Denis Leary on Autism.

It might be time to add a new category to our lineup. Denis Leary knows the power of the autism community. That's why he's using us to sell books.  Can we have a giant, "Whatever." for Mr. Leary? 

"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."

New York Post Gossip section.

(PS) My apologies if you're offended by the graphic. It seemed fitting.

Comments

[Alphone]

to display this kind of contempt for such innocent members of our society who need all the support that we can give them, and their families has to be seen as unforgivable and some bazaar form of hatred indeed, My sister has an autistic ally impaired child and I have been steadily amazed at the amount of care she has offered him, year in and year out, his care has become her life in so many ways, I am just amazed that someone of this caliber did not know that such a subject to ridicule was way off subject unless only in a supportive way. I am simply shocked that this has happened, and I would say to Mr Leary, What were you thinking? Do you really think it's cool to make fun of such needy victims? That is absolutely outrageous and if anyone is sick here sir it is you !

[nancy]

GOD HELP YOU `!!!!COME AND SPEND 45 MINUTES WITH MY AUSTIC GRANDCHILD YOU WILL CHANGE YOUR MIND ABOUT AUTISM GOD HELP.

[Patricia]

Okay, angry mother's enough of this getting all up in arms and then bashing someone who did their job to make yourself feel better. About 7 years ago I was living with my Aunt who had a boyfriend that I couldn't stand, being 13 at the time I took to the traditional method of arguing and rebelling. She took me to a psychiatrist who I spent 5 minutes talking to about why I argue then I was diagnosed with bi-polar and given a prescription cocktail that made my hair thin and to gain weight (a whopping 60 pounds) my aunt said the drugs weren't working after 6 months so I was given new drugs. The new drugs made me shake and have cold sweats my Aunt brushed it off as side effects that would diminish. Finally my mother pulled me off the drugs and got it so I was with her even though I wasn't going to an excellent school. The funny part? I wasn't so pissed off anymore. At this new school I had an algebra II class with 5 "autistic" kids. Only one showed any signs of being truly autistic. The rest were loud, obnoxious, lazy, and showed no degree of intelligence beyond the ability to count the money that was in their pockets using their cell phone's calculator. We really need to look at a bigger picture people. You're kids may show slight autism signs but being someone who constantly studies different things to be informed I can say that from what I've seen we all have "signs" of mental disorders but are you willing to say that cause you get down sometime and are happy others that you are bi-polar? For someone to really have something and for me to believe it you better show strong signs of it on a regular basis. For the final record MY bi-polar was called raging hormones and being a 13-14 year old female so maybe your kid is just shy.

[Dave]

Why is everyone on here trying to make it out like Denis Leary's entire existance is against them now after one, seemingly purposefuly ignorant, paragraph out of a book? My god he used the word SHRINK, I'm pretty sure that he realizes shrinks don't diagnose autism. And the entire thing was just a representation about how over medicated our entire population is....no one can just simply have a flaw anymore, there has to be a scientific reason for it. They have to have a condition, a disease, something with a name. So he picked autism as his word, get over it. He could've picked any other thousands of things. If you don't want to read it then my suggestion is don't buy the book.

[Marjie Randall]

Denis Leary:

You are writing such terrible things because you know you are a failure. You're a horrible actor, you are unattractive, and your career is going down the toilet. Why not take the easy route, and write a book spewing all of your inner hatred so you can feel a little better....wow, you should be admired. Until you become a medical doctor, not a worthless easy to become actor, keep your mouth shut.

[DougBoston]

Per Denis Leary:
"they missed the sections I thought made my feelings about autism very clear: that I not only support the current rational approaches to the diagnoses and treatment of real autism but have witnessed it firsthand while watching very dear old friends raise a functioning autistic child."
"Of course, this entire misunderstanding can be easily avoided simply by doing one thing—reading the book. Taking one or two sentences out of context— especially when it involves an entire chapter devoted to the subject—is unfair and ill-advised.
"Too often in this country, everything gets reduced to simple sound bites and very very often those sound bites are not truly representative of an author or artist's point of view."
All of which can be easily remedied by reading the entire book, Leary added.

And everyone knows you can sit at stores like Borders and read it without being bothered to buy it. When you gather "stories" from any paper's GOSSIP pages, you SHOULD, just out of pure self responsibility, do SOMETHING to research the matter.

[DJ's mommy]

you might be a comedian but in my opinion I have a son who is autistic and you are a piece of $hit!

[Suzy]

Perhaps My Leary’s desperation to rescue his washed out career, diminished credibility, lackluster comedic timing and apparently shriveling manhood has lead him to grab for any kind of attention and notoriety he can get...even if it involves attacking the mothers of disabled children. To further illustrate the gaping flaws in the thinking of this narcissistic expert on ignorance, I am the mother of an autistic child who by Mr. Leary's standards is shockingly capable of emotions: sadness, embarrassment and pity for an aging man so starved for attention that he would resort to a tactic just slightly less pathetic than throwing a baby in the sea so he can impress the girls on the beach with his lifesaving techniques.

[Stagmom for Kevin]

Hi, Kevin. The book isn't out yet. I don't have an ARC (advance reader copy.) Denis did provide a good chunk of the chapter in his follow up statement. The sum of the whole is usually greater than its parts, that's true. But the verbiage was particularly offensive to a community that is often the butt of scorn. His explanation led me to believe he may be talking about the neurodiversity group of self-diagnosed people who may be socially excluded and less successful than they'd like and who blog lots of bitterness. They don't deserve this kick in the gut either. Not even the ones who attack our side of the autism community. Autism in all its forms makes life difficult to some degree. If he wanted to go after DOCTORS who overdiagnosed and hand out Ritalin and Strattera like candy to small children, I'd have given him a standing ovation. But to go after people with neuro-differences that make their life rough is like putting me in goal at a charity hockey game.

Thanks for commenting. KIM, Managing Editor

[Kevin Champagne]

Have any of you actually read the book or at least the chapter? The man is a comedian and his book takes jabs at many people and many topics.

Jenny Dorsey, If you're going to quote him, why not post the entire quote?

Denis Leary said; The people who are criticizing the "Autism Schmautism" chapter in my new book Why We Suck: A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid clearly have not read it.

Or if they have, they missed the sections I thought made my feelings about autism very clear: that I not only support the current rational approaches to the diagnoses and treatment of real autism but have witnessed it firsthand while watching very dear old friends raise a functioning autistic child.

The point of the chapter is not that autism doesn't exist - it obviously does - and I have nothing but admiration and respect for parents dealing with the issue, including the ones I know.

The bulk of the chapter deals with grown men who are either self-diagnosing themselves with low-level offshoots of the disease or wishing they could as a way to explain their failed careers and troublesome progeny.

Of course, this entire misunderstanding can be easily avoided simply by doing one thing-reading the book.

Taking one or two sentences out of context - especially when it involves an entire chapter devoted to the subject - is unfair and ill-advised.

Too often in this country, everything gets reduced to simple sound bites and very very often those sound bites are not truly representative of an author or artists point of view.

Please give me the benefit of the doubt by reading all of what I wrote before attacking me."

http://omg.yahoo.com/news/denis-leary-says-autism-criticism-taken-out-of-context/14257

Dan Olmsted, how about an Age Of Autism story on low pH levels and a possible autism connection?

[flared0ne]

If anyone would like, the telephone number for Viking Adult, the publisher of Denis Leary's hateful new book, is (212) 366-2000. Maybe if enough people call and express sufficient outrage and indignation, and request that the November release of his book be cancelled, MAYBE we can have an impact. The public outcry before OJ Simpson's book was to be released prevented its ultimate distribution.

This book ranks right up there with memoirs produced by murderers and rapists, etc -- situations where those authors are legally banned from making profits off of their illegal behavior.

The conversation with the publisher should perhaps emphasize that given the upswing in the diagnosis of Autism, i.e. one child in every one hundred and fifty or so (need a solid number here), and given even the least publicity along as little as one or two degrees of separation, the magnitude of a boycott by the population being offended may have a significant impact on the publisher's viability.

This is NOT a "laughing matter" to the community directly experiencing this type of challenge, OR to their friends, relatives, acquaintances, teachers, students, peers, etc.

Again, the telephone number for Viking Adult, the publisher of Denis Leary's hateful new book, is (212) 366-2000. Call them. Several times. If this is a local call for you, put the number on your speed dialer and call them whenever you happen to think about it. And pass this number along to any other distribution sources you can think of.

If there isn't occasionally some area of significant overlap between public awareness and coordinated action, then what are blogs like this FOR?? This idiot should not make one cent of profit from his misguided search for "something funny to say about suffering".

[Jamie]

I was totally taken a back by what Dennis Leary had to say about Kids and adults with autism. I am the mother of a twelve year old son with a small degree of autism, as well as depression from having to deal with it on his own for so many years before he was diagnosed. I was a stay at home mom for most of my kids, growing up years. I did not work outside the home until my son started first grade and then only worked during the hours he was in school or my husband was home with him and his sisters. Even now 95% of my time at home is spent homeschooling my son or spending time with him or his siblings. To call my son Lazy and Stupid is cruel and heartless. His most recent IQ test showed he had an IQ of at least 103 and he reads at a college level. He is enrolled in the seventh grade but is taking eight grade classes. I don't think that accounts for him being "Lazy" or "Stupid".

[Jenny Dorsey]

It is bad enough that he trashed both the parents and the kids with Autism but for him to have the gall to try to explain it away like he did, wow. I copied this from his explaination from US magazine.

"The point of the chapter is not that autism doesn't exist - it obviously does - and I have nothing but admiration and respect for parents dealing with the issue, including the ones I know.

The bulk of the chapter deals with grown men who are either self-diagnosing themselves with low-level offshoots of the disease or wishing they could as a way to explain their failed careers and troublesome progeny.

Well, not only am I inattantive I must be a dumb ass to believe that this explaination has anything to do with my dumb ass kid. The bulk of the chapter may be about grown men but I think he should explain EXACTLY what he meant by the dumb ass lazy kid comment. Two different things. If he wanted to talk about grown men then he should never have writen that about the kids. PERIOD, NO WAY TO EXPLIAN HIS WAY OUT OF IT. HE REALLY DOES THINK WE ARE STUPID! Whats even sader is that he says he has friends with autistic kids. If that how is as a friend, can oyu imagine how he would be as an enemy??
I am all about comedians, I love them! I understand that they tend to cross the line on many subjects that they shouldnt but the thing is, there is a difference between a good comedian that can make you laugh about anything but has a consience and the sort of piece of crap named Denis Leary that calls himself a comedian and attacks children with disabilities. You have to be a certain kind of piece of shit to do that. It was not funny. No one is laughing.

Parents and care givers, this sort of thing is really inexcusable. We may be horrible parents but I tell you what, we are strong! We fight every single day to keep our kids going, to make sure they are gettign what they need. I think we should be strong together. We need to start boycotting not only the book but every one of his damn movies and TV shows. Seriously. Send an email to everyone in your contacts, tell them what this sorry SOB has said. I am going to do that now. We also should bombard his fire fighter websites and everything. Get the word out. WE WILL NOT LET OUR CHILDREN BE PUT DOWN LIKE THIS.

[Kathy Blanco]

Unbelievable...if this man were to walk in my shoes for ten minutes he would pee his pants. I have two with autism, with severe traits, biomedical issues, including seizures. They are older, in their twentites. I have been in this business a long time, and the old rhetoric with accusements of refridgerator mother no longer fits this most devastating disorder, nor does it fit scientifically, and never has. I have seen it all, but this one is the peek end all beat all. Not only do I have a loving caring relationship with them as their constant caregiver, they have affected many others by their sweet spirits and struggle to exist. They are an ASSET to society. This kind of hate speech should not be allowed, and his publisher alone should be also under this fire too to allow such stupidity to be printed and distributed. I would like for him to sit down at a DAN meeting meeting with mothers/fathers of all types, and all spectrums of this disorder, snd see how much these mothers cry and pray that their child will be all they can be, recovered or not, who daily struggle to make their worlds more comfortable, safe and healthy.

I'd like Leary to endure a vaccine reaction which cuts off his cerebal vascular architecture, while being influenced by inflammation, toxic neuron shriveling mercury, constant opiod antogonizing, belly aches, constipations, body aches, ataxia, OCD and MCS ,diahrreah, seizures, inability to communicate needs or wants or have aplace in society, and see if he can take it? Our kids are perfect examples of endurig to the end, with the courage of a fire fighter who never gets out of the fire due to mankinds labels, or inability to accept what they have done to them.

Denis's courage, where is it? To speak untruths at the expense of innocent sick and fighter children, and their family members? If I saw him, he would know it, a giant open fisted slap on his face with all the force in me, with a bit of spitting too. Shame, shame shame, on Leary. I would speak the words too...on behalf of my bratty kids...

[BARBARA SALTMARSH]

Apparently Mr. Leary has been "inattentive" to the issues of Autism. These children are not stupid, lazy, etc., in fact most are highly intelligent beings that are communicatively challenged.
How dare he use his fame and position to ridicule the parents of these beautiful individuals. I will never watch anything he acts in, or buy anything he has written.
He has managed to ridicule and insult anyone and everyone involved in the autism world with his ignorant observations.
Please do not buy his book or watch his television show.
I am the grandmother of a seven year old autistic child who is beautiful, intelligent and loving and his parents could not do any more for him except stumble upon a cure for this rapidly increasing disorder! "INATTENTIVE"? how dare he.
Barbara Saltmarsh

[Karina Harrison]

Dear Mr.
Dennis Leary,

I would like to congratulate you on your new book, "Why We Suck". I am sure it is filled with all the comedic rantings & rhetoric that we have all come to know and in some cases love, but let me explain why YOU suck! Someone like yourself, who for all intents and purposes is a public orator, should have stuck to the topics that you are well versed in. The definition of the word "stupid" is "lacking intelligence". I have to wonder how many times you have referred to yourself in this manner. Many autistic children have above average intelligence, what they lack is what you seem to have an abundance of...the ability to communicate. Instead of expounding on how "stupid" and "lazy" these children are(which many "inattentive" moms and "competitive" dads will argue) maybe you should have stuck to what you know. We, as the parents of autistic children, have a hard enough time dealing with the bureaucracy of the health insurance companies and school boards across the country, all the while trying to make sure our "inattentive" asses get our children the help they need and very much deserve. I know this letter will probably never reach you, but I can always hope the powers that be are in my corner on this one. I am disgusted that you chose to include this chapter in your book because you took a topic that is difficult and heart-wrenching enough and exploited it for your personal gain. Shame on you for being so callous.
The next time you choose to speak about a subject that you know nothing about, open up a dictionary and look up the word "ignorant", maybe then you'll think twice before you speak!

Karina Harrison
Hardwick, NJ

[TheMrs]

In the same issue as Jenny McCarthy's story of US there is an article about Dennis Leary's statement being taken out of context
http://www.usmagazine.com/news/denis-leary-says-autism-Criticism-taken-out-of-context

How did everyone miss that, it's in the Jenny McCarthy article ....

[Diane]

I WAS a huge Denis Leary fan, but am completely appalled right now...speechless really. My fiance came home and told me about this complete ignorant babble that he heard Denis say on the radio and I had to google it. I just can't believe what I just read. I dedicate my life and career to helping those individuals diagnosed with Autism. I am a proud New Yorker and a proud Autism Consultant on Long Island. The students I work with did not ask to be born with this disability and neither did their parents. My job is to help make parents feel more competent in working with their children, teach others how to teach these children effectively and teach these students that there are people like me that understand them and know what I need to do to make their lives easier and more manageable. I work 12-15 hours each day to ensure that they are afforded all of the opportunities that children without this disability have. I spend hours giving them the coping skills that come naturally to others. How dare Mr. Leary speak of something he knows nothing about? I challenge him to spend one day as a parent of a child with this disability or to spend even one hour seeing the world throught the eyes of a child with this disability. You speak of morons sir...you are the biggest one I know! What is more appalling is a world in which you make millions selling your ignorant bull while I make average teacher's pay for dedicating my whole existance to helping this community. Do me a favor and take one day out of your privileged, jokester life and go observe the classrooms or homes of those you mock!

[NB]

I'm with the others...we need Jon Stewart in on this. He'll let Leary have it with ALL barrels.

Leary is an idiot with no sort of knowledge on this subject. He's doing it for his 'shock' factor. The shock is going to be the uproar that he gets hit with from those damning him.

Well, Mr. Leary, I would love to see you live one hour that I do on a 24/7 basis. I have for 11 years and will continue to do so as long as my son needs me too. You wouldn't make it 1/2 hour.

I just pray that no one in your family ever has Autism. It's a hard road.

[SpectrumHope]

I hope this new trend of bashing children with autism just to get free publicity goes out of style soon.

It is interesting that Leary would choose to use the word "stupid" when describing our kids. Perhaps, he is merely attempting to deflect attention from his own intellectual challenges.