NEW YORK, New York --

Denis Leary has come under fire for comments he made in his new book, suggesting autism is nothing more than a parental excuse.

The New York Post published an excerpt from Leary’s new book, “Why We Suck: A Feel-Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid,” in which the comedian takes aim at parents of autistic children.

“There is a huge boom in autism right now because inattentive mothers and competitive dads want an explanation for why their dumb-a** 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,” Leary reportedly wrote. “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.”

In response to the “Rescue Me” star’s literary assertion, the Autism Society of America issued a statement to AccessHollywood.com.

“Autism is a complex neruodevelopmental medical condition that requires early identification and lifelong treatment. For Mr. Leary to suggest that families or doctors conspire to falsely diagnose autism is ridiculous,” the statement read. “Mr. Leary’s remarks reflect the same misconceptions of autism being caused by bad or unemotional parenting that were held over 50 years ago, misconceptions that have been completely disproven by the scientific community”

It’s possible Leary’s comments could draw the ire of more than just the Autism Society of America. Several of his fellow celebrities are parents of autistic children, including Jenny McCarthy, Toni Braxton and Sylvester Stallone.

However, autistic kids weren’t the only people Leary slammed in his book – he also took exception with the likes of Paul McCartney, Heather Mills, Hillary Clinton and Dr. Phil, among others, according to The Post.

“[He says] such thick and exasperating things as, ‘Everybody has their own personal Ground Zero.’ Oh, really?” Leary writes of Dr. Phil. “Does that mean someday two large speeding planes will crash into the side of your insipid hairless head? Let’s hope so.”

When contacted by Access Hollywood, a rep for Leary was not immediately available for comment on the book.

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