In the Bill Murray movie “Stripes,” the 1981 comedy about two 30-something friends who decide to join the Army, there’s a scene early in the movie leading up to their enlistment in which the Murray character realizes what horrible shape he’s in. As he tries to do some pushups, his friend, played by Harold Ramis, delivers the line, “That’s one. I think you’re ready for the Special Olympics.”

I cite that, because until Barack Obama’s appearance on the “Tonight” show last night, when he was trying to describe his slowly improving bowling skills, I hadn’t heard another attempt to mention the Special Olympics as a laugh line. It was definitely funnier in the movie.

John Travolta poses with his son Jett. (Associated Press Photo)

For obvious reasons, this is very difficult topic to take up at this moment. A child has died, and I don’t care if it’s the child of a movie star or a bank teller or a candlestick maker, it’s the saddest thing that can happen. But the fact is, the death of 16-year-old Jett Travolta as he vacationed with his family in the Bahamas last week has caused a huge uproar in what is often referred to as the “autism community.” (a sampling of autism blogs here, here, and here)

As the father of an 11-year-old autistic boy, I write this post tonight, not to make any judgments about Jett’s life or the type of care he received, but to help sort out the reactions that are coming in from around the world about Jett Travolta and the possibility he was autistic.

I had a terrific time today, delivering one of the speeches at a major autism conference in New Jersey. It was held at Kean University, and had well over a thousand people in attendance. The title of the conference was “Autism: Putting the Pieces Together" I spoke as a parent of an autistic child, and was tremendously gratified by the warm welcome and attention I received from the audience. And Kean U. was even nice enough to videotape it and give me a DVD!

So my speech will be my post tonight. I hope you get something out of it, whether you’re in the “autism community” or not. In the middle of the speech, I show a clip from the documentary directed by my wife, Lauren, called “Autism Every Day.” Then I come back and talk some more, because let’s face it, that’s what I do. I’d love to hear your thoughts and responses in the comments section. Speech can be viewed after the jump.

It’s often been said that patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. I disagree. I would reserve that distinction for the phrase, “I was taken out of context.” It was the phrase radio host Michael Savage used over and over tonight, refusing to take full responsibility for his toxic comments last week that the vast majority of children with autism are, in reality, brats who haven’t “been told to cut the act out.” He went on to say that what these children needed were to be told to stop acting like morons and idiots.

I responded on this blog Friday night, writing as a parent of an autistic child. I was overwhelmed with the number of people who took the time to read my post, and the hundreds who wrote their own responses. The vast majority of them were, to put it politely, furious with Mr. Savage’s comments. To all those who checked out the blog, my deepest thanks for your thoughts and good wishes.

Monday night, on his program, Savage issued what could best be called the “non-apology apology.” He wasn’t referring, he insists, to the “truly autistic” people, who he now says are “truly ill.” That, he says, was a distortion of the group Media Matters, a liberal-leaning organization that tracks comments from right wing radio and television hosts. Hosts, like Michael Savage, who refers to Media Matters, with typical hyperbole, as “Stalinist.”

But the transcripts of Savage’s comments last week, backed up by audio recordings, show that he said autism is a “fraud, a racket,” being faked in “99 percent of the cases.” He said these children need to be told to not “act like a moron.. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don’t sit there, crying and screaming, idiot.”

Those are quotes. What possibly could have been the “context” that would change their meaning?” Why not just admit he spoke too harshly, that he exaggerated to make a point, that he needlessly hurt people who deal with “truly autistic” people every hour of their lives? Just easier to say some mean old liberals took the comments “out of context.” Act like a man, indeed.

On Friday, I issued a response to radio jock Michael Savage's controversial comments about autism. With advocacy groups protesting outside radio stations calling for him to be fired, Savage went on the offensive. Hear what he had to say in this exclusive interview with my colleague Peter Thorne.

As many viewers of the CW11 News at Ten know, my oldest son, Liam, has autism. When I was reading the news headlines this morning and saw what radio host Michael Savage had said about autism, that it’s a “fraud, a racket..” and that “In 99 percent of the cases, it’s a brat who hasn’t been told to cut the act out”… my first reaction was to simply consider the source. Michael Savage is a professional jerk, who puts his extreme ignorance on display for fun and profit; substantial profits, apparently, since he’s purported to be the third most popular radio host in America. What he said about autism is so patently ridiculous, I didn’t think it needed to be dignified with a response.

But as the day went on, and responses WERE coming in from autism organizations and parents of autistic children, I knew I couldn’t sit this one out. So, Mr. Savage, here are some of my thoughts about your foolish and cruel diatribe.

You said: “They (autistic children) don’t have a father around to tell them, ‘Don’t act like a moron… Straighten up. Act like a man.”

My son, Liam, DOES have a father, Mr. Savage. That would be me. Liam is ten years old, and, boy, would I love to say things to him about his condition. One problem: Liam has no vocabulary. He can’t talk, Mr. Savage. He has a brain condition that has no known cause, and no known cure, and one of the ways the condition manifests itself in Liam is that he has no speech, and very little receptive language. That means he can barely understand anything that’s said to him.

“You’ll get nowhere in life,” you said we should tell our autistic children. Well, in some regards, for severely autistic children like mine, that’s partially true. Liam has no skills. It’s doubtful he’ll ever be able to have even a simple, repetitive job, and all signs indicate he’ll need 24/7 care for the rest of his life. But I suppose it comes down to what you mean by “nowhere.” Liam will never measure up to what you apparently see as the hidden potential of these “brats.” But he is a kind and gentle soul, who loves his family and caretakers in whatever way he’s capable of loving. He always does his best, and when he smiles, it’s enough to make the sun come out from behind the clouds. Liam is definitely “somewhere” in life, Mr. Savage, but it’s a place I’m afraid you don’t have the capacity to understand or relate to.

Every autistic child is different. Many, like my son, can’t speak or brush their teeth, and need years to learn to go to the bathroom by themselves. Others can go to college, but are burdened with compulsions and social difficulties and the need for repetitive behaviors that makes it difficult for them to fit in. But even with these higher functioning autistics, your “method” of dealing with them is absurdly harsh and wrong-headed. Do you think people with autism WANT to be that way? Do you think their parents haven’t broken their bank accounts, their hearts, and usually their marriages because they haven’t tried everything under the sun to have their child live as normal a life as possible? You think calling them putzes, morons, idiots, is the way to “snap them out of it?” Your ignorance is breathtaking, Mr. Savage. Read more after the jump.