WEBVTT - 10-3-25 Willie with Leland Vittert

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<v Speaker 1>By Bill Cunningham, the Great America and one of the

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<v Speaker 1>persons in big time media. I've had the pleasure of

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<v Speaker 1>meeting is Leland Vitters spent years and years with a

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<v Speaker 1>Fox News in the Middle East and then came back

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<v Speaker 1>News Nation has been an anchor there for several years

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<v Speaker 1>and the evening Monday through Friday.

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<v Speaker 2>And I did not know.

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<v Speaker 1>I had the good fortune of meeting Leland Vivertert and

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<v Speaker 1>his family in Naples about a year or two ago,

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<v Speaker 1>and his new bride and now they're married, and I thought,

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<v Speaker 1>what a wonderful family. Had no idea that Leland Verdert

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<v Speaker 1>was diagnosed with autism at a rather young age, but

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<v Speaker 1>to not discover it himself to it was eighteen or

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen years old. He just turned forty three years old,

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<v Speaker 1>a relatively young man. And the book is out, which

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<v Speaker 1>is fabulous, is called Born Lucky, which I read last week,

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<v Speaker 1>is two times sell out on Amazon. It's in his

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<v Speaker 1>third printing. And if you have a friend, a family member,

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<v Speaker 1>a grandson, a daughter, or anyone in conducted in your

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<v Speaker 1>life that has a disability, this is the book that

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<v Speaker 1>you must read. It's called Born Lucky, and Leland's nickname

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<v Speaker 1>is Lucky and just looking at the cover of the

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<v Speaker 1>book with his dad and Leland when he was about

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<v Speaker 1>I guess about a year old. It's just a wonderful

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<v Speaker 1>picture of love between a father and a son. And

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<v Speaker 1>Leland Veder, welcome again to the Bill Cunningham Show. And normally, Leland,

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<v Speaker 1>we deal with politics, what's happening with the doings in

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<v Speaker 1>Washington politically, who's up, who's down. But I want to

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<v Speaker 1>spend most of this time with you on the book

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<v Speaker 1>Born Lucky, and I want to jump ahead, which is

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<v Speaker 1>not the normal thing for me. On page one sixty six,

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<v Speaker 1>I made a note and uh, it says on it

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<v Speaker 1>this is when you're in the Middle East in Jerusalem quote.

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<v Speaker 2>Then came the real shock.

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<v Speaker 1>A month and a half into my time in Israel,

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<v Speaker 1>my dad had a heart attack. Because it was jam Kipoor.

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<v Speaker 1>The country had effectively been shut down. I couldn't get

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<v Speaker 1>a flight home. I was stuck, helpless, relying on second

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<v Speaker 1>hand updates from mom. I finally saw my dad briefly

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<v Speaker 1>in November and Florida, and when I took my first home.

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<v Speaker 1>Lead was there at that point jumping ahead A complete

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<v Speaker 1>sense on your part of failing in a sense to

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<v Speaker 1>be the son that you should have been your father

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<v Speaker 1>because of your job.

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<v Speaker 3>Wow, we went deep quick, Bill. So yeah.

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<v Speaker 4>I think when I was there in Israel, realizing that

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<v Speaker 4>I couldn't be there for him the way he had

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<v Speaker 4>been there for me for fifteen years every day when

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<v Speaker 4>I got home from school, putting me back together, it

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<v Speaker 4>was really difficult to sit there in Jerusalem and not

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<v Speaker 4>know and not be able to get home. So absolutely,

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<v Speaker 4>and I think what you're picking up on in why

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<v Speaker 4>I felt that way is the absolute devotion that Dad

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<v Speaker 4>had to me, to the point that he didn't tell

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<v Speaker 4>anybody about my diagnosis. He didn't tell me until I

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<v Speaker 4>was in my twenties. He didn't tell any therapist, he

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<v Speaker 4>didn't tell any principally, didn't tell teacher.

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<v Speaker 3>He went on a one man mission.

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<v Speaker 4>Supported unbelievably by my mother, to adapt me to the

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<v Speaker 4>world rather than the world to me. And I think

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<v Speaker 4>there's so many parents who are told right now, look,

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<v Speaker 4>you know, we're going to give your kid all these accommodations.

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<v Speaker 4>It's going to make LIFs great, it's going to make

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<v Speaker 4>life easier, on and on and on. And what Dad

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<v Speaker 4>said was that if Lucky doesn't understand how to be

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<v Speaker 4>in the real world now, He's not going to understand later.

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<v Speaker 4>So this was his driving force was to adapt me

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<v Speaker 4>to the world and rather than try to take the

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<v Speaker 4>adversity away, hold my hand through that adversity.

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<v Speaker 1>Did you feel you should have known this when you

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<v Speaker 1>were fifteen? And the book relays terrible bullying that you

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<v Speaker 1>went through. You didn't fit in, it was awkward, you

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<v Speaker 1>were beat upon, it was terrible in school. Your father

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<v Speaker 1>would at the end of the day, you'd go home

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<v Speaker 1>and he had to put you back together. Did you

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<v Speaker 1>feel your dad should have told you early that you

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<v Speaker 1>had autism?

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<v Speaker 4>You know, Bill, No, And here's why. This whole idea

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<v Speaker 4>from my father was that I don't want anyone to

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<v Speaker 4>define you by a diagnosis, and I don't want you

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<v Speaker 4>to define yourself by the diagnosis, and.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't want you to use it as an excuse ever.

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<v Speaker 4>And I think that was a very powerful, powerful feeling

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<v Speaker 4>that my dad instilled in me.

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<v Speaker 3>So, you know, I am just so grateful to him.

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<v Speaker 4>And I think this book, I think Born Lucky, and

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<v Speaker 4>the reason it's getting the response it's getting online and

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<v Speaker 4>on social media, and as you pointed, out, sold out

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<v Speaker 4>twice on Amazon. I don't want any of your listeners

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<v Speaker 4>to get in a car accident. But when you get

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<v Speaker 4>to wherever you're going, go to Amazon and order it

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<v Speaker 4>now before it sells out again. If you want to

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<v Speaker 4>read it is because this is hope for every parent

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<v Speaker 4>of a kid who's having a hard time. It doesn't

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<v Speaker 4>matter if it's autism or ADHD or anxiety or difficulties

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<v Speaker 4>with bullying, whoever it is. This is proof of what

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<v Speaker 4>parents can do for their kid to really help them grow, develop,

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<v Speaker 4>be confident, understand how they can take on the world,

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<v Speaker 4>get through the bullying, all of the things that are

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<v Speaker 4>challenges that the experts don't ever tell parents.

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<v Speaker 3>This is what you can.

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<v Speaker 2>Do growing up.

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<v Speaker 1>You say, there were little signs that I was different.

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<v Speaker 1>I felt I was different. I didn't speak until I

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<v Speaker 1>was three years old, not a word. At some point

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<v Speaker 1>a teacher said to your mom and dad, quote, you

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<v Speaker 1>need to have Lucky evaluated. Did your parents have an inkling?

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<v Speaker 1>But we're talking about the mid to late nineteen eighties.

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<v Speaker 1>Autism then isn't as aware as autism today in twenty

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<v Speaker 1>twenty five. How did that information hit your mom and dad?

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<v Speaker 1>You were probably too young to realize that you have

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<v Speaker 1>to get to lucky that you evaluated.

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<v Speaker 2>How did your mom and dad real.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I was five years old.

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<v Speaker 4>They took me to one of those little medical office

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<v Speaker 4>buildings and sent me off to the testing with some woman.

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<v Speaker 4>And they're sitting there, you know, a little waiting room

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<v Speaker 4>with the old magazines and the stale coffee. And the

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<v Speaker 4>woman comes back, brings my parents into a conference room

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<v Speaker 4>and says, look, there is a lot going on in

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<v Speaker 4>his head and we don't really understand it.

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<v Speaker 3>So major behavioral issues.

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<v Speaker 4>You know, if a kid would touch me in the lunchline,

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<v Speaker 4>I'd turn around and slug them, and couldn't wear certain

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<v Speaker 4>clothes because the sensory issues and all sort of the

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<v Speaker 4>classic signs of what we now know to be autism

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<v Speaker 4>didn't speak.

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<v Speaker 3>Till I was three. It's completely unable.

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<v Speaker 4>To understand any kind of social cues or social emotion,

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<v Speaker 4>human interaction.

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<v Speaker 3>And then there were big learning disabilities.

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<v Speaker 4>Right, So I had an IQ test, two halves of

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<v Speaker 4>an IQ test. A twenty point spread between the two

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<v Speaker 4>halves is a learning disability. I had a seventy point spread.

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<v Speaker 4>They'd never seen anything like it. And if you could

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<v Speaker 4>measure my emotional intelligence by EQ, it would have been

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<v Speaker 4>near freezing. So this is when the woman says to

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<v Speaker 4>my dad, we don't really understand what's going on inside

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<v Speaker 4>his head and there's not much you can do about it.

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<v Speaker 3>And my dad goes, is there.

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<v Speaker 4>Anything we can do anything? And she said no, generally not.

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<v Speaker 4>So this is the story of what mom and dad

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<v Speaker 4>did and what dad did after that.

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<v Speaker 3>And you know, Bill, you made a great point. You

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<v Speaker 3>and I had lunch together down in Naples.

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<v Speaker 4>My dad was there, and you said, you know, you

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<v Speaker 4>wish you'd known. He didn't tell anybody, and he's been

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<v Speaker 4>very reluctant to tell this story. When we wrote More

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<v Speaker 4>and Lucky, I was interviewing him, and every story we got.

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<v Speaker 3>To he would say, do we really want to tell

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<v Speaker 3>that story?

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<v Speaker 4>And I'd say, try to talk him through it and

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<v Speaker 4>why it was important.

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<v Speaker 3>And finally I made a deal with it. I said, book,

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<v Speaker 3>I said, we can't do this.

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<v Speaker 4>You're going to be completely candid and open with me.

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<v Speaker 4>I'm going to write the manuscript and if you don't

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<v Speaker 4>like it, I won't turn it.

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<v Speaker 3>In, Okay, And I don't really I didn't really have.

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<v Speaker 4>A plan if he said no, but anyway, I gave

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<v Speaker 4>him a manuscript and he read it and he goes,

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<v Speaker 4>I don't know, this is.

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<v Speaker 3>Really way too personal. You know, these are these are

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<v Speaker 3>the worst parts of your life.

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<v Speaker 4>Now you never well anybody, you can go to therapy.

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<v Speaker 4>Now you're going to go to therapy on national television. Right, Yeah,

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<v Speaker 4>let me ask it this way.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, please go ahead.

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<v Speaker 4>If if if in that waiting room when I was diagnosed,

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<v Speaker 4>that little office, rather than the woman saying there's nothing

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<v Speaker 4>you could do, she handed you born Lucky, she handed

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<v Speaker 4>you this book. What would you have done? He said, Well,

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<v Speaker 4>I would have read it every week.

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<v Speaker 3>He said.

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<v Speaker 4>I can't tell you how much I would have paid

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<v Speaker 4>for that book, because it would have given me hope

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<v Speaker 4>that I could make a real difference in your life.

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<v Speaker 1>Did your mom and dad feel as if they failed

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<v Speaker 1>you by producing a child with this profound disability? Did

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<v Speaker 1>they feel like, what did we do wrong?

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<v Speaker 4>It's a great question. I don't think they ever felt

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<v Speaker 4>that way. I think certainly now with the debate around autism,

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<v Speaker 4>it's so important for parents to know it's not their

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<v Speaker 4>fault and that that's really, I think, such an important

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<v Speaker 4>message and one that really needs to be said over

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<v Speaker 4>and over and over again. No parent would wish this

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<v Speaker 4>on their child. No parent wants their child to have

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<v Speaker 4>a hard time. And you know, I think it's so

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<v Speaker 4>wonderful now that we are beginning to have an honest

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<v Speaker 4>conversation about the cause of autism and why. As you

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<v Speaker 4>pointed out, when I was diagnosed with what we now

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<v Speaker 4>know to be autism, it was one in a thousand

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<v Speaker 4>or one in fifteen hundred kids, and now it's one

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<v Speaker 4>in thirty one, three times that for boys higher in

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<v Speaker 4>poor minority community, and finally we're having an honest conversation

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<v Speaker 4>about it.

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<v Speaker 1>George Weyll and A four which says Leland's story is

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<v Speaker 1>one of adventure, exploration and discovery first and foremost, from

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<v Speaker 1>beginning to enads about the mountain moving power of parental love.

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<v Speaker 1>I can only think of the millions and millions of

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<v Speaker 1>kids that are now in their mid forties as you are,

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<v Speaker 1>and going through the bullying in school they're going through

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<v Speaker 1>right now, that go through a living hell because they

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<v Speaker 1>did not have your parents. They had normal parents that said,

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<v Speaker 1>you know what, we're going to get him some help

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<v Speaker 1>and the ups and downs of life. And I can't

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<v Speaker 1>imagine having Lucky. That is you Leland Vitter, coming home

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<v Speaker 1>from school beaten, bloodied in a sense psychologically, sometimes physically,

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<v Speaker 1>and your mom and dad puts you back together, then

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<v Speaker 1>send you back to school. At some point when when

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<v Speaker 1>you were ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, you probably had the

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<v Speaker 1>ability to say, no, I'm not going back to school.

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<v Speaker 2>I can't take it anymore.

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<v Speaker 1>You can you relate to an autistic kid right now

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<v Speaker 1>who's thirteen, fourteen, fifteen. It doesn't want to confrom live,

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<v Speaker 1>It doesn't want to confront life.

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<v Speaker 3>I did.

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<v Speaker 4>I didn't a lot of times, and my dad would

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<v Speaker 4>sit there, you know, Bill, one of the stories in

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<v Speaker 4>Born Lucky.

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<v Speaker 3>I'm in eighth grade art class and there's art, art

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<v Speaker 3>on the walls. Whatever. It's none of this are going

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<v Speaker 3>to be Picassia, right, But this art teacher.

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<v Speaker 4>Didn't like me very much, and he's send in form

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<v Speaker 4>of the entire class. You know, if I was, if

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<v Speaker 4>my age the line from him was in front of

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<v Speaker 4>the entire class, if my dog was as ugly as

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<v Speaker 4>you Vitter, I would shave its rear end and make

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<v Speaker 4>it walk.

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<v Speaker 3>Backwards from the entire class. Oo.

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<v Speaker 4>Imagine what that does to a kid. So I walked

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<v Speaker 4>home that night, and my dad was waiting for me

0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:07.200
<v Speaker 4>at the end of the driveway, as he always was,

0:11:07.240 --> 0:11:09.120
<v Speaker 4>and he says, you know what happened today? And I said,

0:11:09.160 --> 0:11:13.319
<v Speaker 4>I was just you know, humiliated, and just you know.

0:11:13.440 --> 0:11:14.120
<v Speaker 3>This is awful.

0:11:14.400 --> 0:11:15.960
<v Speaker 4>And he would sit with me for a couple of

0:11:15.960 --> 0:11:20.000
<v Speaker 4>hours every night, listening to me, letting me take out

0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:24.600
<v Speaker 4>my frustrations and my anger and my difficulty. And he

0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:28.920
<v Speaker 4>would then leave my room as I had cried and

0:11:29.040 --> 0:11:32.760
<v Speaker 4>yelled and everything else, and he would go downstairs and oftentimes,

0:11:32.760 --> 0:11:34.920
<v Speaker 4>and we now know this as we wrote the book,

0:11:35.720 --> 0:11:37.480
<v Speaker 4>or I know it now, he would sit there in

0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:39.880
<v Speaker 4>the living room by himself and cry in the dark.

0:11:41.040 --> 0:11:44.880
<v Speaker 4>And the next morning, no, he would get me up

0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:46.760
<v Speaker 4>and he would take me back to school, because he said,

0:11:46.800 --> 0:11:48.960
<v Speaker 4>the only way for you to get through this and

0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:52.400
<v Speaker 4>to know that you can operate in the real world

0:11:52.600 --> 0:11:54.640
<v Speaker 4>is to face this adversity head on and to learn

0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:56.560
<v Speaker 4>how to adapt and overcome.

0:11:57.080 --> 0:11:59.640
<v Speaker 3>Now, what he didn't say to me is that middle

0:11:59.679 --> 0:12:00.640
<v Speaker 3>school is.

0:12:00.679 --> 0:12:05.840
<v Speaker 5>Great training for a Washington newsroom. But it is, Uh,

0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:09.080
<v Speaker 5>let's go back to this. So a teacher said to you,

0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:13.079
<v Speaker 5>leyland vitterat you're so ugly if I had a dog,

0:12:13.120 --> 0:12:16.479
<v Speaker 5>I would shave his butt and make the dog walk backwards.

0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:19.360
<v Speaker 3>That had to be He didn't say, bud, but yes.

0:12:19.280 --> 0:12:25.040
<v Speaker 1>Yes, devastating, devastating, And your father said, did their father

0:12:25.120 --> 0:12:28.000
<v Speaker 1>confront that teacher? I can't imagine the rage your dad

0:12:28.400 --> 0:12:31.880
<v Speaker 1>and your mom, Carol must have felt when a teacher

0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:32.720
<v Speaker 1>says that to you.

0:12:33.160 --> 0:12:35.600
<v Speaker 2>Did did they confront him or not? Or her?

0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:36.760
<v Speaker 3>The school?

0:12:36.960 --> 0:12:40.839
<v Speaker 4>The school did and he ended up apologizing didn't didn't

0:12:40.840 --> 0:12:44.040
<v Speaker 4>give me a lot of good because you know, it

0:12:44.120 --> 0:12:45.800
<v Speaker 4>was clear, and really we put it in the book.

0:12:45.920 --> 0:12:49.720
<v Speaker 4>Was it was illustrative of that. It wasn't just the kids,

0:12:50.400 --> 0:12:51.600
<v Speaker 4>it was the adults, right.

0:12:51.640 --> 0:12:52.079
<v Speaker 3>It was the.

0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:54.560
<v Speaker 4>Principal who called my parents in two weeks into my

0:12:55.120 --> 0:12:57.520
<v Speaker 4>time in this new school. I'd already been taken out

0:12:57.520 --> 0:13:00.320
<v Speaker 4>of two schools because things had been so bad, and

0:13:00.360 --> 0:13:02.480
<v Speaker 4>they call my parents in and sit them down and said,

0:13:02.520 --> 0:13:07.160
<v Speaker 4>you know what, everybody at this school thinks, Lucky's really weird.

0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:11.800
<v Speaker 4>And then the woman followed up and frankly, I do too.

0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:15.280
<v Speaker 4>So two arrows through my parents' hearts, and it was

0:13:15.720 --> 0:13:19.480
<v Speaker 4>illustrative of both how different I was right as a kid,

0:13:20.040 --> 0:13:23.880
<v Speaker 4>and also what they were facing and how isolated my

0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:28.000
<v Speaker 4>parents felt, and obviously how isolated and alone so many

0:13:28.040 --> 0:13:31.360
<v Speaker 4>families feel. You know, Bill, the reason Born Lucky's doing

0:13:32.040 --> 0:13:33.559
<v Speaker 4>so well, if you want to call it that, there's

0:13:33.559 --> 0:13:36.600
<v Speaker 4>so much interest isn't be to the me. It is

0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:40.160
<v Speaker 4>my story, but it's not about me. It's about giving

0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:44.240
<v Speaker 4>this hope to parents who for so long have been

0:13:44.240 --> 0:13:46.880
<v Speaker 4>told there's no hope and things are hopeless.

0:13:47.520 --> 0:13:50.280
<v Speaker 2>Well, what do you owe your mom and dad?

0:13:53.520 --> 0:13:56.839
<v Speaker 4>Well, I think the answer is a lot, obviously. And

0:13:57.080 --> 0:13:59.040
<v Speaker 4>the reason Bill, one of them that I wanted to

0:13:59.040 --> 0:13:59.959
<v Speaker 4>write this book.

0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:03.360
<v Speaker 3>Now is to say thank you, because you know, my

0:14:03.440 --> 0:14:04.240
<v Speaker 3>dad's getting older.

0:14:04.240 --> 0:14:08.040
<v Speaker 4>He's seventy nine, I think seventy eight, and it was

0:14:08.120 --> 0:14:11.120
<v Speaker 4>only fair I thought to let him know that I

0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:16.800
<v Speaker 4>understood the sacrifices made and just how grateful I am

0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:17.480
<v Speaker 4>to him.

0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:19.400
<v Speaker 3>And how grateful I am to my mom.

0:14:19.440 --> 0:14:21.400
<v Speaker 4>You know, Dad wrote the afterward, which I think is

0:14:21.400 --> 0:14:21.880
<v Speaker 4>the best part.

0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:24.200
<v Speaker 3>The second best part is George Will's forward.

0:14:24.000 --> 0:14:26.000
<v Speaker 4>And I'm the two hundred and forty pages in the middle.

0:14:26.800 --> 0:14:30.240
<v Speaker 4>But Dad wrote the afterward, and if he rightly pays,

0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:33.440
<v Speaker 4>you know, homage to my mother and says she is

0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:37.840
<v Speaker 4>the real hero here for keeping not only lucky together.

0:14:37.600 --> 0:14:39.280
<v Speaker 3>But him. My dad threw all this. You know, this

0:14:39.400 --> 0:14:42.040
<v Speaker 3>was a whole family affair.

0:14:41.920 --> 0:14:45.240
<v Speaker 4>And we talked about how hard it is for siblings

0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:48.520
<v Speaker 4>in this position. Or my little sister who was in kindergarten.

0:14:48.520 --> 0:14:51.920
<v Speaker 4>You read this, Bill, I would in fifth grade walk

0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:54.000
<v Speaker 4>to her classroom and pick her up, and we both.

0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:55.640
<v Speaker 3>Went to the same school and then walk home through

0:14:55.640 --> 0:14:56.280
<v Speaker 3>the woods.

0:14:56.040 --> 0:14:59.760
<v Speaker 4>And we would get to the back of the p

0:15:00.200 --> 0:15:04.640
<v Speaker 4>fields at this school. And she said that her first

0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.640
<v Speaker 4>memory of her brother, she was in kindergarten with me,

0:15:07.760 --> 0:15:11.240
<v Speaker 4>every time, getting into those woods and starting to cry

0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:14.080
<v Speaker 4>and walking her home and her holding my hand. So

0:15:14.680 --> 0:15:18.400
<v Speaker 4>it shows the cruelty of growing up in what it's like.

0:15:19.120 --> 0:15:21.360
<v Speaker 4>And I think Bill, you picked up on this is

0:15:21.400 --> 0:15:24.200
<v Speaker 4>that we made a conscious decision in the book. We

0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:27.280
<v Speaker 4>didn't use the names of anybody who was mean to me, right,

0:15:27.360 --> 0:15:29.600
<v Speaker 4>and we use the names of everybody who is nice,

0:15:29.720 --> 0:15:32.120
<v Speaker 4>because it's a lesson not just the parents but to

0:15:32.160 --> 0:15:35.200
<v Speaker 4>everybody of what a difference people can make in the

0:15:35.240 --> 0:15:37.400
<v Speaker 4>life of a kid who's having a hard time.

0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:42.640
<v Speaker 1>Leyland Vetter, how do you process the meanderings of the

0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:46.080
<v Speaker 1>Department of Health and Human Services Trump administration to find

0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:49.760
<v Speaker 1>the causes of autism. Since you have it, do you

0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.880
<v Speaker 1>have more interest? Do you think it is? Tyler and all?

0:15:53.040 --> 0:15:55.600
<v Speaker 1>What do you think? I mean, you don't know because

0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:56.840
<v Speaker 1>you're a news will.

0:15:56.880 --> 0:15:59.280
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, here you go.

0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:03.720
<v Speaker 4>Okay, guess what, Bill, I don't have a medical degree.

0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:06.560
<v Speaker 4>I'm not a doctor, and I am not a scientist,

0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.120
<v Speaker 4>and I have the chemistry degrees to prove chemistry grades

0:16:09.160 --> 0:16:13.000
<v Speaker 4>to prove it. Okay, So I'm not going to talk

0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:16.840
<v Speaker 4>about dosing of tailano, and I shouldn't because I don't

0:16:16.880 --> 0:16:20.280
<v Speaker 4>have an expertise in it. What I will say, and

0:16:20.320 --> 0:16:22.680
<v Speaker 4>what I think is so important to say, is thank

0:16:22.720 --> 0:16:26.240
<v Speaker 4>god we are having this conversation now, and it really

0:16:26.280 --> 0:16:29.280
<v Speaker 4>frosts me that there are people who would rather score

0:16:29.320 --> 0:16:33.240
<v Speaker 4>political points than help solve the scientific question of our time.

0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.520
<v Speaker 4>And I have said this before, which is you I

0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:37.120
<v Speaker 4>really want.

0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:39.640
<v Speaker 3>To say to these people, do you really hate Trump?

0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:41.880
<v Speaker 3>Would you really rather score political points.

0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:44.920
<v Speaker 4>On Trump more than you love our kids? Because I

0:16:44.960 --> 0:16:46.880
<v Speaker 4>grew up with autism, I know what it's like. I

0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:49.360
<v Speaker 4>know the hell that millions of kids and millions of

0:16:49.360 --> 0:16:51.960
<v Speaker 4>families are going through. And if we can find an

0:16:52.000 --> 0:16:55.080
<v Speaker 4>answer to this problem, it will be a wonderful and

0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:56.120
<v Speaker 4>miraculous thing.

0:16:56.160 --> 0:16:57.440
<v Speaker 2>One out of every thirty one.

0:16:57.520 --> 0:17:00.000
<v Speaker 1>And I want to end this by referencing on page

0:17:00.440 --> 0:17:04.159
<v Speaker 1>two forty two what your dad's advice to others would be.

0:17:05.000 --> 0:17:08.120
<v Speaker 1>I really do not know what was ahead, who could help,

0:17:08.240 --> 0:17:10.280
<v Speaker 1>or if the verdict would be just give up.

0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:10.480
<v Speaker 4>Well.

0:17:10.520 --> 0:17:13.880
<v Speaker 1>The purpose of this book is to offer hope, real hope.

0:17:13.920 --> 0:17:16.600
<v Speaker 1>Here are the principles I wrote down for myself when

0:17:16.680 --> 0:17:20.359
<v Speaker 1>Lucky that You was diagnosed. One, have no expectations in

0:17:20.400 --> 0:17:24.119
<v Speaker 1>the future. Two, under no circumstances, let your child feel

0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:28.840
<v Speaker 1>they've ever disappointed you, ever under any circumstances. Three you

0:17:28.880 --> 0:17:32.679
<v Speaker 1>are the depository of their hurt, their frustration, and their humiliation.

0:17:32.840 --> 0:17:35.240
<v Speaker 1>And four tell them that they have the right stuff

0:17:35.240 --> 0:17:37.520
<v Speaker 1>for life. That the currency of high school, et cetera,

0:17:37.840 --> 0:17:40.120
<v Speaker 1>is not the currency of life. There are many more

0:17:40.200 --> 0:17:43.200
<v Speaker 1>years after six years of junior high and high school.

0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:46.359
<v Speaker 1>And I read it last week. I'm gonna save it.

0:17:46.440 --> 0:17:49.320
<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna, with your permission, play this interview in a

0:17:49.359 --> 0:17:52.560
<v Speaker 1>few months. Nothing's going to change by between now and then.

0:17:53.000 --> 0:17:56.040
<v Speaker 1>But the book is out. It's called Born Lucky. The

0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:59.159
<v Speaker 1>picture on the cover is enough to get one to

0:17:59.200 --> 0:18:02.680
<v Speaker 1>read it and around Leland Vetter. I watch many nights

0:18:02.720 --> 0:18:05.600
<v Speaker 1>on News Nation, and it's amazing your life, the most

0:18:05.640 --> 0:18:09.560
<v Speaker 1>amazing part of you as your mom and dad. But Leland,

0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:11.240
<v Speaker 1>we got to run once again. We'll do it again.

0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:13.720
<v Speaker 1>And God bless you and thank you. Give a big

0:18:13.800 --> 0:18:15.600
<v Speaker 1>hug to your dad and a kiss for your mother

0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:18.119
<v Speaker 1>for me, because they're very very special people.

0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:19.760
<v Speaker 2>They'll be in the arms of God Almighty.

0:18:21.080 --> 0:18:21.440
<v Speaker 3>They will.

0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:24.600
<v Speaker 2>Bill, Thank you, God bless you, Leland Vetter, News Nation. Wow,

0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:25.280
<v Speaker 2>what a story.

0:18:25.760 --> 0:18:29.840
<v Speaker 1>Get the book Born Lucky, Bill Cunningham seven hundred WW