Savage Comments on Autism

[EeyoresButterfly]

So that's where the 1:4 number came from. Somebody on another board said that number ,and let me tell you, it is dead wrong! I would like to know where they came up with that.

[DisneyMom]

Not sure where that number came from, but I recall some studies were showing higher frequencies than the 1 per 150 children average (1 per 98 boys).
A good friend of mine has 3 of his 3 children diagnosed as being on the spectrum, so the average number of incidence means very little to him :(

I would like this Savage guy to explain to me why my son didn't talk to anyone between the ages of one and four......because he was "being a brat"?
Right.....

[felinefan]

Until I was 9, I was a happy, smart kid, though a bit shy. We went to Australia for 6 months, by ship, coming and going. Though I was enrolled in 4th grade while Down Under, we left the U.S. just before the school year started, so I missed the first few weeks of school. Then, we moved after Christmas break and were never re-enrolled in school. Another long voyage, by the time we got back and were enrolled in schools back in California, I'd effectively missed half of 4th grade. I had a hard time readjusting from the lack of structure, so I started goofing off. Next thing I know, I'm seeing people outside of class, then got slapped with the label "learning disabled". Took me 35 years to figure out I was not, never was and never will be learning disabled. I was on Ritalin briefly, but I told my parents it wasn't working so they had me taken off of it. My family still thinks I have "problems", and I have never been able to tell them they got scammed by over-zealous shrinks back in the 60s and 70s.

Of course, back then, there was no such thing as normal kids, unless you were a character in kid lit. That was probably their idea of what a normal kid was--Dick and Jane, with a dog named Spot and a cat named Puff and Mommy who stayed home and Daddy who went to work, did the driving, building and fixing of everything while Mommy cooked, cleaned and sewed.

I was never allowed to learn to drive, I was told I'd never be able to live alone or hold a decent job, and talk about self-fulfilling prophecies, sure enough, I wasn't allowed to upgrade my job skills, so here I sit, unemployed, and unqualified for anything out there in this crappy economy. :mad:

[LittleDollClaudia]

Oh yeah, this guy has no flipping clue.

As most on the board know, my son (who just turned 18 on July 8th of this year) is Autistic. He also has a form of ADHD, but it is felt that is a sub-symptom of his Autism.

I do agree with the fact that kids are diagnosed with it a lot more than before. But back in the days, kids like my son were just put into hospitals or just ignored. It took me 4 years to have that diagnosis since the doctors didn't want to give him a "label". They tried to tell me that he was under that "umbrella of PDD."

Pervasive Development Disorder which basically says your kids has problems but we don't want to give him a specific label so he can get the help he needs. Meanwhile, he was suffering and not able to get proper schooling or medical assistance.

I told the doctors that I just need to know so I know how to proceed. Finally, someone took a deeper look at him. He filled 16 of 18 characteristics! He was put into the right classes and we started a ongoing relationship with the Regional Center that he will be with for the rest of his life.

It has been a long battle, but my son has grown up to be a great person. He still has Autism, but if we hadn't been given that knowledge, I'm not sure we would have been able to give him the outlets he needed.

This guy is obviously not a parent, or his kids are perfect. When you have a child and something seems wrong, you do whatever it takes to help them. Even if it means finding out that they have a disorder or disease. Then you educate yourself and give your child as much love and support that you can.

Sorry, this just hits a sore spot with me, knowing the BS I had to go through for my son and he dismisses it like it's a fad or something.

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Hmmm, allow me to sum up for you:


That Savage chum bucket be a right stupid left handled swab jockey, the landlubber needs to walk the plank on tip 'O me faaavooorite Cutlass!

I would keelhaul him but I don't want to give the sharks an upset tummy!

What a maroon!

[hobie16]

This guy is obviously not a parent, or his kids are perfect.

Michael Weiner Savage is another wingnut in the Rush Limbaugh/Bill O'Reily/Sean Hannity mold that speaks to the great unwashed masses. He, and the rest, prey on their fears of the unknown and the different, and nothing makes a better target then a group of kids that can't defend themselves.

Weiner Savage's comments may come back to haunt him as he forgot about the kids mothers who can and will defend their kids.

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Michael Weiner Savage is another wingnut in the Rush Limbaugh/Bill O'Reily/Sean Hannity mold that speaks to the great unwashed masses. He, and the rest, prey on their fears of the unknown and the different, and nothing makes a better target then a group of kids that can't defend themselves.

Weiner Savage's comments may come back to haunt him as he forgot about the kids mothers who can and will defend their kids.

That, as they saying goes, is a grave tactical error on his part!!

[DisneyMom]

His comments are disturbing because some idiots will agree with him, "he must be right, or he wouldn't have his own radio show, would he?" in the same vein as "Our elected officials would never lie to us" thinking :mad:
Many of us with autistic kids have to face that kind of thinking in our own families
Medical studies have shown that the brains of people with Autism are missing certain tissue in the hypothalamus (citing Scientific American Journal).
My son's prenatal ultrasound showed some abnormality in his cranium, he was retested but they failed to locate the problem. I've been unable to obtain a CAT scan or MRI of his brain since.
Still won't change anything,anyway.

[Sarah Magdalene]

Anybody remember when some people had claimed that the shooter of the Virginia Tech students was supposed to have some form of "autisim" due to his supposed insensitivity of others? Almost, it seems, as if he should be forgiven for his actions because of it. Yes that is a very steep example but I see this often in lesser ways. Like the family who got kicked off a flight cause of their Autistic kids "bothering" people. They kinda play the "Autistic card" as one would play a "race card".

Example: If a child with Autism breaks another's child's toy in a fit, would the parents simply argue, "It's not his fault! He has autism and you know he can't help it! How dare you make us replace Katie's doll! Do you even REALIZE what WE have to go though...." or would they apologize for their child's behavior and kindly buy a new doll?

It's just that when such a person does something wrong, it seems that they should automatically be forgiven because they have Autism.

Not saying I agree with the guy, but I can understand why one would get frustrated from the way they are often portrayed in the public spotlight.

[ArielLover]

I hate to be put in this position but the comments about what Savage said are taken way out of context. Just like most media outlets the morning show had decided where the publics opinion should be and slanted their story that way.

I am not a Savage fan, I have heard his show many times as I enjoy talk radio and he is on when I am driving home. He is arrogant, egotistical, and slants things more often than not. As a talk show host he has actually made me turn the radio off versus listening to him.

Just my opinion on how slanted the media reports stories now a days. Never take a media story at face value, do you own research, and make informed comments. Spewing their slant just adds to the problem.

<gets off my soapbox now>