Hans Asperger

A question that has been raised at my local AS group is what do the following two countries think of the findings of Herwig Czech?

1. Austria

2. Israel

They might have slightly different popular opinions, I suppose.  But does it matter?  If you wanted to find out, you'd either need to carry out opinion polls in those countries, or for anecdotal opinions, ask autistic organisations in each.

A recurring question at my local AS group is what are the differences between the UK and the US when it comes to ASD due to differences in culture and social expectations as well as the effects of a very different education system. Dropping AS from DSM-5 potentially widens the gap as it's what American writers and researchers consult before ICD-10 used in Britain and Europe.

Consequently, we don't think it is a particularly wise decision to have just one country - albeit a big one - dominating the ASD scene worldwide or in English speaking countries. Sometimes we are thankful that Tony Attwood is Australian but we would like to see more findings from non-English speaking countries.

We know that the *** are not the only people to have killed people.

More to the point I have done more research and discovered that before Hans Asperger a Russian Neurologist wrote about something similar in 1926 he was called Grunya Sukhareva may be the Syndrome should be named after him instead. I would still prefer Wing Syndrome.

But the US and Canada abused psychiatry too, in the name of ideology. Look up the story of Dr Ewen Cameron. That is a pretty chilling tale

It reminds me of the President Waldheim who should not have been president of Austria as he killed Yugoslavs and Serbs. Waldheim when he was president was not let into various countries because of his war time record.

It is speculation but a reasonable assumption that he would have had to refer her to be killed.

I think Susie was badly Autistic. 

I am not suggesting that Asperger enjoyed it.  It is difficult not to obey the law as he might have got killed himself.

David said:

Just think if Susie Wing had been at Hans Asperger's clinic he might have referred her to be murdered.

That's pure speculation.

Did you know that the late Doctor Lorna Wing had a daughter with Autism called Susie who lived from 1956 till 2005 so she died about aged forty-nine.  That made Lorna Wing interested in Autism who was a Psychiatrist.  Just think if Susie Wing had been at Hans Asperger's clinic he might have referred her to be murdered.    I am sure that when Hans Asperger met Lorna Wing he would have kept all that secret from her.   

It is hardly our choice what our medical notes say. what Cassandro said.

I agree with the above line so there for it is important to change the name of the Syndrome as some people might not want to be associated with Asperger.  We did not know the full facts until recently.

Two things that I deplore are:

1. Knee-jerk reactionary responses to things.

2. Letting emotion and empathy override intuition.

To cite an example, immediately after the tragic death of Princess Diana there were lots of people saying that we have to keep the Monarchy as a result. There were also people critical of or opposed to the continuation of the Monarchy who suddenly U-turned on their beliefs. It was all high on emotion and empathy and low on serious in-depth facts.

Just like with the death of Princess Diana, we have to let the dust settle and the media move onto other issues before making any serious decisions for the longer term. 

Arran said:

My local AS group has been contacted by outsiders who are Jewish / purporting to be Jewish / both accusing Hans Asperger as being a Nazi (some have made references to the Wikipedia article) insisting that we stop using his name.

Interesting. Given that we already knew who Asperger was, I think the policy of not overreacting is good. If you really think a response is needed stating that's your policy, looking for reliable sources, such as some of the newspaper articles linked here, pointing out it's hardly our choice what our medical notes say, and attempting a civil and honest dialogue might help.

If I was not Jewish I would know we should not honour a man who helped select Autistic people to be killed.   Every County in the world abuses Psychiatry by giving Tranquilisers to patients to keep them quiet but some are worse than others.

Russia is another country which abused Psychiatry and Stalin killed lots of people.  Yes the *** or Hitler's Hench men will argue that they are not the only people who killed innocent people.  A Judge would not be impressed with the defence that I am not the only person to break the law eg speed or drive drunk you still get punished.

It is not important what I think we have to wait and see what they decide to do.

I am sure that Doctor Lorna Wing was not involved with Eugenics so that is another advantage of calling it Wing Syndrome.  She brought the syndrome over from Austria to England.

We cannot tell the Judge I am not the only person who breaks the law.

If I was not Jewish I would know we should not honour a man who helped select Autistic people to be killed.   Every County in the world abuses Psychiatry by giving Tranquilisers to patients to keep them quiet but some are worse than others.

Russia is another country which abused Psychiatry and Stalin killed lots of people.  Yes the *** or Hitler's Hench men will argue that they are not the only people who killed innocent people.  A Judge would not be impressed with the defence that I am not the only person to break the law eg speed or drive drunk you still get punished.

It is not important what I think we have to wait and see what they decide to do.

I am sure that Doctor Lorna Wing was not involved with Eugenics so that is another advantage of calling it Wing Syndrome.  She brought the syndrome over from Austria to England.

We cannot tell the Judge I am not the only person who breaks the law.

We know that the *** are not the only people to have killed people.

More to the point I have done more research and discovered that before Hans Asperger a Russian Neurologist wrote about something similar in 1926 he was called Grunya Sukhareva may be the Syndrome should be named after him instead. I would still prefer Wing Syndrome.

But the US and Canada abused psychiatry too, in the name of ideology. Look up the story of Dr Ewen Cameron. That is a pretty chilling tale