A Savage Attack

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A Savage Attack

Right-radio wrong.

By J. Pitney Jr.

Last week, radio talk-show host Savage talked about autism:

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. "

I'm not an impartial observer here. My six-year-old son has high-

functioning autism. He is exactly the kind of kid that Savage

attacked.

Savage's comments were wrong and harmful. Some autistic kids do learn

to read and speak, which is why misinformed people may think that

they are not " genuinely handicapped. " Yes, they are. Autism is a

brain disorder that affects everything from social communication to

physical coordination. Autistic people have multiple problems that

make it hard for them to do things that the rest of us take for

granted. It may take them years to learn how to toss a ball or nod

their head.

And even when they can talk, they often have odd speech patterns that

instantly mark them as autistic. Other kids taunt them with the very

words that Savage used. If they respond verbally, their speech

problems will draw even more taunting. If they respond with their

fists, they run the risk that authorities will label them

as " violent. "

Once in a while, parents take the approach that Savage recommends. It

never works. Screaming insults at a handicapped kid is not child-

rearing. It's child abuse.

Conservatives need to speak out against Savage. Many news stories

label him as " conservative " or " right-wing, " which may prompt some

people to think that we agree with him. Savage has a long history of

disgusting comments, which has led Klinghoffer to speculate

that his act is a giant liberal put-on, a " lefty's cartoon mental

picture of a ranting right-wing caveman. "

The liberal website Media Matters has spearheaded the backlash

against Savage's autism comments. Understandably, conservatives might

be uneasy about siding with such an outfit. Savage has tried to

exploit such feelings by casting his critics as PC leftists. But just

because the folks at Media Matters oppose child abuse, it doesn't

follow that we conservatives should accept it just for the sake of

disagreeing with them.

Besides, liberals do not have a corner on concern for autism.

California's 1969 Lanterman Act was a landmark in serving people with

autism and other disabilities. Its sponsor was a Republican, as was

the governor who signed it: Reagan. In 2006, President Bush

signed the Combating Autism Act. Its author was Senator Rick Santorum

(R., PA).

Savage has cited respectable commentators who suggest that many kids

with the autistic label are merely late talkers. His defense fails on

two counts. First, these commentators don't speak in the hateful

language that he has used. Second, although they make their argument

in good faith, they get things backward.

When you first notice that your child has a speech delay — around his

second birthday — autism is the last thing that you want to think

about. Autism is devastating and frightening. It's more comforting to

think that your kid is just starting late and will catch up soon.

Clutching the " late talker " security blanket, some parents wait

months or years before admitting the possibility of autism.

At that point, they may indeed conclude that a formal diagnosis could

be important in getting help. States and school districts often pay

for the assessment. Every autism diagnosis means thousands of dollars

for services that the federal government mandates but does not fully

subsidize. With tight budgets, the authorities have no incentive to

encourage overdiagnosis. Once in a while, a child may incorrectly get

the autism label, but underdiagnosis is probably a much bigger

problem.

We need more study of the causes and prevalence of autism. At the

moment, though, the issue is Savage's attack. He has since

claimed that he is a nice guy who wants help to go to those who truly

need it. Nonsense. If he cared about autistic kids, he wouldn't have

spewed words such as " moron " and " idiot. "

And he shouldn't claim to be a conservative. He has cheapened

political discourse and hurt defenseless children. There's nothing

conservative about that.

— J. Pitney Jr. is the Roy P. Crocker Professor of Government at

Claremont McKenna College.