Parents of "autism brats" fight back

When Michael Savage, radio talk show host, said July 16 that 99% of children with autism were "brats" who should be told to "cut the act out," one could only wonder if he somehow got his childhood "A" disease diagnoses mixed up. Maybe he was thinking of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, a condition characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. ADHD affects 2 million children and can be treated with behavior modification or drugs, but for many decades, children with the disorder were considered to be just bad kids who misbehaved, and poor parenting was pointed to as the cause.

But autism? Does anyone doubt that it's a significant developmental disorder? It's characterized by poor social interaction, problems with communication -- both verbal and nonverbal -- repetitive activities and hand flapping. Those are problems a 2- or 3-year-old, the age at which the disorder is often diagnosed, would have trouble thinking up.

But when the New York Times gave Savage a chance to explain himself, he said that while his estimate that nine out of 10 kids are faking it might have been a little high, he said he was proud to have prodded a discussion. He stuck by his comments.

Meanwhile, as protesters from Autism United, a coalition of advocacy organizations, gathered today outside the New York City WOR radio studio, which employs Savage, parents such as Martin Schwartzman, whose 15-year-old son Robbie has autism, are up in arms. "I couldn't understand why someone could be so heartless and so insensitive, and also so ignorant for a national talk show host," Schwartzman said on WCBS-TV.

Savage says he's giving over his three-hour broadcast on Monday to a discussion of autism. Meanwhile, Aflac, the insurance company, has withdrawn advertising from the show.

Areva Martin, Los Angeles autism activist and co-founder with Donna Ross-Jones of Special Needs Network, a group whose mission is to educate parents of the rights their children have to an appropriate education, has a lot to say about Savage's comments:

"It would be easy to dismiss Mr. Savage's statements as the antics of a radical, ratings-seeking talk show host. However, Mr. Savage has over 8 million listeners, many of whom rely on his show for reliable information. His insidious and baseless statements give credence to the type of pervasive ignorance that families face on a daily basis. Such statements foster discrimination against not only the disabled, but also against people of color. To suggest that minority families feign a diagnosis of autism to receive welfare benefits is absurd and reflective of the entrenched racism that continues to rear its ugly head.

"If good old-fashioned discipline was a cure for autism, families across this nation would pull out their switches and get to work. Unfortunately, autism is real and there is no cure -- yelling, screaming, hitting and even the most archaic forms of discipline cannot cure what renowned scientists from around the world recognize as a complex disorder that now impacts one in every 150 children, that lasts a lifetime and impacts every aspect of an individual's development. As a parent of a child with autism, a children's rights activist and attorney, I know both personally and professionally that no one would feign autism for the sake of collecting some amorphous government benefit -- it simply isn't worth it. Thousands of hours of therapy, lifelong care, isolation, grief and isolation are too high a price to pay.

"The rapid response of the autism community hopefully will send a loud and clear message that issues of autism impact people of all socioeconomic groups and that issues involving the disabled are matters of human rights."

-- Susan Brink

Comments

[Patricia]

I'm glad he said it, because now he's pushed too far. He's discredited himself politically and laid bare the hatefulness that lies at the core of all his views on everything.

[Sedulia]

I suggest that some of these parents, without getting angry, simply organize a breakfast meeting: Mr Savage, plus parents, each one accompanied by his or her autistic child (Mr Savage between two of the children).

This has proven very effective in the past.

[R Perez]

unbelievable... is there no end to Savage's inane commentary?

[David Coles]

It is the very nature of conservative talk show hosts to speak out of flaming ignorance just to get ratings and promote their own agenda. It is time they be brought to task for spreading false information.

[Paris Roussos]

It seems the article may be right. He must be thinking about ADHD. How on earth could he mean autism? This all may highlight a core problem which is our reliance on journalists and commentators to give us reality. Everything is filtered through anchormen without extensive and intensive knowledge. InfoCream.com has a good page under the query autism. Michael should read it.

[Chiron613]

This Savage is an ignorant knucklehead for saying what he did. As Ms. Brink pointed out, he's got the wrong affliction - he's likely referring to ADHD or ADD - and even then he's making a statement that flies in the face of considerable research and efforts to treat the illnesses.

Too bad he reaches so many people with his ignorance. Perhaps he could atone by doing a little research about autism and sharing the facts with his audience.

[Chad]

Is the concept of "freedom of speech" completely unknown?

Does that freedom no longer apply to those we don't agree with?

What? Someone was offended or disagreed with something the good Dr. said? Well then, let's fire him immediately. We can't have differing opinion in the media now can we?

[LKern]

"I couldn't understand why someone could be so heartless and so insensitive, and also so ignorant for a national talk show host,"

You've never heard of Savage Wiener? You have GOT to be kidding me. The man is a cancer on humanity.

[Jason M.]

That is outrageous! I have a 12yr old step daughter with PDD NOS, her symptoms span many disorders; OCD, ADHD, inability to form or maintain relationships, destructive behaviour, loss of touch with reality, auspergers and autisms symptoms. It takes constant discipline, psychiatrists, and a neurologist to keep her from winding up in an institution, her maturity level is that of a 6 yr old. I seriously hope the talk show host did not actually mean what he said, my step daughter will probably live with my wife and I for the rest of her life, unless some unusuall medical breakthrough is made eventually.

[Sandy]

I have taught children with autism for many years - thus far I have not found ANY brats... 'just' kids with ready smiles, inquisitive eyes, love of strawberries, great rhythm ... "Just because" a child with autism may look 'normal' does not mean s/he is not coping with a potentially devastating disability. My students face many challenges - one of the worst is the isolation they face, both via having autism and being seen as 'different'. For anyone - ANYONE - to add to this challenge via such repreehensible words is absolutely unthinkable.

One would hope that people who are paid to speak on the air, on TV or via print journalism have some recognizeable and appreciable skills that helped propel them on their way to recognition. People whose profession brought them recognition from afar ... and much deserved respect. We just lost one of these stars a few weeks ago.

The ONLY thing that this particular radio "talk show host" accomplished was a verbal fart demonstration. His words absolutely lack any (ANY) degree of insight re: autism or, more broadly, how to recognize ANYONE with a disability. Now that he's done with his fetid, foul, malodorous, mephitic, noisome, reeky, stinking, f#rt, we can walk away while holding our breath ... and then find someone else to listen to.

[Michael Savage Jr.]

The amazing thing isn't that Michael Savage said something incredibly stupid. The really amazing thing is that this guy has 8 million listeners.

[Jus Ol Al]

It is very discouraging to a lot of good people when a radio commentator in search of better ratings and publicity does what Michael Savage did. He certainly got his publicity but at what a horrific cost to those parents of Autistic children. There is really no corollary between misdiagnoses and real problems. To say that 99% of kids have been diagnosed inaccurately cannot obviously be correct so the statement can only badly hurt parents that are experiencing the problem. Are there wrong diagnoses? Of course. Does that mean that it is permissible to trash the 60-70% (or whatever) correct diagnoses and utterly destroy those parents that are living with the problem? I don't think so. I believe that it would be just as accurate (or even more so) to say that 99% of those that heard his broadcast were disgusted with Michael Savage. I understand that one large insurance company canceled their advertising on his program. Fantastic. Get him off the airwaves.

[Jason W]

He said 99% of the children who were misdiagnosed with autism were just misbehaving. If he did say what this article alleges, why not quote him? He's not quoted because his words were taken out of context to mean something completely different than he said

[Rich]

What sort of commentary do you expect from any of the cretins foaming at the mouth on AM Right Wing Talk Radio.

I haven't listened to over-the-air radio since streaming audio was introducted on the internet.

[gabe]

wow another uneducated, idiotic comment from a neo-con radio talk show host, go figure. i swear these people would have gotten along great with Hitler.

[TJ]

I think he did get his "A" childhood diseases mixed up. I might agree, in part, to ADHD, but not to Autism, which is very sad.

I expect he will eventually apologize because he is not correct about Autism.

Can you imagine what other "opinions" from the press are "off" enough to do damage? What happened to just plain journalism, reporting news? Everybody has to have an opinion, sometimes not even an informed opinion, and scream it at us on radio and cable TV. I am sick of them.

[breal1]

I have taught autistic children, and I can tell you, they are not brats. This is a real and very complicated disorder ranging from near normal behavior to anti-social behavior with many other serious deviant behaviors. Where and how did this man ever get information? He is so off-base. I have seen the struggles of the children and the hopeless heartbreak of the parents. Each have been robbed of what normalcy of the family structure should be. The autistic child most often doesn't know what "normal" is within our society.
Go spend a weeks at a school with an autistic child, then find the family and ask if you can follow their daily and nighttime routines with their autistic child. Then you give it a try. Let us know, then, if they are brats or disordered children.
Mr. Savage's statement reflect his name. They ARE Savage!!! Shameful! Get educated about a subject before you speak your rude and damaging remarks. You are sadly mistaken on this one, buddy!

[Dale Moore]

Mr. Savage represents the class of individual who neither knows what he is talking about, nor does he understand what the diagnosis of Autism does to the individual and their families.

It is truly sad that these kind of radio personalities exist.

[mike]

Susan, maybe you should read the transcript from his show that day, and just perhaps you might find yourself practicing journalism for a change. instead of writing about your own personal brand of thinking. Try and save the gossip for recitative's and neighbors. Savage's own brother was AUTISTIC, not to mention his comments were directed at the medical and pharmaceutical folks for miss diagnosing these kids just to sell more drugs to them for life. Maybe a little research on the story you are writing? Who knows, real journalism may pop out now and then! PS - your employer (LA Times) has no credibility left because of all the false or you might even say lies they put in print like your miss-guided story. (stop reading all the left blogger's to get your stories.) Mike

[Kath]

Thanks for this well written article. I wish I'd heard the original show andf I will now make a point of visiting his website Savage Nation to listen to both.

I suggest someone have Mr Savage spend a weekend with one or two of the many autistic children relegated to the arms of foster care and orphanages because their parents were unable to provide the resources needed to care for them and their special needs. There's nothing like real experience to see how little we know.

[Neal R]

As a mildly autistic adult I am way past offended by this. Aflac has withdrawn advertising and we're going to see how many other advertisers we can influence. I suffer discrimination all the time because I'm just a bit different than most ... I'm looking forward to helping to teach a lesson here.

[SAS, Washington DC]

I am not surprised by Mr. Savage's remarks. He is constantly in search of someone or some group to insult on his program. If he is half right I would accuse him of simply being insensitive. But his idiotic views about a lot of topics speak volumes of his rooted bigotry and racism. A case in point: before this episode, he made numerous offensive and often racist statements against Arabs and Muslims. To me his talk show is nothing more than "noise pollution" but I feel sorry for the 8 million people who waste their time listening to this rubbish.

[Kuroyama]

It was mentioned that American Parents would simply pull out their switches and get to work if discipline were the cure for autism...

While I think its a bold misapplication, I also think its a HUGE overestimation of American Parents. Discipline went out sometime after 1970. Just like some kind of fashion that never came back in style (but was sorely needed) discipline faded from the scene. Parents who resorted to it were called barbaric if they were confronted at all. Many simply called the authorities. Recent generations are poorly behaved and everyone wonders why.

Children bring guns to school not to show off, but for the purpose of murdering scores of others and people wonder why.

Religion has nothing to do with it, Autism has nothing to do with it, its simply poor parenting, coupled with the "Its not MY fault" syndrome wherein parents blame teachers, schools, police, then ultimately (before the death sentence is pronounced) society.

This radio show host is just grabbing headlines.
But he IS correct that todays parents need to be more hands on (full pun intended).

[Charles B.]

I am the parent of a child with autism. He is 8 years old. Thankfully, he was diagnosed before he was 2 and got the help he needed. He is now in second grade and functions in a normal classroom with an aide and does fairly well, but this child does not talk as a normal person would. He echoes what he hears. He can't get his pronouns correct. He can't distinguish between "you" and "me". At first we thought he was deaf because he didn't respond to stimuli as a neuro-typical child would. He is fairly well behaved and we can trust him to do some things on his own because he is fairly high functioning. But, it would only take Mr. Savage a short while of living with this boy to understand that this is a brain disorder. I challenge Mr. Savage to come to my house and work with my son for a month and then see what he says.

[bob Manganelli]

the guy is a moron. why give him any attention at all... let him hang himself with his own ignorance.... we oughttta pray for him because clearly his own head issues are far more destructive than autism...

[ParentofAutisticChild]

Michael Savage's comments truly bring to light how ignorance in the entertainment industry drives some entertainers to be in the spotlight. Unfortunately, Mr. Savage brings this ignorance to others, which influences perception. As a parent of an autistic child, the ignorance he brought forward adds to the uphill fight every relative of an autistic child must endure. In my opinion, Mr. Savage should be fined hundreds of hours in community service at a school for autism.

[John Cohrs]

I am a father of a 3 1/2 year old boy with autism.. Savage is an idiot. He commented, apparently, that "he knows true disability", having had a brother with a "severe disability". Savage does not know anything about disabilities, no matter his family connection.

Savage will be found to be the raging fool that he is, and, hopefully, his voice will be silenced. What irony for his insane comments about children who often have no clear voice. He is also a coward. Try finding any way to comment on his ridiculous website.

Savage is a fool.

[Ruben]

This is not the first time that Savage is out there offending people and pretending to talk competently on issues he is clearly uninformed.

I am only glad that someone finally was brave enough to stand up against him. It his high time for WOR to replace him.

He brought numbers and attention, but they should not let him destroy what they have built for years including the fruits of his own work. Just sack him

[dick bohanon]

he should not be fired-free speech
but we are all free to boycott his advertisers
and let them know why you will not do business with them
you are free to extol any opinion you want.
just dont whine about the consequences
i dont listen nor do i care what he says
but callous statements like his are a good reason to
reduce his financial earning power
please will someone let all of us know who advertises
on his show
so we can avoid those business'

[brkdckdwg]

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN A TWISTED ,SICK HOMOPHOB WHO'S TRYING TO COME TO GRIPS WITH HIS OWN SEXUAL HANGUPS{IN MY OPINION}... SOCIOPATHIC MENTAL MIDGET WHO SUFFERS FROM DELUSIONS OF GRANDUER AND AN UNHEALTHTY HATERED OF HIS FATHER{IN MY OPINION} ...IS GIVEN A VENUE TO SPREW HATEFUL,INFLAMMATORY AND DIVISIVE REMARKS THAT IS MEANT TO DEMEAN ,ANTAGONIZE ,SHOCK AND DISGUST A NORMAL PERSON'S SENSIBILITY ALL IN THE NAME OF RATINGS WHICH=SPONSORS WHICH=ADVERTISEMENT WHICH=$$$$,,, IN THE GLORY DAYS GONE BY AN IRATE FATHER MIGHT HAVE TAKEN OF HIS GLOVE SMACKED ole savage ACROSS THE FACE AND DEMANDED SATISFACTION BUT ALAS THOSE CHIVALROUS DAY HAVE LONG PASSED AND FREE SPEECH AND VARIOUS FEDERAL,STATE AND LOCAL LAWS DOESNOT ALLOW POPPING A CAP IN SCROUNDRELS NO MATTER HOW DESERVING{OOOOHHHHH HOW I LONG FOR THOSE GLORY DAYS|} {THIS IN NOWAY ADVOCATE VIOLENCE AGAINST ANY OF THE NUMEROUS MENTAL MIDGETS WHO EVERY DAY CONTAMINATE THE VARIOUS MEDIA VENUES WITH THE SAME OR LIKE GARBAGE ........I'M JUST VENTING

[Savage Stupid]

Mr. Savage's statements is comes from a man who hasn't a clue about this condition. He hasn't a clue about vaccines that have caused autism. He is an old, obnoxious, simple-minded, conservative rambling, fool. Hey Savage, any dope that listens to you and actually believes you know something, has a brain that is solid rock!

Savage is the kid that should have been whacked because he was a brat, years ago! Sit down fool, and quit Savagely trashing people that can't defend themselves!

[bill]

Sorry to say he is right, Iam a medical professional and most children are just that "spoiled brats" with parents that have never taught the child to mind, yes there are some true autism children, but its much easier to label the child with
"autism" and use it as an excuse for the childs behavior. Also the schools love it because they get more money for every "disablility" child the same goes for
so called ADD, its mostly a scam by certain medical professionals, psych professionals and govt to excuse the childs behavior and give the parents a way out of being responsible for the child.

[Lefty]

Michael "Savage" Weiner's comments about autism are consistent with his approach to all subjects - to appeal to an audience of ignorant, dim witted, angry, bigoted, fools. That's why he calls himself Savage instead of using his real name, Weiner. Do you suppose that's because his show "Savage Nation" wouldn't go over so well with his audience demographic if it were known as "Weiner Nation?"

[S. Hicks]

I think Mr. Savage should be willing to personally back up his challenge to every parent of an autistic child. If Mr. Savage is convinced, I suppose by virtue of his Ph.D. in herbal medicines, that all autistic children have no disease whatsoever and can be cured by parental discipline, I propose that Mr. Savage should offer to personally prove his point. Give Mr. Savage one child who has been medically diagnosed as autistic for a week, and see if his superior parenting skills can demonstrate that the medical diagnosis is wrong and that the child can be educated out of the autistic state. In fact, I think Mr. Savage should bet his future career on it. If he is so right, then he himself can prove that he can make an autistic child non-autistic through "proper parenting". If he succeeds, then he has proven his point beyond a shadow of a doubt. If he fails, then he owes every parent of an autistic child (including this writer) a public apology as the very last message heard on radio from Mr. Savage for the rest of his career. Deal?

[Bernard]

Michael has bump his head, He has no clue about mental health issues, He has a cold heart to people and when it come to minorities he is a bigot and as racist as they come. He and other like him should not be on the air I don't care what color they are if you mouth get to big for the mike then it time to go. You think you can tell people that live with children with this illness they are fakes? Hell no. The only people that don't have a clue about this illness are those who don't live with it. Michael think that he know what best for everyone This guy don't know jack about nothing. all he know how to do it to bad mouth people that hs done nothing to him, Oh Michael do you know there are white people with children that have the same illness. I guess not since you fix your mouth to only talk about minorities. Your moma should have told you to look both way before you cross the road.

[Sandy F.]

Once again an idiot with a microphone has tested the range of common decency in this country. And the nieve' US public will flock to his show and play right into his hands. Guess what folks, the name of the game is ratings and you are giving him just what he, his network, and his sponsors want-- attention and lots of it.

What this man and others like him deserve is a good old fashioned SHUNNING.
Don't notice his crude remarks, don't publicize his sick show, don't acknowledge his disgusting presence on the planet. Ignore him and ignore his sponsors. Show him that our sick children, our races, our ethnic groups, and his disgusting opinions are not for public entertainment. We are becoming a nation of fools.

[Greg George]

Check out

http://www.savagestupidity.com/boycott.html

Follow the money. I urge that a list of all advertisers on Savage's show be immediately contacted by the news media. They can't both benefit from sales to members of his stupid audience then distance themselves from the hatred which brought them there. Corporate sponsors aren't stupid about their demographic, insurance company AFLAC knew what they were doing, for example. Its working already!

Tempur-Pedic, Inc. abandons the Savage Nation, demands removal from site!
"We are not advertisers and therefore should not be subject to spending time answering your followers’ boycotting threats."

Source: email to this site, dated April 18th, 2003

[stacey]

as per their website, here are the advertisers on the Talk Radio Network which markets Mr. Weiner's Savage Nation (and yes, that is his name ...While in the South Pacific, he became fascinated with the 19th-century sailor Charles Savage, who was believed to be the man that first brought firearms to Fiji.) Call, write them, and the other shows that they advertise on -

ABC - Acura - American Express - Ancestry.com - Boca Javs - Bochringer - Bosch - Campbells - Citrix - Consolidated Resources - Direct Buy - Dish Network - Ebay Motors - Efax - General Motors - Gallo Wines - Hoover - Legal Zoom - Marshalls - Nautilus - Nivea - Outback Steak House - Prudential - Purina One - Simon & Schuster - Staples - Subway - Texaco Chevron - United First Financial - Volkswagon

[stacey]

Oh, and Weiner / Savage's son, Russell, is the founder of the company that produces the Rockstar energy drink, where his Weiner / Savages wife Janet serves as chief financial officer.

[Charles Wehring]

Mr. Savage and his ilk spread easy anwers, half truths, and misinformation so efficiently that it hinders the ability to get credible information to people who could use it. Mr Savage is apparently too lazy and arrogant to cultivate the discipline required to respect and listen to people who know more that he does about a given subject.
This is also true of many talk show hosts who are giving the public excuses to believe readliy available hogwash while ignoring the hard work of legitimate experts. The most famous of these dropped out of parent-financed college after only one year, and know gets paid $400 million to tell millions of people it's okay to ignore science and listen to his crackpot ideas.

[Chris]

Beyond the shocking hyperbole, what he did say that was so untrue? Autism is a spectral disorder which is difficult to classify from case to case.

[T-Bone]

"However, Mr. Savage has over 8 million listeners, many of whom rely on his show for reliable information."

It doesn't fare well for the country if listeners are actually going to his show for "reliable information". The audience should listen only because he says what they like to hear, but they should never take anything they heard with them back into the real world or they'll have a very twisted worldview.

[Emily]

While I agree that Savage's remarks are ridiculous, I am disturbed by Ms. Brink's comments about ADHD. While defending the legitimacy of one developmental disorder (autism), she backhand slaps another by suggesting that Savage may have confused the two. Both autism and ADHD are legitimate developmental disorders, described in the DSM-IV and recognized by physicians worldwide. ADHD, prima facie, is no less disabiling for those who suffer from it. The fact that there are helpful treatments does not make ADHD any less "significant". Is diabetes insignificant because there are helpful treatments available? What about cardiovascular disease or cancer?
One cannot pick and chose which spurious generalizations are socially acceptable. The reality is that, like many other developmental, neurologic, and psychologic conditions, one need not look far for evidence that both autism and ADHD are the result of deficits in chemical messengers and neuronal behavior in the human brain. Ms. Brink's remarks mirror the mainstream notion that ADHD is a made-up condition (by parents, by doctors, by its victims, take your pick of whipping posts). Individuals with autism and ADHD alike deserve understanding and respect. Ms. Brink's attempt to call attention to spoken injustices towards autism is undermined by her comments about ADHD. Only by facilitating a culture of respect and understanding towards ALL developmental disorders (as well as psychological, neurologic, and other "hidden" disorders), can one make true strides towards acceptance of any individual condition.

[Cryos]

He makes a valid point that things like autism and ADHD are diagnosed way to often especially since there are no tests or definitive proof. Then the kids go on meds and if they were only minorly screwed up before they sure are after that.

Too bad this thread is full of waaahhhhh my poor self, my poor child, omg its so insensitive, blah blah blah. What ever happened to freedom of speech or agreeing to disagree? If you don't agree with him don't listen. FYI your life story doesn't mean its the same for everyone else. All these "you should come to my house" yeah you probably have an authentically autistic child. I have a couple friends who have kids diagnosed with ADHD that I think is suspect. Now they're on medication which will leave deposits of metals and other drugs in their body for life.

[Terry]

I listened to Savage (not his real name) exactly one time. I came to the conclusion that he is either an idiot or a charlatan or both, and further, that anyone who listened to him would necessarily be an idiot, too. As to this latest diatribe, I rest my case.

[Cryos]

The more blogs you read the more truth you see in the "nation of whiners" comment. America is becoming a country void of intelligence and full of over compassionate, whiny babies that are becoming unable to accomplish anything.

[Diane Zanghi]

Just like the airline with the poor mother and son kicked off the plane a month prior... typical bully(ies) to attack the weak and to allow for such discrimination to continue on... this guy's ignorance goes above and beyond. At the same time, my family doesn't want to give him the rewards of more publicity in response to his spouting off without clear knowledge. Who would hire such a person?

[Linda in WI]

Free speech does not absolve a person of speaking responsibly. Dr. Savage's comments about autistic persons were more like the insane ravings of a lunatic than the considered opinion of an educated, thoughtful individual. I have an autistic grandson and he is anything but a brat. He does everything he can to try to please but still lacks the understanding and communication skills to succeed each and every time. Parents are going bankrupt to pay for their ASD kids' therapy -- why would they risk their financial futures if simple discipline was all that is needed?

[peterg]

I've heard the guys show and people are getting way too offended here. The drive home is so boring that sometimes it's entertaining to hear some guy blow up on the radio. At this rate of political correctness it will be just like on old movies of the future where everybody dresses in three different colors of the same outfit and lives in some brainwashed utopian society.

[Lizzy]

I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Savage suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder!!

How clever he must think he is to try and twist it around to make it seem like he was only speaking of the wrongly diagnosed.

Thankfully we are not ALL as hateful and sick as he is.