Posted on Thu, Jul. 24, 2008
Talk-radio host Michael Savage told millions of his listeners that he's discovered the cure for autistic children: They shouldn't sit there "crying like idiots."
"In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out," Savage said. "They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life.' "
Actually, his rant is proof that moronic behavior
can get you somewhere in life. After all, Savage has the third-largest talk-radio audience in America, on 350 stations. But that's beside the point.
Savage willfully misrepresents the reality of autism. About 1 in 150 children in the United States have some form of this developmental disability, which is a medical condition, not a surge in coddling.
Pennsylvania officials say more than 21,000 children have autism or related disorders. In New Jersey, it's estimated that one in 94 children have autism. For boys in New Jersey, the rate is even higher: one in 60.
Autism is a neurological condition that often shows up in children by the time they are 2 years old. It is characterized by impairment in communication and behavioral development. Autistic children are not the products of lax parenting. Their frustrated parents can spend years fighting prejudice and trying to obtain adequate services for them.
Savage's comments show "a total lack of awareness of what autism is, and what individuals and their families deal with every day," said Pennsylvania House Speaker Dennis O'Brien (R., Phila.).
O'Brien is an unabashed crusader for autistic children. He won passage this summer in Harrisburg of a bill mandating private insurers to provide up to $36,000 in coverage annually for autism therapy for people under 21. About two dozen other states have similar laws.
Experts haven't determined why autism is being diagnosed more often than it was 30 years ago. Heightened awareness by parents and more experts in the field could be playing a role in more frequent diagnoses. That doesn't mean children with autism can simply shake it off, any more than a child with diabetes can wish away the condition.
What's needed for these children is better therapy earlier in life, and more services to help them ease into adulthood. They will not "get better" from applying sterner discipline, just as a talk-radio host can't become less biased by taking a pill.
"These kids are never spoiled by prejudice," O'Brien said. "We should all learn from that."
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