Denis Leary Blasts Autism As A Joke; Autism Society Responds To His "Ridiculous" Belief

October 15, 2008 11:42 a.m. EST

Los Angeles, CA (CNS) - Denis Leary's view on autism has irked the Autism Society of America. The "Rescue Me" actor said in his new book that the buzz around the brain development disorder is caused by parents.

In Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid, Leary slams kids with autism as "morons" who are "stupid" and/or just plain "lazy."

He writes, "There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-ass kids can't compete academically, so they throw money into the happy laps of shrinks... to get back diagnoses that help explain away the deficiencies of their junior morons."

"I don't give a [bleep] what these crackerjack whack jobs tell you - yer kid is NOT autistic. He's just stupid. Or lazy. Or both."

Unsurprisingly, the Autism Society of America lashes back at the actor, saying, "For Mr. Leary to suggest that families or doctors conspire to falsely diagnose autism is ridiculous... [His] remarks reflect the same misconceptions of autism being caused by bad or unemotional parenting that were held over 50 years ago."