And this book has already gotten quite a bit of a conversation going with socites renaming themselves and conversation online with people who have self-identified with Asperger 's. So I hope we can get to bigger questions of neurodiversity through this.One of the things that we can all agree on is that Hans Asperger 's idea of autism took hold in the 1990s.
So Hans Heinze worked with Schroeder. Asperger interned with both of them.Hans Heinze would go on to become one of the top three individuals involved in the murder of disabled children in the Reich.
had already purged all the Jews, so this is on top of what had been happening-- including three Nobel Prize winners. Asperger and Hamburger's clinic went through the purges unscathed because they had already voluntarily purged their liberals and their Jews.And, in fact, as I showed you on the chart, with this purge of 78% of the faculty at the University of Vienna, they had greater opportunities.
Two and a half year old Herta Schreiber-- she was the youngest of nine children-- was severely disabled by meningitis and diphtheria. Asperger concluded that, quote, "Her accommodation in Spiegelgrund is absolutely necessary." Herta's mother reportedly told the presiding doctorat Spiegelgrund, if the child could not be helped, perhaps it would be better if she should die, as she would have nothing in this world anyway.
beyond individual patients and doctors, and we really need to question what may be underlying them as they change over time. Asperger disagreed with her.
beyond individual patients and doctors, and we really need to question what may be underlying them as they change over time. Asperger really disagreed. And what he published later in life-- I said he didn't publish much, but what he did publish was dedicated to showing that his form of autism
I happen to call it hope, beauty, and fascination." John Elder Robinson, who's a Massachusetts native, very well-known for his book "Look Me in the Eye." "Asperger 's is not a disease. It's a way of being.
stuff non-verbal stuff going on that we lose so we end up living in this in this um and nothing against people with aspergers but we all end up with aspergers like symptoms when we're in Virtual spaces communicating throughlanguage think about the questions you ask what did he mean by that text I don't really know did he mean this like
They were less verbal or nonverbal. And Asperger had a much broader idea of autism, and he included children with milder challenges, which is one of the reasons behind this increase in diagnosis. So Asperger , to take you back to the turn of the century, was born in 1906 in Hausbrunn, 50 miles outside of Vienna.
You can see Sigmund and Anna Freud there, who do a lot of volunteer work at this time. So Asperger becomes part of this circle. He goes to work at the University of Vienna Children's Hospital in 1931, and he was one of the first hires
on the far right instead. And Asperger was one of Hamburger's first hires. And Asperger had solid right credentials, being members of anti-liberal, anti-socialist, anti-modern,
And Asperger was one of Hamburger's first hires. And Asperger had solid right credentials, being members of anti-liberal, anti-socialist, anti-modern, and anti-Semitic organizations. And Hamburger promoted Asperger very quickly at a very young age.
So now we're in March of 1938 and the Nazis roll in to Vienna on March 13th. And Asperger witnessed tremendous change immediately at the University of Vienna. The medical school removed 78% of its faculty, predominantly Jews-- and remember, Hamburger at the Children's Hospital
And he also begins to work for the city's remedial schools. So Asperger did not join the Nazi party. And this is a reason why he has been, as Eileen mentioned, lionized in history as a resistor of Nazism.
don't want at the time of war. So Asperger publicly called for the transfer of children to Spiegelgrund. So this is a talk he gave that was republished in the "Munich Medical Weekly," a prestigious journal, saying that, quote,
That it's children who lack the capacity for fascism. And Asperger , who was fluent in both Greek and Latin, might have had this in mind, as fascio is the bundle or the group and autos is the self turned inward.
is the self turned inward. So Asperger did prize-- one of the reasons he has this reputation today is valuing children with disabilities is because he said some were superhuman. And we kind of have this idea of Asperger 's today as people can possess these savant powers and are really remarkable.
And we kind of have this idea of Asperger 's today as people can possess these savant powers and are really remarkable. And Asperger did prize these special abilities in math and other technical subjects and said they were at the, quote, "favorable end of an autistic range." He held a highly gendered view of this in declaring that the autistic personality is an extreme variant of male intelligence--
States. So Asperger believed that many of the boys could be remediated if they received intensive help and therapy. These were boys that were worth reclaiming for the national community.
but they are marking similar symptoms and they're having opposite fates. So Asperger not only had a gendered view of autism, he had an extremely eugenicist view in general. Again, some people point to his effusive language about the highly original genius of children on the most favorable end of the autistic range,
beyond individual patients and doctors, and we really need to question what may be underlying them as they change over time. So Asperger was transferring people to Spiegelgrund.
like maybe make your own house in it you know where then that's learning that entral job skill because I'm seeing smart Asperger kids graduating from college and they've had no job experience they've never mow a lawn they've never had to do anything for themselves well this is where I'm saying where 50s upbringing did make a big
that kind of situation the person's going to have to change bosses that's just uh not going to work but they just an Asperger doesn't like being taken advantage of like work to death and not getting any recognition for it what they like is interesting work with clear-cut goals and get recognition for it that's
And here you have the liberal Jewish psychoanalysists, whose names you would know-- Anna Freud, Sigmund Freud, and their associates. And then you have Asperger , the young man pictured there, and Hamburger, who are really off on the periphery of mainstream psychoanalysis. And they were considered kind of crackpots by the people whose names we would most respect today.
OK. So I hate text slides, but bear with me, because I think this is important. So for Asperger , creating a diagnosis was a new professional opportunity. So 1937, one year before the Nazi annexation, he wrote-- he didn't believe in diagnosing children.
This is Erwin Jekelius, who's the head doctor of Spiegelgrund. And so Asperger co-founded the Vienna Society for Curative Education with these three guys. He worked very closely with them.
But in his treatise, and we know this from his case files, he treated these boys with genuine care and kindness and employed a lot of therapies we use today. This is also why Asperger is considered very progressive. His clinic engaged in play therapies, and drama, music.
There was a solid line there. So those-- this is Asperger 's language-- who were on the unfavorable end of his range would grow up to roam the streets as originals, grotesque and dilapidated.
But she did far more research than Asperger ever did. But she came across Asperger 's thesis that her husband translated for her and named her work, what she was seeing, Asperger 's syndrome, as a professional courtesy. She made a couple fateful decisions with that article.
beyond individual patients and doctors, and we really need to question what may be underlying them as they change over time. When I'd say Asperger 's, they'd be like, oh, wow.
beyond individual patients and doctors, and we really need to question what may be underlying them as they change over time. It sounds like Asperger was never held accountable to what he did during the war.
And you have them read out of a book, the scanner gets all turned on in the part of the brain where the words are processed. Take the Asperger , which is this milder autism. And put 'em in there.
Really cool stuff there. Maybe a little Asperger 's.
ball game. And, so that was very important to the, to the, to the story. And as far as Asperger 's Syndrome, when we started out with this, and again, this came, this came from research, Karan had met someone who actually just sort of said he was, he was a Muslim gentleman and he just said, he said," You know I'm just sometimes so frustrated.
at Spiegelgrund, if the child could not be helped, perhaps it would be better if she should die, as she would have nothing in this world anyway. Herta did die two months after Asperger 's transfer. And one wonders if the mother's wishes played a role in Asperger 's thinking because there are numerous cases where if the mother's overburdened at home and has a disabled child
OK. So how did we get to where we are today, just briefly, and then this will be part of the extended conversation. What I think is most telling is Asperger never really wrote about autism again after the war. He didn't disavow it, he just never conducted any more research on it.
Her daughter Susie was on the spectrum, and she was interested in children who she didn't think fit into Kanner's diagnosis. But she did far more research than Asperger ever did. But she came across Asperger 's thesis that her husband translated for her and named her work, what she was seeing, Asperger 's syndrome, as a professional courtesy.
She made a couple fateful decisions with that article. She decided not to call Asperger 's syndrome a psychopathy. She wanted to use a neutral term.
She wanted to use a neutral term. So when the idea of Asperger 's hit the English speaking world, it was Asperger 's syndrome, not Asperger 's psychopathy. And then she also purged her article of the pejorative language that he'd used.
So he'd been calling these kids sadistic and malicious, and she purged all of that language. And so what we know today as Asperger 's syndrome is really Wing's syndrome, I would argue. And then once her work became published in 1981, it slowly gained traction.
beyond individual patients and doctors, and we really need to question what may be underlying them as they change over time. in contrast to the common perception of Asperger 's?
Well, I think one in a million-- or maybe those aren't the statistics-- would get pleasure out of not being sure because the human condition is that's terrifying unless you have Asperger 's and you don't have to concentrate on emotions. I'm not saying those are the lucky ones, but those seem to be the ones that evolution has thrown up to succeed in the 21st century.
His wife, Eleanor, takes care of their six children, ages 10 to 15. One of those kids has Asperger 's syndrome. One ADHD. One tutors math on the far side of town.
Greg Sanders: A twelve-year old and she's writing about her autistic brother, or--? Jennifer Egan: He's an Asperger . He clearly has trouble with socialization. He has Asperger ’s obsession with the pauses in rock and roll songs. Greg Sanders: Pauses in rock and roll. It's called "Great Rock and Roll Pauses." And I thought it was really great. And the thing is there's a narrative momentum in it. And
with some of the customers one of them was this therapist and one day he comes in and he hands me this book and he says you know this is a condition called Asperger syndrome and you could be the poster boy for it and um and so I look at it and at first I
breaking those but then I can have some places where I can break some rules and I tell teachers that's like stupid school rules yeah you enroll that smart Asperger kid in the community college and take him out of a high school where he's being teased to death you know we got to find out where are those Mentor teachers so a lot of these smart ASB
And Asperger had a much broader idea of autism, and he included children with milder challenges, which is one of the reasons behind this increase in diagnosis. So Asperger , to take you back to the turn of the century, was born in 1906 in Hausbrunn, 50 miles outside of Vienna. He left home at age 19-- very precocious-- for medical studies at the University of Vienna.
People are already doing this. OK. So what did Asperger 's branch of psychiatry believe? The child psychiatrists he was hanging out with were diagnosing children who they said lacked social spirit.
But there you go. OK. So where is Asperger in this program? Well, you've seen me flash up Hamburger, who is a zealous supporter of the program.
So this is also context. Meanwhile, Asperger is working on autism. OK. So remember in 1937, he wrote it's impossible to establish a diagnosis.