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

[Pippilangstrumpf]

I totally see his point. I've run into many people who will defend someone's so called 'learning disorder' when they've never even been tested. And it's obvious that the person they're defending is just
plain old dull.

Let's face it...some people have double digit IQ's.

[tonycoyle]

let's face it... some people aspire to double digit IQs!

[hypnotoad72]

Well, that's why we have Hollywood and mass marketing. They dumb people down... then the same entities whine how people are dumbed down...

[hypnotoad72]

Or IQs approaching that of water; the normal IQ range of human beings is between 90 and 110.

[goesto11]

Hey, Leary. It's referred to as "autism spectrum disorder." There's a SPECTRUM of levels of the disease.

So, yes, some people are indeed more autistic than others. And there are indeed "low-level offshoots" of autism.

Stop talkin' out of your ass about things you know nothing about.

[tonycoyle]

and people do not self diagnose!!

Maybe you should read the post before talking out of your ass!

[unclesmedley]

exactly.

[captainindustry]

Maybe he's trying to get on the Michael Savage show. Mr Savage promoted his career at the expense of autistic children as well. They should learn to make a couple of phone calls before shooting of their big mouths.

[unfettered]

Ann Coulter should shut up!

[hypnotoad72]

Look at the picture again, it's Milton Berle.

Whoops, my bad, that's Timothy Leary, having toked a few...

Whoops, wrong again...

(Sorry, but I've lost any respect I never thought I had for that man...)

[DeeW]

Wow, can't believe my original comments got removed. I guess the page is pro Leary. What I said certainly wasn't any worse than anyone else's comments.

[rjgwood]

I really did not know there was an epidemic of grown men diagnosing themselves as "autistic." This seems like a fairly lame attempt at a backtrack. Specifically, he refers to the children themselves as lazy and stupid...so give me a break Dennis, you just got caught with your non-scientific pants around your knees.

Autism is clearly a brain based disorder. Scientists have found no less than 16 pairs of chromosomes involved in the disorder. Additionally, families with one child with autism are much more likely to have another person in their family with the disorder. Furhter, entire brain structures, such as the amygdala, the hypocampus and specific cells, such as mirror neurons as radically different in people with this disorder. Frankly, Dennis Leary's lack of understanding of the science behind this disorder was evident in this sectionof the book, and he has been called on it, and now is trying to repair his badly tarnished image.

[thegirlnextdoor]

Can I tell you how much I love the photo! Long blonde hair and such shoulders!

[mredder4]

I think the spots beneath his earrings are the straps of his open-backed dress, not hair extensions. Either way, it's funny.

[Vinquus]

I self-diagnosed myself with a low-level offshoot of autism, as an explanation for my brilliance and continued career success. Suck it, Leary!

[OtayPanky]

She's not my type, but her hair is lovely.

[PartyPartyParty]

I too could not believe that Dennis Leary would be so simplistic about anything.

Once again, someone has read one sentence and decided they knew the contents of an entire book.

Typical response from people who are too busy to read.

[andvoodoo2]

Sorry, Dennis, I'm not buying your lame "explanation". I've never met any men or heard of one "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". Maybe you are just projecting, Denis. (It's a big word for you. Look it up.)

[PartyPartyParty]

I've had to deal with more than one client (always male, never female) who reminds me about their attention defecit disorder diagnosis whenever it came time for them to pay my bill.

[andvoodoo2]

LOL! I'm a FEMALE with ADD! But, I'm also an attorney and a writer who manages my life, professional and personal, rather well. There is a HUGE difference between ADD and autism. Sometimes my ADD makes my work (and play) challenging, but I still have my work and play. The true autistic person usually has neither.

[dtrobert]

ADD and ADHD are NOT within the Autistic Spectrum (although people with ASDs often are misdiagnosed as having ADD/ADHD).

[Squalish]

It's a recent phenomena. Attention Deficit disorder was the flavor of the month personality disorder for a decade . Autism's rise to a broad "spectrum disorder" skyrocketted diagnosis rates. As someone who grew up with a low-functioning autistic family member (today would be known as "Autistic with severe cognitive impairment," as a child was merely called "Mentally retarded & Autistic"), I was shocked to find that on the internet there exists a "Pro-Autism Community" who bring the euphemism-crafting mentality to those who are "differently functioning."

People saw not only their children being diagnosed with what was previously a very specific illness (characteristic regression of mental facilities at around 2 years, complete to severe impairment of social interaction with characteristic lack of eye contact, OCD-spectrum behavior, severe to moderate learning disabilities, moderate to minor motor control problems, hypersensitivity to sound, small probability of savant behavior) for minor social maladjustment, PC media declared that struggling with "autism" was heroic, and high-functioning rights activists became pro-disease activists (as they have done with deafness) who equate their condition with all autistics. Catching all sufferers was more important to psychiatrists than 'disease creep.' And so: Personality Self Diagnosis.

Given exponentially-growing biotech, I expect genetic testing to resolve this soon.

[unclesmedley]

"I expect genetic testing to resolve this soon."

So, the geneticists will contrive a cure and eugenics will resolve the issue?

It ain't that easy, Mr. Science.

[InstantDogma]

Um.. I believe getting lives might be in order here or at least learning to source a little better.
As in: "OHMYGOD!!!! A comedian said something and it made me unhappy." and then "The comedian made an act of contrition or at least clarification, now I can be happy again." Taking you info from one source, unchecked, is just as foolish as those nitwits who get their drooling gibberish stats from Lou Dobbs or Hannity etc.

[frant52]

This is very in keeping with Dennis Leary; both in his comedic style and his personal works for people in need of help. I knew there was more than scandalous headlines.

[dtrobert]

In what way is what he's saying now different from what Michael Savage said earlier? I really don't see a difference. He's essentially saying I'm faking it, that I'm a fraud. I take offense to that, considering that:

1. Leary clearly knows nothing about the Autism Spectrum: like most, he thinks of autistic people in terms of Rain Man, and nothing else.

2. Leary does not know ME, and he's hardly in a position to make a judgement on ME.

I'm an aspie, and am in the process of getting a formal diagnosis, so I don't have to deal with idiots like Leary telling me that I'm faking it. Because Leary doesn't understand it doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

Oh, and btw, I'm pretty successful in my career...

[OmegaHunter]

"I'm an aspie, and am in the process of getting a formal diagnosis, so I don't have to deal with idiots like Leary telling me that I'm faking it."

I certainly don't agree with what Leary said but I don't think you're helping yourself here. Are you basically admitting that you self-diagnosed?

You also mentioned the "Wrong Planet" community. I don't think "Wrong Planet" is exactly the best autistic community since it's members seem to think that Autism is a perfectly ok thing to have; that they're just different than other people. While I'm not saying Autistic people are any worse than people without, it's ridiculous to think a neurological disorder that cripples social skills without having any benefit is a good thing.

Hell, many of their posters actually treat having autism/asperbergers as superior to being, as they call it, "neurotypical" or "neuralstandard." Many threads there are full of aspies bragging about what they have that the "NTs" don't have and claiming that "NTs" are selfish, manipulative, evil, etc. Oh and they all seem to claim to have genius level IQs. They seem to have a problem of being pretty judgmental themselves claiming that "NTs" aren't as happy as they "pretend" but then claim that no one can understand them because they are all unique.

[Notb667]

Really? I've read every comment & reply you made to this subject and I gotta say, sir, you take the cake. If there was ever a better example of his arguement/apology than yours, I didn't catch it. By your own admission, YOU are who he is talking about! So you know the formal diagnosis takes a very long time and in adults the chance to be labeled as Aspergers is mighty rare. By the time you've matured, other factors may have come into play. While I don't think you are a fraud or that you're faking it, you are doing yourself and others a huge disservice by admitting that you haven't been 'formally' diagnosed.

[Changeling]

This:

"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."

Is exactly right. And what I thought he meant in the first place (and said so) when it broke.

Glad it's cleared up.

[Srkdqltr]

That picture of him is so wrong on so many levels

[PartyPartyParty]

I don't know.... not many people can pull off chandelier earrings as well as Dennis. He has the jawline for them.

;-)

[walk0nwalls]

Ionno, I'm digging it