Hans Asperger

Who exactly is this Herwig Czech and what are his motivations for carrying out this research?

Something that I'm concerned about is how this is spread like wildfire through the mainstream media. It seems like every English language media source has run away with the story. In contrast Lorna Wing's 1981 paper remained a near secret outside of a small circle of academics for over 10 years. It was referenced by media sources in her obituary but how many journalists even knew of its existence back in the 1980s? Even references to the milestone books about Asperger syndrome by Uta Frith and Tony Attwood have only had a minimal mention in the mainstream media and often years after they were published.

I can't help but thinking that there is some malevolent behind the scenes project going on by certain factions of the Jewish community to discredit Hans Asperger.

It's the beginning of the end of Asperger syndrome. In a few years it will be labelled as just autism but the clock will also be turned back so that the only autism which counts will be traditional Kanner autism. Anybody who still wants to push AS (regardless of what it's called) will be vilified as a sympathiser of a Nazi war criminal.

I suspect that Lorna Wing, Uta Frith, and Tony Attwood will be consigned to the dustbin of history as naïve fools who just wanted to make a name for themselves whilst failing to understand who Hans Asperger was. So will Luke Jackson. I also suspect that JKP will stop publishing books about AS. 

The eugenics is a mere side show. There was plenty of support for eugenics in Britain both during the early 20th century and today. It's collaborating with the *** that's Hans Asperger's crime. This is just as unforgiveable in academia as it is in the real world.

Herwig Czech is a historian, and the motivation is presumably being researching history. Uta Frith and others have issued statements agreeing that this was valuable research.

I'd agree the media seem to have over-reacted, and would suggest it's probably worth reading Czech's paper in full (which I haven't yet) before coming to a firm opinion.  I wouldn't read too much into it as regards the status of AS.  The autistic community absorbed AS years ago, although the term 'aspie' is still used.  As the editorial suggests, Wing could equally have credited two Jewish members of Asperger's team, Frankl & Weiss.

I don't see your basis for saying 'the clock will also be turned back so that the only autism which counts will be traditional Kanner autism'.  The dividing line was always quite blurry - some people speak under some conditions, and not others.

Herwig Czech is a historian, and the motivation is presumably being researching history. Uta Frith and others have issued statements agreeing that this was valuable research.

I'd agree the media seem to have over-reacted, and would suggest it's probably worth reading Czech's paper in full (which I haven't yet) before coming to a firm opinion.  I wouldn't read too much into it as regards the status of AS.  The autistic community absorbed AS years ago, although the term 'aspie' is still used.  As the editorial suggests, Wing could equally have credited two Jewish members of Asperger's team, Frankl & Weiss.

I don't see your basis for saying 'the clock will also be turned back so that the only autism which counts will be traditional Kanner autism'.  The dividing line was always quite blurry - some people speak under some conditions, and not others.

It's not just the Guardian. Almost every English language news outlet has latched onto the publication of the paper. It's gone viral. I can't help thinking that Herwig Czech has friends in the media.

Cassandro said:

Pretty much everyone previously with an AS diagnosis would under DSM-V be seen as 'ASD Level 1', that is requiring support, but not substantial support.

I disagree with this. I did not get an ounce of support myself from my school or local authority and ended up having to be home educated. The NAS was totally useless as all they could do was send information packs repeating what is already well documented on the internet and in readily available books. Experience revealed that the NAS services were largely restricted to special schools for more severe cases of traditional autism and residential care services.

The needs of people with AS are different from those with traditional Kanner autism, not different and not less important. Many families are having to provide support out of their own pockets because nothing is available for them.

DSM is American and does not officially apply in Britain.

Cassandro said:

Herwig Czech is a historian, and the motivation is presumably being researching history.

The question is why does he spend 8 years of his life painstakingly researching this? What are his motives?  Is he working under the paymasters of anti-*** or even certain Jewish communities?

Although I cannot prove this, the recent research by Steve Silberman that concluded Kanner was aware of the existence of Asperger and his research I could not help thinking that knowledge of Asperger has circulated deep within certain Jewish communities and fraternal organisations for decades and they have made efforts to bury him until Uta Frith released her book in 1991.

http://community.autism.org.uk/f/miscellaneous-and-chat/11628/rewriting-autism-history/61226

I doubt that Herwig Czech has finished his research. He could even be testing the water with his paper and have another paper pending publication that could completely and utterly destroy Hans Asperger by putting him on the same level as Heinrich Himmler.

Yes, the psychiatrists may have been deceiving themselves regarding Asperger's character. He wasn't strictly speaking a Nazi in the sense that he wasn't a member of the party.  You're of course correct that 'nice' and charming people can still be responsible for great evil - and the Nazi bureaucracy did keep a lot of records showing that evil. There is some limited evidence of Asperger using anti-Semitic language, but yes the main charge is of approving the sending of disabled children to their death.  We can no longer believe that he was 'actively saving vulnerable children’s lives' and opposing the system.

What we can do is reject the classification of people into worthy and unworthy based on intellectual characteristics. We're all autistic together.

Casindro I have read the interesting article in the Guardian and it says that  Lorna Wing only met Hans Asperger once and she said she is sure he was not a Nazi. With due respect to Lorna Wing  I do not know how she can tell by one meeting what Hans Asperger's actions and thoughts were during the Hitler period.  Goering seemed charming but the Nuremburg  Court did not go by outward appearances they went by documents  Stalin appeared a very nice man but he killed millions of people.  I want to remind you that Hans Asperger is accused of  sending disabled Children to their death in a clinic  not with the murder of Jews.

Arran said:

I'm intrigued to know why the media have overreacted. Has Herwig Czech gone as far as informing media outlets or press agencies about the publication of this paper?

Here's the press release: https://www.biomedcentral.com/about/press-centre/science-press-releases/19-04-18

Not every paper in Molecular Autism will get such a fanfare. I think scientific press releases are put out partly to promote journals and academic institutions, usually more so than individual researchers, when they've got something they think the press will be interested in. The Guardian I fear has become a bit more sensationalist under Katherine Viner and it's been said that what sells papers is royalty/celebrity, murder and sex (preferably all together). You could add to the list a morbid fascination with ***Natzis and certain medical conditions (they had a depression non-story on the front cover yesterday).

Here's an informed article with more depth than the Guardian: www.theatlantic.com/.../

Arran said:

I'm intrigued to know why the media have overreacted.

Well Autism awareness has recently increased somewhat due to this article:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-3502928/EVERY-one-autistic-spectrum-experience-key-symptoms-just-varying-degrees.html

As covered this scientific publication:

https://www.nature.com/articles/nrg.2017.4

And there has been long standing argument anyway about Hans Asperger not being as honourable as people thought, but until recently there had been no available evidence to support such claims.

Perhaps read at least the start of Czech's paper on the already above but here again provided link:

https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-018-0208-6

Arran said:

Has Herwig Czech gone as far as informing media outlets or press agencies about the publication of this paper?

The story was sourced from:

https://molecularautism.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13229-018-0208-6

By Kate Connelly in Berlin as follows:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/19/hans-asperger-aided-and-supported-nazi-programme-study-says

It is most likely the reporter found the paper herself or receives new publishings anyway. You could contact the paper to inquire perhaps if otherwise.

Cassandro said:

I'd agree the media seem to have over-reacted

I'm intrigued to know why the media have overreacted. Has Herwig Czech gone as far as informing media outlets or press agencies about the publication of this paper?

Thanks for the reply. I think AS has been folded into autism already as regards most services. Since autistic people are extremely varied in what they need help with, just making a distinction on the basis of IQ or use of speech does not seem helpful to me.

The lack of services is a function largely of legislation (Think Autism guidance, and Care Act) and funding. It is probably true that putting resources into autism would be more than compensated by reduced spending in other departments. However, the resources need to go into autism services before that happens, and the decision needs to be made as far up the chain (in local and central government) as possible.

AS would have been seen as less complex support needs than Kanner syndrome/autistic disorder anyway. Pretty much everyone previously with an AS diagnosis would under DSM-V be seen as 'ASD Level 1', that is requiring support, but not substantial support.

Cassandro said:

I don't see your basis for saying 'the clock will also be turned back so that the only autism which counts will be traditional Kanner autism'.

AS is a useful diagnostic label when it comes to trying to acquire support and services for people with the condition. There is a real danger that if AS is folded into ASD then people with AS (and other higher-functioning ASD) will be pushed to the bottom of the pile when in comes to trying to acquire support and services as people with traditional Kanner type autism will be given much higher priority. This already happens within the NAS.