Denis Leary Slams Autism As A Joke

DENIS Leary should brace himself for hate mail from the parents of kids diagnosed with autism.

In his new book, "Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid," the joke-slinging "Rescue Me" star writes about the brain disorder:

"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."

The Autism Society of America responded: "For Mr. Leary to suggest that families or doctors conspire to falsely diagnose autism is ridiculous . . . [His] remarks reflect the same misconceptions of autism being caused by bad or unemotional parenting that were held over 50 years ago."

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In November's Vanity Fair, in a Q&A, Leary calls it his "favorite chapter":

Another chapter is titled "Autism Shamautism."
Which is my favorite chapter.

I see vigilante autism woman Jenny McCarthy picketing your book tour.
Great. That would be really good for me. It will help sell more books.

Comments

[Samshade77]

He is a comedian, It just comedy. He trying to sell his book.

[Maezeppa]

Sorry, Kiddo but for something to be comedic it has to be funny.

[ellawensmom]

I actually like Denis Leary, but having worked with autistic kids, this isn't amusing, nor is it true.
Now if he wanted to talk about parents getting their kids to act nuts so they can claim ADHD for Social Security checks...a­nother story. I've seen that happen, and that would be a far more accurate statement to make. Children with autism have a hard enough time without people making jokes about it.
As a disclaimer, I don't agree with Tom Cruise that ADHD doesn't exist. I know (Oh, how I know) that there are kids who have it, and I'm thankful that medicines exist to help these kids control themselves a little better.
But really, Denis, lay off the kids with autism. It's not funny. It's not pretend. And far from being lazy and stupid, children with autism can be unbelievably hard workers, and EXTREMELY intelligent. Alot of these kids make those of us without such obstacles look like total bums.
Perhaps a little research would work better for you than off the cuff remarks based on opinions rather than experience.

[LiberalHick]

Wow - is there anything you won't justify. Your type is dangerous.

[JaneaneTheAcerbicGoblin]

It isn't comedy. It's uninformed sadism.

You can't make sadistic, cruel comments like Leary did and just say "oh, it's comedy. If you don't like, you don't know how to laugh!".

Leary is a nasty piece of work.

[ChescoMom]

WOW--stay classy, Dennis.

[MIMom]

Holy crud. What is WRONG with him? There are no words for this level of stu.pidity­.

[histryteacher]

I'm not sure there is anyone that really cares what D. Leary thinks about anything.