To anyone that thinks that autism is the new ADD, or that it is OVER DIAGNOSED or MISDIAGNOSED in ANY way.... You need to do some more research and EDUCATE yourself before you open your mouths again on this subject.(AUTISM IS NOT NEW. AUTISM IS A SPECTRUM DISORDER WHICH MEANS IT RANGES FROM SEVERE CASES ALL THE WAY TO MILD CASES WHERE THAT INDIVIDUAL MAY BE HIGHLY FUNCTIONING BUT STILL AFFECTED BY AUTISM IN SOME WAYS THAT YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO EASILY TELL. YES THE RATE HAS INCREASED BUT THAT IS BECAUSE WE KNOW MUCH MORE ABOUT AUTISM THAN BEFORE AND HAVE THE ABILITY TO PLACE PEOPLE ON THE SPECTRUM THAT PREVIOUSLY WOULD HAVE SLIPPED THROUGH THE CRACKS{these people could spend their lives being ridiculed and called a brat or weird, never understanding whats wrong with them} AUTISM diagnosis' are NOT easily handed out. There are VERY SPECIFIC qualifying characteristics that must be met to receive an ASD (AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER) diagnosis. As a father of a 4yr old boy on this SPECTRUM I can assure you that after an ASD diagnosis is made, NO ONE gives you drugs to treat it. NOBODY hands over taxpayer money to be abused. In fact, once your child receives their diagnosis, you spend the rest of your life ( ASD IS A LIFELONG DISORDER ) advocating for your child, as well as the autism community. At times my Wife and I have had to fight tooth and nail to get the services our son needs. We all need to educate ourselves on this matter, THROUGH FACTS FROM THE SCIENTIFIC AND AUTISM COMMUNITIES AND THE EXPERTS IN THESE MATTERS. Definitely NOT through the skewed and often hurtful opinions of people like Michael Savage. Their comments UNDERMINE everything that people affected by autism work towards to educate the public about autism and how to treat it. Seriously, what purpose could statements like Savage's have. Other than to create misconceptions on the subject.(Which it obviously has. Due to the amount of people agreeing with him and speaking out against the Autism community and the VERY GENUINE Doctors, Neurologists, Psychologists, Therapists, Parents, and Teachers involved. WITH OUT ANY FACTUAL BASIS FOR THEIR ARGUMENTS.) We should all be outraged. I believe in free speech, but come on. Some things shouldn't be tolerated in this country, like the discrimination of anyone based on race, sex, religion, class, or DISABILITY. I know he backtracked and all, but he said that he stands by his original comments. Which state that "99 % of the cases" are an act.(Paraphrasing it does not change its context.) At the LEAST we all deserve a VERY PUBLIC APOLOGY. Thank you for listening to me RANT, as you can tell STRESS is very much a part of my life...... Autism is no joke, it is a very real disorder that can rule the lives of those involved. So please don't INSULT us, we have a hard enough time as it is.