Savage Calls Autistic Children 'Brats-

Log in / Sign Up

List of Forums + New Post Recipe Box Usergroups Following My Posts Bookmarks

Private Messages Advanced Search Rules New User Guide FAQ Advertise Contact Us

Forum -> In the News

1 2 3 4 5 Next

View latest: 24h 48h 72h

Mevater

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 9:04 am

Quote:

Conservative Radio Jock Ignites Firestorm After Calling Autistic Children Brats

NEW YORK (CBS) ― Conservative radio host Michael Savage will have his hands full on Monday.

In response to his controversial comments about children with autism, Autism United and angry parents will hold a major protest outside WOR Radio studios in Manhattan on Monday afternoon, CBS 2 HD has learned.

They will be calling for the firing of the radio jock and asking for a boycott by parents of children with autism of all stations carrying his signal. Savage outraged the autism community recently by saying 99 percent of children suffering with autism are "brats" and "morons" on his national syndicated radio show.

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.' "

Media Matters: Tack Action
Savage Nation Report (audio file)

Robbie Schwartzman is a 15-year-old from our area with autism. His father, Martin Schwartzman, says Savage's attack on autism is both irresponsible and despicable.

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

CBS 2 HD News reached out to Savage's producer, but no one returned our calls or e-mails.

Martin Schwartzman, like many other parents with autistic children, is now calling on radio stations across the country to pull Savage from the air waves.

"It was so hurtful to all individuals with disabilities, particularly those with autism, but I really think he should be removed from the air," Martin Schwartzman said.

Media Matters for America on Sunday condemned Savage for his comments.

"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."

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.

Over 2 million children and adults have autism. One out of every 150 children is diagnosed with autism today.

Is there the slightest bit of truth to what he's saying?

Dayzmom

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 9:10 am

Absolutely not! Autism is 100% real. I have a cousin with an autistic son and a friend who works as a service coordinator for a boy's residential home for autistic kids.

There is nothing phony about it. I can't believe he is so ignorant about an issue that is sweeping our nation. He must live a very insulated life to not come into contact with authentic autistic people.

Ruchel

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 9:11 am

Woah. In France he could be out for this.
I remember some guy made a joke on Nazism, he never came back on the radio... same for another one... and same for the tv guy who joked on the "mongols", out of business... and what they all said was pretty tame compared to this! shock

gryp

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 9:20 am

LOL, they'll never give up, anything to get rid of him.

I was listening to that show, actually. He was saying that autism is way overdiagnosed and we all know that's true. He said that lots of kids are diagnosed with autism when really they're just the result of poor parenting.

mimivan

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 9:22 am

my son has PDD, which isn't autism but is related. If his father spoke to him like this, I think his symptoms might be aggravated actually. Such children are more sensitive and retreat further into themselves when faced with hostility.

Quote:

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.' "

Oh great...he just HAD to use Yiddish, didn't he Rolling Eyes

Is he even Jewish, or is he the type who throws Yiddish around dafka when he wants seem "in your face."? I know the type Rolling Eyes

Ruchel

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 9:28 am

mimivan wrote:

Oh great...he just HAD to use Yiddish, didn't he Rolling Eyes

what I thought

GR: I'm by far not very knowledgeable in this as I'm not around children at all, but I can't help noticing a trend to diagnose many children with certain problems (low attention needing special class, hyperactive needing ritalin, etc) so maybe it's also the case with autism. But it's the way he words it. He's allowed to say it's overdiagnosed. He's even allowed to a harsh opinion and all. But insulting and saying "99 %" is not something he would be allowed to say in France. Now, we don't have full free speech as in America (I'm tempted to say BH we have a good middle ground).

gryp

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 9:40 am

Autism is way overdiagnosed. That's the point. That's what he was saying. They took a few sentences out of his show to make him look like a bad guy. People want him off the air and they're trying hard.

Just last week my pediatrician had the chutzpah to mention that my 20 month old has an overly large head which is a sign of autism. Come on. As his pediatrician he should know that the child was crawling by 4 months, walking by 10 months, and talking at 13 months. Autism should not even have entered his mind, never mind came out of his mouth.

As far as freedom of speech goes, there's a double-standard in this country, so you just have to fight for your own rights.

marina

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 9:55 am

Quote:

He was saying that autism is way overdiagnosed and we all know that's true. He said that lots of kids are diagnosed with autism when really they're just the result of poor parenting.

What are you talking about? Are you confused with ADHD?
Autism is very rarely misdiagnosed and is certainly not overdiagnosed. No autism is the sign of poor parenting. There was the Bruno Bettelheim theory of refrigerator parents but that went out in the 60s, together with Freud.

Have you ever seen an autistic child? I feel like this conversation is surreal. There are no cases, none, where autism was suddenly cured when the parents learned better parenting skills. No cases. That means this ridiculous theory is just ignorance. I am horrified that people on this site would actually give any credence to it.

marina

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 9:58 am

Quote:

Just last week my pediatrician had the chutzpah to mention that my 20 month old has an overly large head which is a sign of autism. Come on. As his pediatrician he should know that the child was crawling by 4 months, walking by 10 months, and talking at 13 months. Autism should not even have entered his mind, never mind came out of his mouth.

Your pediatrician may be acting out of legal pressures. If your child has any symptoms relating to autism, it would be a good idea for him to mention it just so that you don't sue him later. Imagine a parent who finds out that the child has autism and realizes that their pediatrician saw symptoms all along and said nothing. There's a huge lawsuit coming up.

Last edited by marina on Wed, Jul 23 2008, 9:01 am; edited 1 time in total

ora_43

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 10:05 am

I have yet to meet someone diagnosed with autism who doesn't pretty clearly seem to have autism. From what I've seen it's not like ADD or ADHD, which are real disorders that many people actually have but are also wildly overdiagnosed. But I haven't been in the states for a while so I don't know how it is now. One out of 150 with autism is more than I would have expected, but IMO the high number is probably due to an actual rise in the number of people with autism and not overdiagnosis.

99% misdiagnosed, if he said that, is clearly wrong. There might be a small grain of truth in what he's saying about the tendency in America to label kids as disabled instead of worrying about whether or not the parents and/or teachers could be the problem. But I don't think that's an issue with autism, autism is a disorder with very noticable symptoms. Autistic behavior isn't something kids would want to do on their own, and I can't imagine any child would be able to (or want to) act autistic if they weren't.

flowerpower

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 11:59 am

I am an autism pro. They are part of my life for many years. I can spot an austisic kid the first second. No way are they misdiagnosed at all. It's hard to get a full diagnosis for autism unless it's a strong case. The mild cases are diagnosed as pdd.

queen

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 12:17 pm

I'm curious how the radio station will be handling this.... will he have to publicly apologize, or will he be removed?

Barbara

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 12:43 pm

marina wrote:

Quote:

He was saying that autism is way overdiagnosed and we all know that's true. He said that lots of kids are diagnosed with autism when really they're just the result of poor parenting.

That's all I have to say. Speaking the way Savage did about children with differences, belittling them and their parents, is absolutely sickening.

sunshine!

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 1:20 pm

How sad this is. As someone who has worked with the autistic population for a number of years, I am shocked and furious by the blatant statements Savage made on his show. Watching parents suffer year after year as their children make minimal progress in communication and other areas that are lacking, and with all the studies that point to many different factors contributed to Autism, none of which are parental modes of discipline, I feel that whoever condones Savage and his remarks, does not know what Autism really is. And lastly, unfortunately autism is NOT overrated. There has been a huge increase in children born with Autism in the last 10-15 years. Experts are trying to link the boom with enviornmental exposures to harmful rays or chemicals, neurological differences, etc. To dare say that parents are at fault would be tantamount to blaming a parent if a child r"l was diagnosed with Cancer, because they weren't involved parents. How sad.

Crayon210

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 1:20 pm

Of course people want him off the air. He is a menuval.

GR, I can't believe you can listen to him. I like a number of conservative talk radio hosts, but I cannot listen to him. He makes me ill.

And yes, he is Jewish. Michael Alan Weiner.

Clarissa

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 1:26 pm

I think blabbermouths on the radio are given way too much latitude to say whatever pops into their annoying heads. I don't listen to talk radio because it's not my thing, but when I hear what some of these jerks say I just can't imagine wasting my time with them. If I want to hear someone's inane opinions, I just listen to my own mutterings. Music is where it's at, around here.

Clarissa

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 1:30 pm

marina wrote:

Have you ever seen an autistic child? I feel like this conversation is surreal. There are no cases, none, where autism was suddenly cured when the parents learned better parenting skills. No cases. That means this ridiculous theory is just ignorance. I am horrified that people on this site would actually give any credence to it.

I agree. I hope that nobody here with an autistic child reads this thread at all. They'd be justified if they blew a gasket.

cassandra

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 1:32 pm

Clarissa wrote:

If I want to hear someone's inane opinions, I just listen to my own mutterings. .

You mutter inanely? You should get your own show.

Clarissa

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 1:34 pm

cassandra wrote:

Clarissa wrote:

If I want to hear someone's inane opinions, I just listen to my own mutterings. .

You mutter inanely? You should get your own show.

I have my own show. I have an audience of three. They all try to shut me off, there's no switch, and waving the tv remote at me and pushing the mute button does nothing.

gryp

Mon, Jul 21 2008, 2:19 pm

You don't need to agree with everything a talk-show host says to like him.

The essential point here is not about whether or not autism is overdiagnosed, but about freedom of speech rights. I've listened to Savage for quite a number of years so I know that not only is he an advocate for autistic children, but for handicapped people in general. To say that he is heartless, ignorant, cold-hearted, is completely off-base. He grew up with a handicapped family member and the once or twice he has ever spoken about it would teach us all about what it really means to care for another person, especially one physically or mentally disabled. He screamed about a certain someone on TV whose entire show revolved around making fun of autistic and mentally handicapped adults. He is a scientist, not ignorant about these matters in the least bit. You don't need to agree with him about autism though, everyone will follow their own professional and the advice they think is best. But the point here is not about the subject of autism, but about freedom of speech rights being taken away.
Media Matters is funded by ________. Find out and you'll know why they want him off the air. Extreme left-wing liberals and CAIR have some thing in common.

And what was that that Jesse Jackson said the other day? Anyone see him going anytime soon? Here in America the left-wing wants freedom of speech for some. Only for themselves.

Crayon, he is the only one whose show is the slightest bit interesting. The other conservative talk show hosts just blabber along and say nothing. Besides, if you really listened to his show, you would see that he is someone to be admired. He talks spirituality on his show quite a bit, trying to lift the people to a higher spiritual level and not be stuck in the immoral garbage that surrounds us these days. He praises orthodox Judaism quite a bit on a regular basis.
Anyhow, I don't listen to his show much anymore, but I'm interested in hearing it tonight. I'm sure it will be quite entertaining.

Page 1 of 5

1 2 3 4 5 Next