BENJI MARTIN

By now, I am pretty sure that you have learned of some comments that have been made recently by radio commentator Michael Savage concerning autism.  I have never listened to or even heard of him, but as an autistic 34-year-old adult, I find those comments to be scathing, barbaric, and unnecassary.

Autism is real.  C'mon!  Did you know that 1 out of 150 children are diagnosed with this disability?  Did you know that it often goes undiagnosed?  Did you know that its source is unkown and that there is currently no cure?  Did you know that a lot of these kids are being teased for being different from others?  I was one of those children, and those times were so painful that it is not even funny.

Mr. Savage's implication that autism is a "fraud" and that his words were intended to "awaken children and adults" is really a bunch of baloney because he obviously does not know what it is like to live with this disorder.  I wish no ill will upon him and am not suggesting that he would be pulled off the air.  However, he needs to think about what he says and who it will affect before he says it.