husband is very present!
YOU COWARD IF YOUR READING THIS INSTEAD OF TALKING ABOUT A DISABLED PERSON OR COMMUNITY WHY DON'T YOU PUT YOUR BIG MOUTH AND ENERGY INTO SOMETHING THAT COULD DO SOMEONE SOME GOOD. TAKE SOME OF THAT MONEY YOUR MAKING TO PUT OUR KIDS DOWN AND DONATE IT TO A CURE FOR AUTISM YOU JERK!
I know that I may be more productive by putting something nice and loving down here. However, I just don't have it in me on this subject anymore. I am tired of the abuse and nonsensical comments and actions of others.
After watching my child struggle day after day to learn something that most of us can learn in 5 minutes. I realize that his struggles are endless. I am so proud that he is strong enough to continue to strive for more. I applaud his achievements and take absolutely nothing he says or does for granted. And I THANK GOD FOR THAT.
So next time one of you anti-disability people open your mouth know who and what you are talking about. Because the next time you maybe dealing with a mother like me who has had just one to many negative comments or actions done to her child. You may not like the response that you get. God forbid any one knock you out or something over their child and if it were your child could you blame them?
The funny thing is....that in the beginning Savage used to be kind of edgy and fun to listen to. He wasn't always such an hater, ass, moron that he is today. He seems to have just decended into this ultra jerk to make a name for himself.
Putting down children with disabilities for ratings? Wow Mike you have sunk to a new low. Desperate times call for desperate measures eh? I am sure that you and the devil will make great buddies. Have fun.
I think Savage should spend a meaningful amount of time actually parenting a child with autism. That is loving, nurturing, and yes disciplining a child with autism - not to mention teaching the child, cleaning up after the child, playing with the child, and perhaps the most painful of all living in almost complete isolation without friends and family who understandably find it difficult to be around such an exhaustive situation. Of course, children with autism can be gifted and loving and just fun to be around and Savage would consider himself extremely fortunate to connect with such a situation. I think he’ll be enlightened and change his mind and perhaps be a real agent for change and use his radio time as a platform to help teach about autism and to support those who live in the solution not the problem.
I would love for him to meet my 16 year-old son… who is amazing and has taught me so much - he could run circles around Mr. Savage. Peace out, MM
Lori4091, I wasn't able to respond to your post on the "savage on autism" thread (it didn't function properly over the weekend). I understand what you're saying and appreciate your opinion. Savage is talking about the cases that are fake, not real cases such as yours.
I don't think I want to do too much research on autism until they find a verfiably accurate diag procedure. Autismspeaks say 1 in 150 are diag'd with autism. Wikipedia says 1 in 1000 (in the 80's) but dramatically increased in frequency after that... with no proof of verifiable reasoning. So, for all I know, the frequency increased because there are a number of inproperly diag'd cases. Not everyone has the finances to afford 3 years of diag'ing such an obvious condition as you experience.