Autism Speaks on Michael Savage

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Very nice.

I thought his comments were funny, because they were fairly typical of the misleading thoughts that are out there.
He took them to an extreme, but the core of what he was saying is exactly what a whole lot of people think when they think about AS. He does it to get a rise out of people, but sadly some people really believe that stuff.

I'm not terribly offended because I have chosen to hate nothing. True his comments were foolish and ignorant, but let him be foolish and ignorant. It doesn't hurt me and as long as no one who matters to me believes him then it can't.

Well, good thing I'm not a homicidal maniac...

Hey, waitaminnit... I AM a homicidal maniac, aren't I? I completely forgot!!

Time to sharpen my knives, Mr. Savage

Oh, I don't appreciate Autism Speaks comments, either. "They deserve our pity".
Bollocks! Sod off, ya w*kers! Nobody pities me; at least nobody pities me and walks away with all their teeth...

Fortunately, it seems cooler heads are prevailing in this thread... I didn't hear Savage's original comments, but I have listened to the two full shows that he's done since (well, half of the first and most of the second), both of which have dealt almost exclusively with the controversy. And while it's true that what he lacks in tact, he makes up for in hyperbole, a lot of what he's been saying to millions of listeners, is actually not that far off from what a lot of people in the autistic community have been saying to anyone who will listen.

He spoke of over-medication and over-medicalization of childhood, as does the community.

He spoke of following the money, as does the community. The only difference is where each thinks the trail will lead; Savage thinks it will to lead to Big Pharma trying to push the newest pill, whereas the community thinks it will lead to vaccine lawyers looking at the biggest catch since asbestos, and both think it will lead to "advocacy" groups who use the spectre of autism to line their pockets.

He spoke of over-diagnosis, while the community speaks of over-exaggeration of diagnoses.

And while he has not spoken against eugenic abortion (he has not said anything at all about it), the end result feared by the community (and rightly so), I firmly believe that is only because he doesn't know about it or its importance to the discussion at hand.

I know I probably sound like a Savage apologist, especially since technically this post makes me one; it's pretty rare that I find myself agreeing with him to this degree, and it's true that his normal fare is often flirting with insanity (if not past the flirting and over to necking), but in this case, there's more here to agree with than to disagree with, even if you have to cut through some hyperbole to reach the grain of truth.

(And while this is not the same thread, I'd like to point out, when he speaks of the "Stalinists" working against him, he's not referring to the ASD or autistic community, he's specifically referring to Media Matters, with whom this is not his first encounter.)

Did anyone actually hear the show when he talked about autism? He was saying that the medical community is labeling too many children with autism. If your child was diagnosed with autism after being observed and tested for only an hour or so, then what Michael Savage said is true. A highly qualified doctor will take over 4 hours to assess your child with a battery of tests and will make a pretty accurate diagnoses. I'm not talking about classic autism and neither did Michael Savage.

That may be, but Michael Savage insulted and offended a lot of people. When is this ever excusable? I mean, had he been posting on WP instead of doing a radio show, our mods would have banned him posthaste. Celebrity is really no excuse for this kind of behaviour. I don't care if the guy has a milion degrees and doctorates. Savage wasn't censored because he is a big shot radio personality.

i get what he was trying to say, but is was stupid

I wanted to say since I made the thread.. What I've come to realize is that I'm 1) Angry that he'd call my kids brats and 2) that he is potentially causing harm to kids like mine. Let's say just one person believed what he said and had an undiagnosed autistic child. That one person would be given an excuse to spank their child, ostracize their child, and bully their child.. Leading to one more child growing up in an abusive home.. a negligent home.. and most likely having depression or anxiety for the rest of his foreseeable future. If that doesn't get you upset, then consider yourself lucky to not have seen what happens as a result.

The only reason I see it this way is because my cousin has a son who is autistic.. She won't listen to anyone when they say he needs to be seen by a doctor.. It's easier for her to yell at him.. and push him down.. and his father to belittle him. They treat their dog better than their son. And if this man, Michael Savage, caused one more child to live like that, then I will continue to cringe when his name is mentioned in my foreseeable future.