Denis Leary Says Your Kid's Not Autistic, Just Stupid
Here we go again.
Autism's a big topic these days, in the news for all sorts of reasons. And that makes it a big target. The know-it-alls who like to court controversy by hassling the helpless used to go after ADHD and the parents who get it diagnosed, but they seem to be finding autism a bigger attention-getter now, a larger opportunity for outrage.
So I was sad, but not particularly surprised, to read in the blog Autism Vox this morning about a tirade against autistic kids and their parents by actor and "comedian" Denis Leary, from his new book Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid. As quoted in the New York Post, Leary writes:
There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can’t compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks ... to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons. I don’t give a [bleep] what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you - yer kid is NOT autistic. He’s just stupid. Or lazy. Or both.Sigh.
It's hard to even know how to respond to stuff like this anymore. If you speak up and defend your family and decry insensitivity and misinformation, you're accused of being overly sensitive and excessively politically correct, of missing the point of humor and satire and sarcasm and free speech. But if you don't speak up, things become accepted items of public conversation that only serve to make life harder for children with disabilities and their families.
Either way, whatever you do, yahoos in comment sections and message boards are going to use the occasion to go into little frenzies of hatefulness. Most of the time, the reactions of anonymous posters are infinitely more hurtful than the calculatedly outrageous statements of publicity hounds.
It must be nice to see the world so simply, mustn't it? To be able to divide all people into smart and stupid, responsible and lazy, "people like us" and "people like them"? And to always know, with maximum nasty smugness, which side of the line you're on? The world I live in is a heck of a lot more gray than that, involving a lot more uncertainty and guesswork and making the best of imperfect situations.
For sure, one in which words like "smart" and "stupid" are, all in all, pretty useless.
Just like comedians who think you have to be mean to be funny.
Update: Leary says his words are being taken out of context.
Read more: Special Needs News | Site of the Day | Michael Savage Says Autism's a Fraud
Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
I hear people like that, and I could wish that their moms hadn’t dropped them on their heads as babies – or maybe that they were dropped a little harder.
It’s like the infrequent person who’s screaming and yelling, ranting and raving about something I can’t quite figure out, railing at the unforgiving world which continues to walk by, knowing it’s too late to soothe with a kind word and a cup of coffee. Leary got ‘on a roll’ and I expect he’ll have to run up against a wall or something to stop his own momentum.
Hi Terri!
If Leary feels he’s been misquoted, he should release the whole chapter right now. Unlike many books on Amazon, you can’t preview his. And all proceeds of the book should go to making “Nobody Nowhere,” a movie that everyone should see, especially Denis Leary.
He doesn’t get that autism is a spectrum disorder. Because the kids don’t behave like his “dear old” friends’ kid, he rules out autism. And behaviors and issues change with age, especially when the teenage hormones kick in. According to the Dr. Collins, who managed the Human Genome Project, state of the art research indicates that there are even more genes involved in autism than previously thought, and what we call the spectrum is actually several disorders. So of course there’s a wide array of behaviors to treat. However, they all respond to ABA or CBT when these therapies are done right, because they are by definition individualized therapies.
I am an instructor at a local university. I wlll use Leary’s excerpt as an example of what information is “NOT” considered retrieved from a scholarly journal with peer reviews.
Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Springer, Bill O’Reilly, Denis Leary, Bill Mahr(spelling?) are social commentators– but first they are entertainers concentrating on their products’ ratings. Sensationalism=$$$. Controversy=$$$. No spin=$$$. Spin=$$$
I do not agree with Leary’s comments. However, I am openminded and willing to consider different perspectives.
Denis–usually spelled Dennis. Perhaps his mom was expecting a girl and could not give up “Denise”. Perhaps she was a nonconformist. Perhaps she had dysgraphia. Perhaps it was a typo. Perhaps Leary’s original name was George and he didn’t like it. Perhaps his manager recommended an entirely new name. There was probably no hidden agenda. I would be leery to muster the definitive answer. “Muster”–that should certainly provide Leary with fodder.
Leary knew what he was doing.
He pressed the proverbial button and then sat back to watch the implosion. He may have made an uncalculated error in his target. He picked on the “little” guy–or in this case, “the fat, lazy” guy. He stereotyped a huge population of children and their parents.
Parents experience unbelievable responses when first encountering the realization that their child may be exceptional. One is self-blame. Continuing through the grieving process, acceptance may result. However, after that, fervor promotes fighting or fleeing to kick in.
Leary used his freedom of speech to express his opinion. As our Constitution has evolved, oppressed members of society have achieved empowerment. Special education has always been controversial. Over a hundred years ago, children who “appeared” abnormal were institutionalized. Their “areas of eligibility” were “moron” and “imbicile”. Their “least restricted environment” was separate setting: institute.
Now is the time for parents to surround themselves with reliable alliances. Seek accurate, reliable and valid evaluations. Press for treatment and education plans based on scientific research-based methods. Demand highly-qualified teachers. Avoid fleeing.
Fight.
Empower yourself.
Use your freedoms–the same freedoms afforded to Leary–and expect a free and APPROPRIATE education in the LRE for your child.
Leary is not an expert in education–special or otherwise. He is a comedian. He engages in controversial topics. He desires an emotional response, particularly laughs.
Use your freedoms. Deluge him with emotions: anger, frustration, guilt, hate, confusion, enthusiasm–your emotions. Mine, among many is “unamused”. My affect is flat.
Don’t waste your time educating him about Autism and spectrum disorders. The researchers who collaborated on the book have done that for him
Don’t label him a neanderthal.
Don’t label him an “Educational Bigot”.
Label him a capitalist. Then hit him where it hurts most…in his pockets. Boycott his book, boycott his movies, boycott his TV show.
Fight, using the least amount of effort to solicate the greatest outcome. Take his “button” away from him…and then don’t laugh. Comedians can’t stand rejection.
Use your freedom.
some people are like that but not all.some kids need extra help that doent make them stupid or disabled everyone should know there kids like the back of there hand.the only people that throw money at the doctor are the people that have the money to do so,you may want to look at a real family and you can see somethings are just there when your child is disabled the last thing you should be saing is they are stupid hope you or your kids will never have to live life with a disablity,take my life for one day lets see how long you last my daughteris 13 years old and was born with cerebral palsy,and mental retardation,you only say this because most likly you don’t even take care of your kids the nanny does
I’m an asperger, which is higher than autism. I know how true some people are born with such disability because I am one. Only stupid people like Leary do not believe nor want to understand that we’re born in such a different structure as most others. Even though I was unhappy that I’m so different, but on positive side, at least I know I’m creative and have got special ideas that makes me feel good. In a way, I’m proud of it.