Michael Savage - demand an apology

If you subscribe to satellite radio or autism feeds of any sort, you have by now heard the hurtful comments of Michael "Savage" (a made up last name perhaps) in his syndicated radio show, as he refers to minority children, autism and asthma. To read more copy and paste: http://mediamatters.org/items/200807180001

We are often reminded to "ignore" the bully, he's just looking for attention. But should we? Michael Savage clearly feeds on controversy, and radicalism. But going back to those days when we were young adults without a care in the world, without Autism in our lives, did we really understand Autism? Were our opinions not often influenced by the media? Savage's opinion matters to the many, many millions of followers of this talk show host. It affects how the world views Autism as much as the many well meaning Autism Awareness programs that stereo-type Autistics as either Non-Functioning or High Functioning Geniuses or Savants, ignoring every other autistic that stands in the middle of the spectrum.

Michael Savage: you must apologize and be forced to repair the damage you have done, like your father said, "don't be an idiot".

Extra Teeth - Missing Tooth - HOW??

The Shock: How did this happen Doc? "In the first 2 or 3 weeks of gestation AF developed 2 extra teeth. These teeth are called bony impacts, and the are virtually keeping the permanent teeth from coming in" . I had never heard of anything like this before. How in the world?

First Step to getting AF a perfect smile: Oral surgery - while going under.
Doc opens up the roof of his mouth and removes bony impacts (extra teeth) hopefully removing the correct ones. He can't guarantee this. It's 50 / 50. The procedure went smoothly. AF was so brave, so so brave, and strong through the painful recovery days. Next, we wait and hope the permanent teeth come in unassisted.

Wishful thinking, partial success: One tooth comes out perfectly, the other stays behind. We head over to the orthodontist now, where AF will receive a series of Dental Appliances and braces to assist in making more room for the missing tooth to reappear. ! So early in the morning AF, and his support system (Mom, Dad and DJ), headed down to the city for the orthodontist. The first expanding appliance is in. Hooray!!! Not an easy task for a child that squirms and screams to get his teeth brushed. "It hurts MOM. I can't do it - I can't do it. It's the glue MOM. I can't breathe". But he did it - Kudos !!

Adventuring Downtown

As the parents of two Aspies, Paul and I have taken every opportunity to include our beautiful boys in every activity any other child would enjoy. We've had many successes and many failures, but never the less we keep trying. It's sort of a rebellion on our part. We refuse to put our children in a corner of the world because they may not act socially appropriate to every one's standards. We know a cure for Autism will not come in our lifetime or theirs, if ever, so darn it if we will let the world they have to work so hard to understand and live in, seclude, or exclude them.

This past month we all decided to get in the car and go on a little adventure. We packed the kids, not fussing to much on appropriate attire. You see, some clothes are just uncomfortable to wear, even painful. They are so eager to please us, that they would agree to wear something they don't feel comfortable in, but the horrible discomfort caused by oversensitivity to the clothing materials would not allow them to enjoy the adventure, in fact they would be miserable and so would we. So we packed them in to our little white car and we headed downtown, for dinner at one of thee most expensive restaurants in Town. Just the four of us in our casual clothing and all. Their behavior was great, AND they tried new foods. It went well, so well, I am so proud of my guys. It just goes to show, you never know till you try.