Last week shock jock Michael Savage lived up to his name and his occupation by saying that autism was a “fraud” and a “racket” and that 99% of autistic children were actually just brats.
Here’s what he said
Now, you want me to tell you my opinion on autism, since I’m not talking about autism? A fraud, a racket. For a long while, we were hearing that every minority child had asthma. Why did they sudden — why 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. That was number one.
Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? 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.”
Autism — everybody has an illness. If I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, “Don’t behave like a fool.” The worst thing he said — “Don’t behave like a fool. Don’t be anybody’s dummy. Don’t sound like an idiot. Don’t act like a girl. Don’t cry.” That’s what I was raised with. That’s what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You’re turning your son into a girl, and you’re turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men. That’s why we have the politicians we have.
Savage has since backtracked slightly and said that his 99% figure was “a little high” and “hyperbole.”
I wonder if by a “little high” he meant it was only 90% of autistic kids were just brats.
According to Savage he stands by his remarks
My comments about autism were meant to boldly awaken parents and children to the medical community’s attempt to label too many children or adults as “autistic.”
Yep, he wants to wake up those “autistic” children and make them realize they just need to “Straighten up. Act like a man.” That’ll fix ‘em.
This whole thing starts as a rant against minority children and asthma. Obviously Savage doesn’t know how asthma is diagnosed by a doctor. I can say from experience it’s not diagnosed by just coughing a little bit. Nor is a child diagnosed with Autism because he eats his Skittles by color but otherwise does nothing else as one commentor at this site claimed.
Autism is not just the kid who sits in the corner rocking back and forth and flapping his hands. There’s a range of severity and diagnosis that falls under Autism Spectrum Disorder. I’ve worked with children at all levels of the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It has been my experience that there are more non-minority children labeled ASD than minority children. Lower socioeconomic minority children tend to be severely Autistic even though I’ve worked with several lower socioeconomic children that I thought might be Autistic but had never been diagnosed.
In other words, among poor minority children the tendency is to under diagnose rather than over diagnose.
Also, most of the children that I’ve worked with that were ASD did have a father figure around. Yes, many lived with one parent but several of those students lived with their father not their mother. Most of the ASD children I have worked with had both parents, either biological or step.
Back in Martin Luther’s time, autistic children were thought to be possessed by the devil and were killed. In the mid-1900s mothers of Autistic children were blamed for their condition for being frigid during pregnancy and the child’s first few months of life and beyond.
Savage’s remarks seem to indicate that the mother is to blame for their child’s condition. This actually doesn’t surprise me since Savage was born in 1942 and grew up during the time when “refrigerator mothers” were blamed for Autism.
Am I going to call for Savage to be fired? No. The man has the right of free speech even if it is mean, hateful and makes him sound like an idiot (something Savage’s father told him not to do). Savage was hired to say mean, hateful and shocking things to gain ratings for the stations that air his show. He’s just doing his job, as dispicable as it might be.
The stations and advertisers have to decide if they want Savage to represent them. So far 7 stations in Mississippi have decided to drop Savage’s sydicated show from their programming. The Aflac insurace company (you know, the one with the irritating duck in its commercials) has also decided to pull its advertising.
I won’t be surprised if more stations and advertisers follow their example.
jan says:
This is the height of ignorance from Savage. I’m not sure who he is, but autism is a heartbreaking thing for parents to have to experience from their children. I know three families dealing with this–one child from each family who has been diagnosed autistic. It affects the whole family in very tragic ways
7/23/2008, 1:32 pmJean says:
His statements are very dangerous. Autism research is based on donations as it is not federal funded even though it’s a national (as well as global) epidemic. By Savage downplaying the stats of 1 out of every 150 children suffering, he could make people think twice about donating thinking his untrue remarks about autism being a fraud is true. To find a cure, donations are needed badly. And just for the record, there are MULTIPLE symptoms a child must have before being diagnosed with Autism – not just placing toys in a line.
7/23/2008, 2:28 pmLaura says:
Jan,
Savage is a conservative radio talk show host. He’s written a few books as well. I just finished a project on bullying in schools for a class I’m taking and Savage fits the characteristics of a bully to a T.
Jean,
I don’t think what Savage said will adversely affect donations for autism research. Most likely the people who listen to him and agree with him weren’t going to donate anyway. The whole uproar over his remarks may actually influence some people to donate to autism research.
Wayne Adair says:
I agree with the author of this article, I think that expecting Mike Savage to be fired over this would be wishful thinking. His opinion however offencive is still his opinion and he has the right to be as wrong as he wants to be. It is regrettable that his comments were as off base as they were. The bright side is he really put autism awareness into high gear.
I’m the father of 6 children including a 4 year old boy who has autism. My wife and I were amazed when we read the trascript of the show. I could not believe that anyone could come to the conclusions that Mike Savage had about autism. The fact of the matter is this, being a parent of an autistic child is not easy. These children do not react to stimuli the way “normal” children do and often there are behaviors that are not a lot of fun to deal with, screaming, flapping, spinning, noises that kids dont normally make. Maybe Mike has to listen to my child while he is standing in line at the bank, but I have to come up with stratigies to manage these behaviors for the rest of this childs life. I appologize for the inconvienice Mike, but this is harder than it looks. My kid is NOT a brat. He is a delightful boy, with a fantastic sense of humor, a loving dispositon and he is a very important part of my family.
My wife and I decided to have some fun with this, I own an aerial advertising company in Reno NV, and I towed a sign behind my plane over the radio station that carrys Mikes show that read “MY SON HAS AUTISM MIKE SAVAGE IS AN IDIOT” The local new channel picked up the story and it was broadcast on 4 consecutive newcasts. We were able to bring autism to the minds of most of the people of Northern Nevada and at the end of the day any publicity we can get for our cause is good publicity.
So thanks Mike Savage, even though you are an idiot, you got people talking about autism.
7/25/2008, 2:26 amChloe Williams says:
I have to agree with the other blogs: The first thing that came to my mind after hearing Mike Savage’s remarks on Asthma and Autisim was “WHAT AN IDIOT”. I think in this case, Mike Savage should have took his father’s advice about “shutting up and not acting like a fool” because in this case, HE IS A FOOL. And to think, this guy has 2 master’s degrees….really, that’s impressive. I’d like to know where he got those from so I don’t send my kids there. What a complete waste of money. It’s nice to see in a country where “freedom of speech” is easily abused (as is the case here) some also exercise the “freedom to speak out of your rear”! Thanks Mike Savage, it’s nice to see that “complete ignorance” is the latest thing for you. Good luck with that. Oh and by the way, my kids have asthma and no they don’t go “fake cough, fake cough” to get extra welfare care you BIG IDIOT. It would do you some good to actually go and see an emergency room so you can get a real lesson on what happens when a child cannot breath. Thanks, I feel better now that I too can exercise my freedom of speech!!!
7/28/2008, 2:34 amAmanda says:
I agree with Micheal. I know several people who have chosen to blame bad behavior or stress of life, on their child’s state of mind. I think that every parent needs to STAND up and BE A REAL PARENT!! You know in the 60’s-80’s everyone has ADD or ADHD.. And no one was on drugs! And now you cant even get through on day without hearing a pathetic mother go on about how awful her life is because of “autism”. When I know that it is because of lack of parenting. If these parents to their roll seriously and punished their kids accordingly, there would be no problems. I deal with a mother on a day to day basis who has a child with autism. And for 8 years, she has used it to blame all her life’s problems for it. She is pathetic to do that. And then she passes it on to the rest of the family and they all think that ALL their kids have problems. Give ME A BREAK!!!! I think Michel is RIGHT!!! I think if there was a dad, or mother who actually taught their children discipline and manners, autism wouldn’t even be considered.
7/29/2008, 9:01 pmGROW UP AND BE A REAL PARENT!
lisa says:
Well Amanda,to say you don’t know what your talking about is an understatement.You ‘re obviously an uneducated ignoramus who God willing should never have a child period.I think people like you who speak directly from their anus, should be completely ignored simply because you deserve no further comment
7/29/2008, 10:35 pmLaura says:
Amanda,
Obviously, you don’t understand the stress that a child with autism can have on a family. Nor do you understand what autism is. You also obviously enjoy hating people. I’m not saying that because you agree with Savage. I’m saying that because your comment drips with contempt and hatred for people not like you.
John says:
Wow, Amanda. Your post certainly stands out, and in more ways than one. First off, I think most posters here 1) have personal experience with an autistic loved one, 2) interact with an autistic individual or community on a regular basis, 3) have done some research on the subject, or 4) some combination of the three.
Okay, Amanda, now look closely at the posts from these folks…. Well, darned if virtually every person who meets these criteria doesn’t vehemently disagree with Michael Savage. (Go figure, huh?) You, on the other hand, claim to have some sort of daily contact with one mother of one autistic child — of course, you don’t explain what sort of contact that is, nor do you appear to have had contact with the autistic individual her/himself. But let’s assume you’re telling the truth about your proximity to this woman.
Now, anyone with an ounce of compassion (or common sense, or even healthy curiosity) would ask this mother what it is that makes her parenting life as difficult as she claims it is. Most likely, you’d discover that caring for any disabled person is challenging and frustrating, starting with the fact that many of us don’t sleep very often. There is also the chance that — regardless of her child’s condition — this particular person may have some issues regarding blame and anger.
But during the eight years you’ve had this opportunity, you haven’t asked these sorts of questions or attempted this level of critical thinking, at least not to judge from the content and quality of your post. Instead, you’ve chosen to cling to some outdated and narrow views, spout inaccurate and vague remarks about ADD and ADHD, challenge those who disagree with you to “give you a break,” and use ugly, mean-spirited language against these parents and their children.
Have you considered a career in talk radio?
8/21/2008, 11:12 amLaura says:
Well said, John.
jen says:
This man obviously has never had to deal with an autistic child 24/7. But I will tell you that he has hit a soft spot with a mild point.suckling our children will get us nowhere either we disable them even further when we allow them to believe that the world should just except them because it never will.we need to let them know in one way or another that their behaviour is NOT acceptable even if they don’t understand.everyone else in the world has to struggle with their differences and just because they are somewhat incoherent and unable to control their behaviour does not mean we give them a little deep pressure and everything is fine afterward.I see them even more unable to function the next time they need deep pressure and who ever is around is not qualified to give it or you have to GUESS when they need it.I can’t even believe some of the people that work for these children that don’t even have KIDS.They spend months documenting erratic behaviour of these children for months at a time just to tell you how to play with your child,a child who does not interact with social play but one-sided.they think they know it all.Autism is one of the MOST complex among disorders given the fact that it can be a very broad spectrum and overlapping with other very common disorders such as O.C.D,A.D.D.and in some cases turrets syndrome.The only thing that seems to improve autism is diet yet all the teachers and workers like to suggest medicating the child to the point that she/he is even more withdrawn.I myself am not coping well with autism,I am at a loss every day the same child with the same problems day in day out,I really don’t understand it and never will,I am so drained with it although I continue to educate myself this is something you can’t fix it will always be there and some workers have no soul.
8/26/2008, 12:17 pmjen says:
Forgot to mention, Movies are like poison to a child unable to communicate. Limit movie time to one or two per day movies enhance echoic behaviour and mimicking. Instead try talking to your child mouth to mouth remember they are visual learners and electronic devices such as stereo, T.V., robot readers like voice output on educaton books and decices may jumble the sounds instead of the way they are truly spoken. Another thing that helps,whenthey are behaving extremely echoailic repeat the word to them once and really pronounciate it. They will learn the word properly and may even stop the need to repeat it. Their brains are searching for information.
8/26/2008, 12:42 pmlisa says:
John your comment was so eloquently stated,I truly derive comfort from knowing there are other parents going through similar experiences. My previous comment was so filled with anger because of the ignorance of SOME people I lost sight of the fact we must educate not criticize. Thank you….but cripes she really pissed me off
8/31/2008, 3:54 pmJohn says:
Thanks, Laura and Lisa. Amanda and her ilk will probably never wake up — but it’s still important for those of us who do “get it” to touch base now and then and stick up for one another.
9/10/2008, 7:43 am