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Some parents of autistic children have called for Savage’s firing after he described autism as a racket last week. “In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out,” Savage said on his radio program last Wednesday.

Savage then went on to say, “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.’”

My son is not a brat. He's not a moron, either. He has a memory that amazes me in it's capacity, a sense of humor that leaves my sides hurting from laughter, and a depth of love, patience and perseverance that Mr. Savage is quite obviously unaquainted with. If a simple spanking, time out, or verbal tirade could "cure" him, I would have gladly administered any to keep him from having to live in the world as he is right now.

Instead, I chose to have him evaluated by a team of developmental psychologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and early childhood intervention specialists who not only tested him, but observed him clinically both in and out of a classroom setting for six solid months before arriving at their diagnosis. Since receiving proper guided therapy, I have seen his communication skills grow leaps and bounds. I've seen him not only acknowledge, but engage his peers. I've watched him grow and learn and experience and do things that I worried he'd never accomplish. He surprises me every single day, and while I would wish his disability away in a heartbeat, I have to say that sometimes I am grateful for it, because it's taught me so much.


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