Action opposing Savage's words on Autism

[Guest guest]

I'm forwarding this from Derrick Jeffries.

Cg

Dear friend,

I am contacting you regarding recent comments about children diagnosed with Autism made by Savage on his talk radio show that is aired on Talk Radio Network.

I am the parent of a 12 year old son who is medically and educationally diagnosed with Autism. I also have an older sister who is diagnosed with Autism. I am offended and concerned about Mr. Savage’s comments and their potential impact upon my family and other families dealing with Autism. Here is what Savage said.

‘Now, the illness du jour is autism. You know what autism is? 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.' Autism—everybody has an illness. If I behaved like a fool, my father called me a fool. And he said to me, 'Don't behave like a fool.' The worst thing he said—'Don't behave like a fool. Don't be anybody's dummy. Don't sound like an idiot. Don't act like a girl. Don't cry.' That's what I was raised with. That's what you should raise your children with. Stop with the sensitivity training. You're turning your son into a girl, and you're turning your nation into a nation of losers and beaten men.’

These are the words of a man who has no experience with, or knowledge about Autism. He does not spend his nights with a child who repeatedly wakes up throughout the night. He does not understand the difficulty of maintaining a special diet to prevent his child from having constant diarrhea and infections with high fevers and heroin like effects from certain food proteins. He cannot comprehend the challenges of coping with sensory issues, spatial issues, safety issues, medical issues, educational issues, behavioral issues, fixation issues, etc, etc, etc. These are not problems that a child chooses to have, or that are caused by poor parenting or the absence of one parent. Autism is a neuro-biological condition with roots in genetics that we are still discovering.

Savage has always been known for controversy, but this time he has gone way over the line of what should be tolerated or ignored. His message damages the forward progress of the last 50+ years. When my sister was diagnosed with Autism there was another Savage claiming that Autism was caused by mothers being emotionally distant or cold toward their children. Dr.Bruno Bettelheim, and his contemporaries, brought much grief upon my mother and others like her who were doing the best they could to care for children with severe challenges that often included self-injurious behaviors and other behaviors that were so difficult and unpleasant that most people would not even be able to imagine living with them.

His words will only add to the difficulty that parents face when seeking to obtain appropriate educational services for our children. Many teachers already harbor thoughts that are not unlike Mr. Savage’s. Some of them and their assistants have resorted to placing our children in locked isolation closets or they engage in the use of dangerous restraint procedures because they lack training in how to calm or re-direct a child with Autism. Most people would be shocked to learn how frequently this is happening here in the United States. Individualized Education Programs (IEP) are mandated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that a child’s individual educational needs are met. However, many parents of children with Autism have found it necessary to bring lawyers or assistants with them to IEP meetings to prevent school districts from depriving their children of services that are essential. School staff members often see our children as a problem to be dealt with rather than as an educational opportunity.

Beyond the educational issues are the looks, stares, glares, and comments of people who do not understand Autism who we encounter when we take our children out into a public place. Mr. Savage’s message has surely reached the minds of many of these individuals making it even more unpleasant for us to engage in routine activities.

Mr. Savage has described the following verbal method of teaching/correcting a child with Autism, '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.’

Savage’s method will not work for several reasons. Some children with Autism are so impacted by challenges that they may not even comprehend these words. Others, who are higher functioning, may not have a typical empathetic bond that exists between a parent and a child. They may also lack what is often referred to as Theory of Mind (TOM) which would allow them to have a basis for understanding another person’s intentions, desires, beliefs, etc. Without these typical mental and emotional tools Mr. Savage’s methods are meaningless to our children. Even for a typical child, Mr. Savage’s method would be demeaning.

Most parents of children with Autism have tried many methods to reach our children, and have found that typical methods rarely work and usually make matters far worse than before. If Mr. Savage had a child with Autism he would probably understand this. What do work are adaptive strategies that help make a child’s world more predictable and less invasive from a sensory perspective. Methods that identify, and compensate for developmental losses and impairments also make learning possible. Where Mr. Savage, through ignorance, attempts to make the child somehow change to comply with our world, in reality we need to change our methods of communication while making the child’s world more structured, predictable and functional.

While it is highly likely that there are some cases in which Autism is incorrectly diagnosed, or where medications are inappropriately prescribed, it is not the place of someone such as Mr. Savage to make a broad and baseless statement that has this type of negative impact. He is not an authority on these matters and has obviously not even taken the time to have the most basic of understandings.

Raising a child with Autism has many rewards, but the purpose of this message is to reveal that Savage does not have a clue about what he is talking about. He has focused his message of abrasive hatred upon a group of children who have no ability to defend themselves. What he did not count on was the fact that as parents we will defend our children.

I am now asking for your assistance in helping to limit the spread of damage that Mr. Savage has unwisely initiated.

Please join with me in an email and letter writing campaign to counter Savage’s message.

Please send a message to Talk Radio Network, telling them that Savage’s rant against children with Autism was unacceptable, hateful and damaging to children and families with Autism. Their contact information is as follows:

Talk Radio NetworkP.O. Box 3755Central Point, OR 97502Phone: Fax: Email: http://www.talkradionetwork.com/contactus

Savage’s contact information is as follows:

The Savage NationThe Revere Society150 Shoreline Hwy, Bldg EMill Valley, CA 94941Fax: Email: michaelsavage@...

Please also send a message to your local affiliate radio station that hosts the Savage/Savage Nation radio program. I would suggest doing an internet search using the name of your city and the name Savage.

In Portland the local affiliate is KXL. Their contact info is as follows:

KXL/Rose City Radio Corporation0234 SW Bancroft StreetPortland, OR 97239Phone: General Manager: Tim McNamara Email: tim.mcnamara@...Program Director: Derby Email: james.derby@...

The following is a list of Savage sponsors with their contact information. Please ask them to withdraw their sponsorship/support of the Savage Radio Program, explaining to them that his comments regarding Autism are unacceptable and intolerable:

ABC, Inc.:VP Advertising/Sales Mike ShawPhone: 212 456-7272mike.shaw@...VP Public Relations BrockmanPhone: 818 460-7756Fax: Acura:Vice PresidentJeff Conradjeff_conrad@... American Express: Berland.A.Berland@...American ExpressP.O. Box 981540El Paso, TX 79998-1540Boca Java:Stefanie Hochstadtershochstadter@...1-Boca Java730 South Powerline Rd.Suite DDeerfield Beach, FL 33442s: Soup Company PlaceCamden, NJ 08103-1701Phone: Phone: Citrix:851 West Cypress Creek RoadFort Lauderdale, FL 33309, United StatesAmericas PR WyseAmericas Senior PR ManagerPhone: Email: jason.wyse@... ArmstrongDirector, Corporate CommunicationsPhone: Email: eric.armstrong@...Dish Network:CEO Charlie Ergen: CEO assistant: EchoStar Satellite L.L.C.Attn: Corporate Communications9601 S. Meridian Blvd.Englewood, CO 80112press@...Ebay:Alan MarksSenior Vice President Corporate CommunicationsTelephone: 1-Fax: 1-Email: info@...General Motors: CanabalGeneral Motors, Northeast Communications, Work: +1-, Cellular: +1-, andrea.canabal@...Stockholder line: Gallo Winery: SegaleGallo Winery SpokespersonWork: Cell: Prudential:Bob DeFillippoPhone: bob.defillippo@...Nestlé Purina PetCare:Email: kschopp@...Phone: Fax: Simon & Shuster: Selleck(800) 223-2336info@...Staples, Inc: Capelli, paul.capSubway:SUBWAY® Public RelationsLes Winograd Ext. 1683winograd_l@... Kane Ext.1329kane_k@...Volkswagen:Keyes, SteveDirector, Press and Public RelationsPhone: Fax: Email: steve.keyes@...

Sears (Reportedly cancelled sponsorship of Savage)Sears Public Relations And CommunicationsWebsite Contact: searsmedia.com/tools/inquires/feedback.htm

Radioshack (Reportedly cancelled sponsorship of Savage)Media RelationsRiverfront CampusMail Stop #CF7-130_300RadioShack CircleFort Worth, TX 76102-1964Phone: Fax: E-mail: media.relations@...

AFLAC (Reportedly cancelled sponsorship of Savage)1-800-99-AFLAC (1-) Kane, 2nd Vice President External Relations Aflac Incorporated1-Mechell , Media Relations Manager, 1-Email: news@...

Budweiser (Reportedly cancelled sponsorship of Savage)Anheuser-Busch, Inc.One Busch PlaceSt. Louis, MO 63118Website contact: http://www.anheuser-busch.com/ContactAgeVerification.html (Click “yes” to verify that you are at least 21 years of age, and your browser will be directed to another page where you need to click a button on the left side for email)1 800 DIAL BUD (1 )

You may also want to discover sponsors in your local area and contact them directly.

Alternately, you can cut and paste the following list of email addresses into your email program “send to” line and you can send a blanket message to the many of Savage’s national sponsors.

mike.shaw@...; jeff_conrad@...; .A.Berland@...; shochstadter@...; jason.wyse@...; eric.armstrong@...; press@...; info@...; andrea.canabal@...; bob.defillippo@...; kschopp@...; info@...; steve.keyes@...; paul.cap; winograd_l@...; kane_k@...

Please forward this message to as many people as possible.

Respectfully,

Derrick Jeffries

Portland, OR-- Derrick Jeffries

derrick_jeffries@...