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."

Keep reading

-plus-

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

[Phidippides]

Damn. Where was this man's editor?

[progressivelady]

Man, That is some bad Karma, He is going to be a Grandparent Someday

[falls1105]

Nobody has any idea the hell we go through .Parents of children with autism are so amazing and loving .Sometimes I believe our intire lives revolves around them. It takes a long time in my case a good 4 yrs I accepted .The greive begins again but you relize this is your lot in life .My son is improving everday and GOD will reward me for my patience. I wish Mr Leary for you to walk in my shoes one day
You go to the doctor and you get a diagnosis that breaks your heart .You may look at your healthy children now but life is short.

[DieHardDemo]

I understand where you all are coming from but, are you forgetting that Denis is a comedian? His job is to find the line and cross it. I could understand if it was said by maybe a politician or just a regular actor but, Denis is just doing his job. All the great comedians have pushed the buttons and joked about the taboo items. Should we boycott every comedian? They have all offended people at some point. Denis Leary says things to shock. His job isn't to give a serious medical opinion. I know when dealing with things like this everyday it must be hard to let it roll off your back but, it was a joke.

[Smirk]

Yes, he's a comic but his style tends towards biting social commentary and the comics who work in that vein are generally seeking more than laughs. They want people to think about and question the assumptions surrounding the issues they address. Having watched Leary for years, I don't think he was trying to shock anyone or "just doing his job." Instead, I suspect he meant exactly what he said and isn't well acquainted with anyone who is autistic or who has an autistic child. If he was, I doubt he would think what he thinks about autism, but who knows. It's easy to misunderstand autism and to make unkind snap judgments about its cause.

[HST]

I hope that Denis jokes about Down's syndrome next. It will be hilarious.

[corysadvocate]

YEP WHAT COMES AROUND GOES AROUND

[Gothikangel]

I invite Mr. Leary to spend a week with my 2 boys who are both in the autism spectrum and at the end of that week he can then make his decision as to if it exists or not. I agree it is over diagnosed but don’t be a jerk to those of us who actually take care of our kids and still can’t take them to amusement parks or any crowded places due to them losing control when over stimulated. For those of us who have for years tried to learn how best to advocate for them in schools. To see a child who is the most loving and caring kid turn into someone who is beating his head against a wall over and over or pulling out his hair because he doesn’t understand something and doesn’t know how to ask.

It is easy to talk crap when you don’t understand something, but it takes a real man to understand it and then still talk.

[corysadvocate]

It seems we have quite a shortage of "REAL MEN"

[jcat80]

This is a man who stole his career from a hilarious comedian (Bill Hicks), and when this funny man died, he lost all of his material and has had to resort to just being crass. He is lucky that he has a career as an actor, because he's fairly capable of reciting words that are scripted by a person who is not him. In order to get a laugh on his own, he has to make these kind of statements...using autistic children for a laugh...pretty classy Leary, maybe next time we can poke at war widows.

[happycat]

Leary is a nitwit.

[Truely]

He is that and I suggest that all persons interested in this issue not buy his book, not watch his show and not support his career. We do not need this type of ignorance. I can assure those who chalk this up to his "republican" views, that the statements that I read that are attrbuted to him have nothing to do with being a Republican or a Democratic or a Liberal or a Conservative.

[Opsimath44]

I'm opening myself up here...

...but then what explains the huge surge in numbers? Better diagnosis?

Parenting styles have changed radically in the last twenty years. Parenting is the key to our development. Is it that crazy to expect to see measurable changes?

I know lots of parents with autistic kids (I work in a public school system, so I "know" thousands of parents) who frequently complain about those "other" parents whose kids "aren't really autisitic."

I'm just saying...

[corysadvocate]

The so called "school system" is part of the problem. I go out of my way to communicate daily about my sons eating disorder. If he cannot tolerate what is on the menu, I pack his lunch and even write to let them know it needs to be heated. They gave him FROZEN spagetti one day because they simply did not read his note!! They did not have to provide the meal or prepare it . Just heat it. our lives are hard enough, but the school system (BEING VERY UNEDUCATED IN AUTISM) makes some our lives ALOT more difficult.

[cpscscs]

Are we sure these comments didn't come from Timothy Leary instead of Denis Leary?

[trollslayer]

Leary is getting autism confused with ADD and ADHD.

What a nitwit.

[dozaa]

eggzactly.

[autismisreal]

Rescue Me was our favorite show, couldn't wait for the new season - now banned in our home! You suck Dennis! Just listen to the debate you freak!

[MakeAWish]

Where did you, Dr. Leary, get your medical degree?

[Bluejay00234]

Ill bet anything he's a McSame supporter.

[MammaCat]

He is-he has already made the comment that since McSame gave us his service in Veitnam, then why shouldn't we give him four years to serve us in the White House.

[mizzou66]

Well, if that's all it takes to qualify for president, then I have two brothers with the same qualifications....one who did 3 tours until shot down, and one who spent 1 year fighting, another 3 as a POW.

[twenty1]

I would like him to babysit an autistic child and have to deal with the tantrums and let me it's phony or fake.

[fightorleave2]

Dennis Leary is a Republican. Enough said. Have you seen him on Glenn Beck or was it Bill O, I forget, but he goes on those kind of shows and spews the white man hate. It's not necessarily racist. It's hate and they happen to be white men. It's the false notion that has been drummed into many of our heads for, oh say, the last 2,000 years, that white men are superior and entitled. Don't get me wrong there are black men, I'm sure, who hate, except we call them criminals. I hope I'm not getting in trouble here. I was actually trying to make a serious point. You see Leary gets away with his condescension because he is rich, but an uppity black man is thrown in jail.

[Princesspeach]

Actually, I thought he said in the same Vanity Fair interview that he was supporting Obama.

[Snow97]

Just because Mr. Leary and his family have apparently been spared the ravages of autism doesn't mean that he gets to slap in the face the hundreds of thousands of parents and children who have not.

Smart humor is wonderful stuff -- makes you laugh in dire circumstances, gives you strength, helps you find perspective.

Dumb humor kicks in the gut people who haven't done anything to you, for things they can't control.

Unfortunate that Denis Leary can't tell the difference. Even more unfortunate that Leary chose to open his mouth about things he knows nothing about.