Denis Leary Explains His Autism-Slamming Remarks

Wednesday excerpts of Denis Leary's book were published in which the comedian mocks the diagnosis of autism. "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."

Since the release he has tried to explain.

Leary suggests that those critics obviously haven't read the book. "Or if they have," the Emmy-nominated actor said in a statement, "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," Leary continued in the statement he released today.

"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.

The book is called "Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid"

Comments

[truthupontruth]

Why people expect sympathy and compassion from someone like Denis Leary is beyond me. If I want to hear a ranting insensitive loudmouth with a damn good sense of humour, he's fairly reliable. But the man is not Scientific American - he pisses people off for a living. People with real concern about all aspects of Autism have plenty of places to share, learn, and contribute what they know in an effort to understand and conquer this awful condition. Beating up Denis Leary over an insensitive comedy book is a waste of time, and a dead end.

[2grainsofsalt]

Exactly.

[JustMom]

I'm right there with him..... all the way, until the last paragraph. Then it became something else.

[susin]

I think had he used 'add/adhd' it would have been a bit closer to the mark...

[Agentlady007]

Pretend you are the star of 'The Piano' for one day to understand the communication gap.

[tangenjill]

I think it's time for Denis to get diagnosed.­..

[flyingbuffalos]

Dennis Leary is what he is. Those of us who enjoy his work and admire his contributions to the community will continue to do so. Not everyone finds him funny or talented. Such is life.
The bigger concern is that so many people are blaming immunizations as the cause of autism. That there is an environmental cause is certainly a possibility, but the miniscule amounts of mercury in the preservatives that were used in immunizations are probably not the problem. How many of us have been exposed to mercury in tuna and other fish throughout our lives, until this was recognized as a threat to health?
What I am trying to point out is that if mercury is a cause of autism, it could be several generations of exposure from many sources, not a few vaccines with a tiny amount of preservative.
Part of the increase of cases of autism is related to improved identification and diagnosis. Just as we have seen with ADD and ADHD, sometimes the diagnosis is inaccurately applied in a few cases. No doubt the majority of cases are accurate diagnoses, and heartbreaking for the families involved. Let's not be so quick to decide that immunizations caused the autism. Several generations of infants/children received these immunizations, but suddenly they are causing autism? Let's look at the rest of our environment. Let's look at genetics. Most importantly, the resources needed to help these children need appropriate funding.
Let's not blame Dennis Leary. Read the above article.

[anotherlazyparent]

This is what really pisses me off- when my son stopped speaking, started banging his head on the floor, wouldn't look at me, or smile or eat with a fork or notice his sister, I took him to the doctor. "He's just badly behaved" she said. "Set a timer and keep him in his crib until he realizes he has to behave". It wasn't working, so I went back again and again, begging for help. I got none. When my son was finally diagnosed, a year later, by a small, compassionate city agency, my pediatrician called me to say I just had to accept my son for what he is. He lost a crucial year of early intervention. I asked her to post a flyer in her office so the next family would see the red flags. I got a flat "no". She said her practice didn't want to alarm parents. I ran around for six months trying to get help. My husband and I do as much as we can for him, but he is not one of the 'lucky ones' who is high-functioning. Mr. Leary has obviously not had to endure the pain of watching his children disappear. That sucks.

[Notb667]

As an involved father of a child given the dx of Autism - it is a difficult matter. I began this journey with much of the same opinion as D. Leary. 'Not my child' and 'Pharmacon propaganda' are two examples of things I've said to specialists. I did not want to believe it. I denied it. Even given the proof and after reading countless books(of which there are many), it wasn't until I began volunteering in his classroom that I noticed the stark differences. Yes, he is high functioning. Yes, he is very intelligent(I can only say - wow). Yes, he has social issues. No parent should WANT a label applied to their child such as this. I have, however, seen a child or two who does not fit the description who has been given a 'free pass' to do what ever the hell they want in the name of the disorder. So, in my opinion, given the title of the book and having firsthand knowledge of this same experience, Leary IS right on. I look forward to being able to read his book.

[Yermammy]

Keeping it real. Go Dennis.

[OwensMom]

Like so many of you, I'm the mom of a child with autism and, like so many of you, I'm shocked and saddened by Mr. Leary's comments.

From our initial diagnosis (pediatric neurologist) to our confirmed second opinion (development pediatrician) to the start of behavioral services (wraparound) to the start of our in-school services (itinerant aide) took us about 12 months. Coordinating his various therapies, being present and active for our in-house ABA sessions, lugging him from doctors office to doctors office is quite literally a full-time job in and of itself. I haven't seen my friends socially in almost a year, my husband and I are like two strangers passing in the night, I am emotionally and physically exhausted, and for this person -- this person with no first-hand experience of autism -- to suggest that we WANTED this diagnosis, that we somehow INVITED this lifetime of worry and struggle on ourselves, is the ultimate slap in the face. The dream for me of what my son will grow up to be is dead, Mr. Leary. I hope you'll never have to know that kind of pain with your own child.

I have no doubt that somewhere, someone has used autism as an excuse to explain away inappropriate behavior for their children -- but those people are very, very , very few and very, very, very far between in my experience. To suggest otherwise, just to beef up the sales of your book, is downright cruel.

[Kim445588]

I can honestly say that I know how you feel. Going from diagnosis to realizing that there was no professional out there to solve the challenge instantly aged me about 10 years. The best piece of advice that I can give you...

I consider my son to be an autistic person, not someone who has autism. It took years for me to fully understand how that difference in philosophy impacts his progress, self-esteem, and view on society. My son is now very high functioning, and everyone has to find their own way. It took a good while to come to terms with losing this image of what we hoped our son would turn out to be. Understanding this enabled us to move from searching for cure, to helping him to become a young man who simply experiences the world differently from others, and as a result has to work a little harder than an 8 year old should. That is certainly simplifying matters, but my point is as the years pass you regain your hope, and God willing your son will continue to progress.

Best wishes.

[WesleyDumont]

well, thank the Lord we still have comedy. oh, i mean, wasn't it great when someone could make a joke and our only response wasn't villification?

and DL - thanks for being a wuss about it.

[Eoin45]

Baloney. What you really mean is "Wasn't it great when we could make incredibly insensitive jokes about people other than ourselves and they didn't fight back." You'd be frothing at the mouth if the joke was on you.

[booker52]

I haven't read your book, but your attempt at humor sucks on this. You should of had a better editor who with a strong hand would of told you this. All I know right now is that you have succeeded at pissing off alot of parents.

[Wiserone]

Leary, please! The medical community knows more about WHY kids act the way they do today. Can't just explain it away that parents are too lazy to mother or father their children. That's too simplistic as well as looking at life through your childhood glasses which I presume was more disfunctional than not...and that's not a good thing contrary how you may want to use your disfunctional upbringing now as if it were or that it was fine to use to build your career upon. Better now that you resolve your childhood demons with a good shrink than trying to be one.

[ChrisR]

Did you even READ this article?

[Eoin45]

Did YOU? Leary said, "...becaus­e inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can't compete academical­ly." Wiserone made a legitimate criticism.

[Jennifer]

I have never found Dennis funny, a decent person, nor a good actor. My mind hasn't changed.

[flyingmonkey]

Yes, lets attack Denis Leary. Lets ignore that there's truth in what he says. Lets ignore how much charity work he's done. Lets tar and feather him! That is, if our ADD, permits.

[Kim445588]

My concern is not with him, he is a comedian.

The problem is that it feeds into this misconception that if our kids are not either retarded or geniuses that can play the piano at 6 months old, then their parents are just mentally whacked and faking the whole thing.

Many autistics look "normal" and are intelligent but have MAJOR social skills problems and other issues residing under the surface.

Oh, and ADD is not Autism. Is schizophrenia chronic depression???

[flyingmonkey]

who said that ADD is Autism? I'm quite clear on the distinction. But they are both overdiagnosed, overprescribed "diseases" that many parents use as excuses to avoid actually parenting their kids, and hand it off to a therapist and pharmaceutical company.