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hans asperger

Hans Asperger’s complex Nazi history

What we now call autism has surely been a part of the human condition for as long as human beings have existed. But the way different cultures understand, talk about and treat people who exhibit the symptoms of autism — difficulty or disinterest in social interactions, repetitive behaviors and language impairments — can vary widely. […]

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New research reveals that the physician behind Asperger’s syndrome was an active participant in Nazi eugenics

On 1 July 1941, a young Austrian physician named Hans Asperger signed a document transferring a toddler named Herta Schreiber to Spiegelgrund, an asylum for mentally ill children on the outskirts of Vienna. Two-year-old Herta had suffered diphtheria and meningitis, leaving her severely disabled. She “must present an unbearable burden to her mother,” Asperger, then […]

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The Canadian Jewish News: ASPERGER’S LINKS TO NAZIS CAUSES SOCIETY TO CONSIDER NAME CHANGE

Shocking new revelations that the namesake of Asperger’s syndrome was an accomplice to the Nazi murder of children has spurred the Asperger’s Society of Ontario (ASO) to considering changing its name, but it is encountering resistance. Detailed information that has come to light over the past few months about Dr. Hans Asperger has “certainly raised […]

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Salon: The Nazi history of Hans Asperger proves we need a new word for this type of autism

Back in 2012, the American Psychiatric Association voted to remove “Asperger Syndrome” as an official diagnosis in their manual. Their decision was based on terminological precision rather than ethical considerations; they felt that it ought to be folded into autism spectrum disorders and argued that merging it with the broader spectrum would “help more accurately and […]

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Highly Reputed Autism Researcher Hans Asperger Implicated in Nazi Programs that Killed Disabled Children

hans asperger

Hans Asperger, an Austrian doctor, who did groundbreaking research in the developmental disorder autism, and also had the disease Asperger’s syndrome named after him, had a “heroic” reputation for his contributions until now. However, new research by historians has revealed that the doctor was involved in a Nazi program, and was responsible for killing disabled […]

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ABC Radio Australia – PM with Linda Mottram Interview Edith Sheffer – The truth behind the namesake of Asperger’s Syndrome

LINDA MOTTRAM: Well, there’ve been huge advances in the understanding of autism but the story of what was separately named Asperger’s syndrome has an unsettling past. The syndrome was named after the war-time Vienna-based, paediatrician, Dr Hans Asperger, and a cloud has long hung over his sympathies. The World Health Organization recently folded Asperger’s syndrome […]

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