http://www.nypost.com/seven/10152008/gossip/pagesix/learys_brain_vs__the_autistics_133648.htm Kinda wants to make me buy the book....
Standard marketing. Say "outrageous" things so that your book will be talked about. It's not a terribly clever joke (a bit generic frat boy humour to suggest that autistic people are just stupid, lazy people), but it got the job done to some extent in getting some media attention. The Autism Society of America should have just ignored him. Denis Leary has been irrelevant for at least a decade and a half.
All those excerpts from his book aren't even funny. It the new cool thing for comedians to do, be mostly controversial and throw in some comedy, rather than just being funny. Then complaining that it was "just a joke" when they catch beef from the press.
In his defense, the definition of "autism" has been expanded to include behaviors that used to be considered normal, but a little eccentric. However, studies suggest that there has also been an increase in "profound" autism, and of course some people think that it is related to the use of mercury in childhood innoculations. The important thing is not what it is called, but that everyone gets treatment to improve their ability to interact in society within normally-defined bounds. Mildly autistic kids can of course grow up to be very productive--and in many cases are brilliant scientists and researchers--but they need guidance and love as kids to develop.
The buzz in the medical community--at least according to our family pediatrician--is that the finishing touches are being done on a study that for the first time shows a hereditary link to autism.
