by Steve Rhodes Michael Savage is a syndicated talk show host image:41922:0::0

A disorder affecting children within their first three years of life, the Autism Spectrum is one that affects language, communication and social issues. There is no known isolated cause, although studies have led to an underlying genetic component and environmental triggers of the disorder. There is no cure.

So when the number three radio personality, Michael Savage of The Savage Nation insulted the Autistic population and their parents, one can only imagine the backlash that followed.

According to the AC:

Michael Savage has labeled children with autism "brats" as well as "idiots" and "morons." Michael Savage went on to suggest the autism was a racket designed to get public assistance.

Advocates for children, for Autism, Autism organizations and many others are simply outraged at his nationally aired attack on children, calling for a retraction, boycotting of the show and even his immediate termination.

In a Fox News article, Savage is reported as saying ""In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out." He also was quoted as saying:

"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, you idiot.'"

The University of California, Berkley graduate holds degrees in herbology, botany and nutritional ethnomedicine but psychiatry and psychology, or any other specialized degree that focuses on human development are not ones listed on his curriculum vitae.

According to the Mayo Clinic, Autism is anything but a behaviour resulting from the lack of a father's discipline.

Social skills

Fails to respond to his or her name
Has poor eye contact
Appears not to hear you at times
Resists cuddling and holding
Appears unaware of others' feelings
Seems to prefer playing alone — retreats into his or her "own world"

Language

Starts talking later than other children
Loses previously acquired ability to say words or sentences
Does not make eye contact when making requests
Speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm — may use a singsong voice or robot-like speech
Can't start a conversation or keep one going
May repeat words or phrases verbatim, but doesn't understand how to use them

Behavior

Performs repetitive movements, such as rocking, spinning or hand-flapping
Develops specific routines or rituals
Becomes disturbed at the slightest change in routines or rituals
Moves constantly
May be fascinated by parts of an object, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car
May be unusually sensitive to light, sound and touch and yet oblivious to pain

And that is just the bare-surface minimum of the spectrum that affects different children very differently.

There are many causative theories circulating but one in particular has created less blame and more understanding of these children. An autistic adult who has become a valuable inside tool to understanding Autism named William Stillman. He is an author and self-advocate highly specialized in the area of Autism.

In response to the recent negative outburst from Michael Savage, Stillman maintains his decorum and says:

This culminated perhaps most succinctly when it was brought to my attention that a radio talk show host referred to autism as a hoax, a fraudulent excuse for bad parenting, and concluded that children with autism are “brats” and “idiots.”

You can only know what you know—until you know better, or differently. And ignorance need not hold negative connotations if one endeavors a greater appreciation and respect. Autism is oftentimes an invisible disability, meaning, many of us get by, blend, and “pass” for normal because there’s nothing particularly telling about our outward appearance at first glance. It is obvious when someone is physically compromised because they are blind, deaf, or use a wheelchair—it’s visible and tangible, and, in observation, we are more likely to make compassionate accommodations. So when a child melts down in the middle of the mall, screaming and thrashing, it may not be unreasonable that the average layperson leap to conclusions not unlike the radio talk show host.

He continues to explain from a first person perspective how an autistic individual cannot just snap out of it, explaining how the world is a sensory overload for the individual and the individual, a sponge. Read more of his response here: Autism: A New Cultural Competency.

Don Imus, he is not. Savage's words aimed at an entire medically substantiated group were far worse than Don Imus' horrible remarks, making one statement, calling an entire basketball team "nappy headed ho's". For that, Imus was suspended and appeared with Al Sharpton, making an apology for his remarks. Savage's statements referring to autistic children as fatherless brats, idiots, morons and claiming that it is all part of a scheme to obtain some type of public assistance deserve nothing less.

A senseless attack on a vulnerable group of children that have no control over who they are but who do, indeed, have significantly more class than that expressed in the statements made on public radio by a PhD level individual who was born of a race that endured horrific abuse.