Published on 12, July, 2020
I've never liked the whole "Asperger" label, because it lends itself to a series of horrible puns (and is unfair to children in that way).
I presume this has been discussed on here, but Dr Hans Asperger is not the kind of man we should be celebrating. This is off Wikipedia - I apologise for using that source, but it is the quickest to cut and paste
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Edith Scheffer, a modern European history scholar, wrote in 2018 that Asperger cooperated with the Nazi regime, including sending children to the Spiegelgrund clinic which participated in the euthanasia program.[26] Scheffer wrote a book further elaborating on her research called Asperger's Children: The Origins of Autism in Nazi Vienna (2018).[27][28]
Another scholar and historian from the Medical University of Vienna, Herwig Czech concluded in a 2017 article in the journal Molecular Autism, which was published in April 2018:
Asperger managed to accommodate himself to the Nazi regime and was rewarded for his affirmations of loyalty with career opportunities. He joined several organizations affiliated with the NSDAP (although not the Nazi party itself), publicly legitimized race hygiene policies including forced sterilizations and, on several occasions, actively cooperated with the child ‘euthanasia' program.[29]
Dean Falk, American anthropologist from Florida State University, questioned Herwig Czech's allegations against Hans Asperger in two papers in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.[30][31] Czech's reply was published in the same journal.[32]
In May 2019, Ketil Slagstad, a Norwegian doctor and historical scholar, added his interpretation of both Scheffer's and Czech's work, in his article "Asperger, the [National Socialists] and the children - the history of the birth of a diagnosis",[33] in which he describes the nuances of the situation. He offers an alternative explanation of Asperger's involvement, citing the challenges of war, desire to protect his career and protect the children for which he cared, Slagstad concludes:
The story of Hans Asperger, Nazism, murdered children, post-war oblivion, the birth of the diagnosis in the 1980s, the gradual expansion of the diagnostic criteria and the huge recent interest in autism spectrum disorders exemplify the historical and volatile nature of diagnoses: they are historic constructs that reflect the times and societies where they exert their effect.
Critically, though, Slagstad noted "Historical research has now shown that he [Asperger] was...a well-adapted cog in the machine of a deadly regime. He deliberately referred disabled children to the clinic Am Spiegelgrund, where he knew that they were at risk of being killed. The eponym Asperger’s syndrome ought to be used with awareness of its historical origin."[34]
It is a useful sub classification of autism which is being lost due to political correctness. Also an interesting story of the terrible behaviour of the ***, that some neurotypicals are continuing to inflict on aspies
I found that it is easier to explain being an Aspie than autistic. I'm an IT professional, and from time to time I have to either apologies or make excuses for poor social behaviour. Initially tried to say I was autistic and others would simply not believe it. Saying I had Aspergers, meant that people had to ask what it was, and that started the dialogue.
If others want to label themselves as autistic that's up to them, I will refer to myself as an Aspie even if it becomes politically incorrect.
History happened, and as you will find if you look it up, Asperger didn't even do the preliminary work... So that's a third strike against him.
Do you think Stalingrad should still be called that?
I also say that some people diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome or Autism might not be Autistic but have another disability. I have said before that I fell out of a pram as a baby and had a difficult birth so I might be brain damaged rather than Autistic. Yes people with difficulties need to be supported.
Some of the NAS leaflets made out without meaning to that Asperger Syndrome was a Personality Quirk as it really described being over persistent not any form of Autism. I am sure the National Autistic Society did not mean to do that and I have not read the NAS leaflets for years so they might have improved.
I prefer ASD as i feel more protected using it. Whereas Aspergers was starting to be interpretated by people (Nt's) as some sort of zany personality quirk. It can be more disabling than that and some people need support.
Niemand said:Would we tolerate people having a Mengele Syndrome named after a famous doctor or should Stalingrad have retained its name?
Why not? Are you THAT fragile? Jeez. I cannot get my head around the flakeyness of the modern outlook of being sooooo afraid of words and needing safe-spaces because they heard a word that triggers them.
History happened - so sticking your head in the ground to pretend that it didn't seems a little illogical.
The name autism had common currency before Aspergers crept in about twenty years ago. Would we tolerate people having a Mengele Syndrome named after a famous doctor or should Stalingrad have retained its name?
If you want to talk about political correctness - look up the Jewish doctor that Asperger plagiarised from, but never credited, because that wouldn't have gone down well with the politicos of the time.
I was just going to say that! In any case Wernher von Braun is a bit of a hero of mine !!
I for one prefer using the term Asperger's as people still associate Autism with characters like Raymond from the film "The Rain Man".
I could always use the correct term of Autism Level 1 which is high functioning autism/asperger's etc but thats a bit long winded??
David said:but we should not honour Asperger who worked for the ***
But rocket scientists are ok? Double standards much?
Leave history the way it was - revising it for today's standards of PC is stupid - it's been fine for ages and will probably be fine in the future when SJWs finally grow up and stop being PC-babies..
Yes it is good to have a label for intelligent people who have various difficulties but are high functioning but we should not honour Asperger who worked for the ***. I must admit that I describe myself with Asperger Syndrome for convenience although I should not for reasons explained in previous E Mails..
I must admit that although I do not like the label I still use it for convenience although I might not be Autistic at all. I think I am brain damaged rather than Autistic. A Canadian Psychologist who tested me for the late Professor Feuerstine in 1983 in Jerusalem E Mailed me recently from Toronto saying that he is surprised that I was labelled Asperger and he knew that I had a Non Verbal Learning Disability on the Right Side of my Brain. Yes professionals have told me that I have Asperger and a Psychiatrist who visited us in 1976 said I was mildly Autistic when I was nineteen. A Psychiatrist when I was nine in 1966 wrongly wanted to send me to an Autistic School I fell out of a pram when I was a baby and I had a difficult birth. I have bad perception and find it hard to learn foreign languages although both my parents were good at foreign languages. It is true that I have some social skills problems but this can also be accounted for by brain damage. I am sure that there are others wrongly labelled with Autism who have another disability. The advantage of these Autistic labels is that it makes it simpler to explain and it gets us together. I do not think there are any groups for people with Non Verbal Learning Disability.
Re-labelling for political correctness,. Pathetic. Why do we have to pander to such weak-minded people who need to be shielded from reality and history?
I have Asperger's..
I have a REAL problem with the labelling of the 'Common' Cold - I think it should be re-named in case it offends someone who is working class..
Everyone identifies differently and I fully respect that, but I personally find the Asperger's label a little uncomfortable. Too many negative connotations for me.