Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Sickening. Just sickening.

I don't listen to Michael Savage (real last name = Wiener), so I didn't hear him accuse autistic children of being nothing more than brats and their parents for raising them to be "putzes" and "whiners." Chances are you know or know of a family challenged by autism/Asperger's Syndrome. Like me, and my academically brilliant yet socially petrified 10-year-old. Or my friend M and her 16 year old son C, who is afflicted with CP, autism, and a metabolic disorder that requires use of a permanent feeding tube and puree-ing of any food he can ingest orally. He attends school with a 1:1 aide. C will be institutionalized when she and her husband can no longer care for him. My daughter is planning ahead, looking at college catalogues and reading science and anatomy books this summer because she wants to become a midwife so she can "help moms and snuggle newborn babies" for the rest of her life. There's an ocean-wide spectrum in between these two kids, and I thank God every day for the side we're on. I've met and communed with many parents on both legal and personal issues related to this neurological disorder, but have yet to meet a "brat" among their children. So, friends, I ask you to at least consider the following:

Please do not justify this man's commercial existence by listening to him or supporting his sponsors.

5 comments:

Kasia said...

I don't listen to him, but if I find out who his sponsors are I'll happily refrain from supporting him.

I suppose autism may be overdiagnosed - that's possible. But it is 100% real. Just ask my friends the DJs, whose oldest is a nonverbal but otherwise highly functioning autistic, and whose second-oldest has Aspergers.

This guy should do volunteer work with autistics for a week or two, and then he can see just how effective his "cut the act" line is. If he only knew...

A Secular Franciscan said...

Savage makes O'Reilly and Hannity sound rational! I turn off the radio the minute he comes on.

WhiteStoneNameSeeker said...

What a brat! What on earth made him say that?
He could spend more time on air demanding better research into the causes of autism and aspbergers and he could demand more funding for systems and even meds to help people with the condition.
But hey, shock-jock crud seems to be the way to go. *sigh*

Kevin Whiteman said...

As someone who's does Dev Ther for Easter Seals/UCP, allow me to say that "Dumb Shit" spelled sideways is "Michael Savage".

swissmiss said...

What a jerk. I had never even heard of him until his comments were on the news. Some people don't have the sense or tact God gave a rock.