Rehabilitating Dr. Hans Asperger
Welcome back to the Audacious Aspie! This week, we begin to take another look at the good(?) doctor Hans Asperger, albit this time a more positive approach. If you remember, the last time we took a peek at him, we read a rather unflattering article, stating that Dr. Asperger had a rather interesting collection of skeletons in his closet. Rather, it claimed that he was a loyal Nazi, and all the connotations that came with it, with an odd view of some of the very kids he sent to their deaths. This time, however, we will look at an article that sees him not as a collaborator, but rather, in his own way, part of the resistance.
Considering how he was in Vienna, deep in Nazi Austria at the time, he must have had one major pair of cojones to take on the Nazis.
Please welcome to the stage, Asperger-Syndrome.ME.UK (cue entrance music). ME.UK has a more positive approach view of the doctor who, the article claimed, “published the first definition of Asperger syndrome in 1944” (asperger-syndrome.me.uk/history), there are no paragraphs in the article, per say, but rather one big, long paragraph. Remember kids: spacing is important). In his tests, he found four boys who had the Asperger condition or, as he called it back than, the Autistic psychopathy, which the article says means “autism (self) and psychopathy (personality disease)” (asperger-syndrome.me.uk/history), a small part of the world just learned of our conditions existence and already it’s being labeled a disease. Ahh, the good old days).
Fun fact: the article says that it is commonly assumed that Dr. Asperger used only 4 children in his tests, but a Dr. Gunter Kramer, who reportedly knew Hans, the article claims that he stated Dr. Hans tested more than four hundred children in his experiment, and I guess only those four boys showed whatever behavioural patterns or such he was looking for. Dr. Asperger also called them “little professors” (asperger-syndrome.me.uk/history) because they would go on and on about their special interests/passions/obsessions in great detail. No fact was to small or insignificant to pass over.
Towards the end of the war, Dr. Asperger opened a school for children on the spectrum with a Sister Victorene (though whether it was sister, as in a nun, or sister sister, as in his actual sister, the article does not clarify). But, as is the norm in war, the school was bombed out. Killing Sister Victorene, and destroying much of Hans Aspergers early work. The article claims that the bombing of the school “delayed the understanding of Autism spectrum conditions in the west” (asperger-syndrome.me.uk/history).
Will, that has been this weeks post of the Audacious Aspie. Next week, we will continue to look at the brighter side of Dr. Asperger, arguing against him being a Nazi collaborator. Regardless of how you see Hans Aspergers, one thing is certain: He was conducting his work at a time, and place, where brutality and murderous anger was the norm. And it is such situations that either makes you, or breaks you. And on that happy note, it’s time left. But until then, this continues to be, the Audacious Aspie.
Always gotta keep a smile! Even when talking about a time of destruction, mass murder, and war in general.
Sourcers used:
http://www.asperger-syndrome.me.uk/history.html