Radio Discussion on Autism

I'm new to this forum, but I'd just like to post about an issue that's been on my mind.

I recently read on Wikipedia.org about a discussion that occurred on the radio show The Savage Nation, in which the host, commentator Michael Savage, declared autism to be, largely, a "racket". According to Savage, the vast majority of autism cases in children were really a lack of discipline on the parents part, and not a genuine disorder. He felt that lower-income families were using autism as an excuse to collect government money.

I have heard Savage's show before, and I disagree with most of his ideas. But this caught my attention in particular, as I was diagnosed at an early age with Asperger's Syndrome, a disorder related to autism. I find it somewhat troubling that someone would accuse parents of children who lived with Autism or Asperger's of making up a disorder to collect money. Living with a disorder has made the lives of myself and my family more difficult, and Savage had declared that we had fabricated the whole thing to gain financially.

What do you think?

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Autism is real and serious. But there are so many 'degrees' of autism now that its easy to just throw the word around and say, "My child is mildly autistic" when really there's nothing wrong with the kid at all.

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I work in the MH/MR field daily. I currently have many individuals with some form of Autism. The thing about Autism is that it is a spectrum disorder, and the individuals can fall anywhere within that spectrum. It is a very real disorder, particularly with communication. In the work I have done thus far I have learned that most have significant problems with expressive language. Other characteristics are various. Communication is the one thing that links the whole spectrum. Many have sensory issues such as, bright lights, loud noises, and smells. Things that may not bother us can be traumatic to these individuals. The thing is many of these individuals are very high functioning, and have a very high IQ. So because they don't physically appear to be disabled or intellectually disabled many individuals in society believe there is nothing wrong with them. Autism is usually diagnosed between ages 2 and 5. Many are actually tested for hearing before they even consider Autism. That fact of the matter is that there are many tests an individual goes through before being diagnosed as Autistic. It is certainly not a label thrown out to get money from the government. Have you ever tried to get money from the government. They will make you go through all kinds of hoops and hurdles. They just don't hand out money, even when you are entitled to it. I have to beg to get my school money every semester, but I have to fulfill my obligations promptly. I will stop before I go on another tangent.

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