The Life and Legacy of Hans Asperger: A Controversial History

🎙️ The Hans Asperger Legacy: Pioneering Autism Research vs Ethical Quandaries | Exceptional Individuals Webinar 🎙️

🌟 #HansAsperger #Neurodiversity #Autism #AspergersSyndrome #ExceptionalIndividuals #EthicalDilemmas 🌟

📌 About This Webinar
Join host Nat Hawley for an in-depth exploration of Hans Asperger's complex legacy. Discover his groundbreaking research in autism and the ethical controversies that follow him.

Note: This is for informational purposes and does not constitute medical advice.

🕒 Chapters
0:00 - Introduction
03:17 - Who Was Hans Asperger?
15:09 - The Debate: "Asperger's" - To Use or Not To Use?
26:39 - WWII Controversies Unveiled
38:41 - Ethical Dilemmas Explored
45:44 - Conclusion and Final Thoughts

📚 Useful Links
Our Webinar Series: YouTube Channel - Exceptional Individuals

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🏷 Tags
#HansAsperger #EthicsInResearch #AutismAwareness #NeurodiversityMovement #ControversialFigures #MedicalEthics

[julianwest]

It's interesting to hear this. I was diagnosed with Asperger's when I was a kid, but now I just refer to myself as autistic.

[katiemcgriff]

What kind of presentation/tool is themis webinar made using? I love the interactivity with the presentation.

[Myrius]

Never a good idea to remove/sensor history.
We should always learn from the mistakes of the past

[randocalrissian]

An ASD guy bit my head off once about me calling myself Asperger’s, he didn’t know me and just heard the word and not what I was saying.

He growled me for using it because “I’m ASD and we don’t call it that!!”. I told him I was also ASD. “Diagnosed!?!” He spattered at me. “Yes”, I replied. Luckily for me I never saw him again.

[jasminemayy]

wow i’m doing a school project on this (i’m autistic) and this helped me so much and i found it SO INTERESTING wow

[moose]

What is on the other side of that door (1:58)

[harrietwindebank]

POI around 7:00: electric shock therapy is still used to this day at the judge rotenberg centre in Massachusettes. The FDA attempted to ban it's use but the ruling banning the use of electric shock therapy in the US was overturned in mid-2021.

Applied behavioural analysis (ABA) is widely used across the world, despite the mounting evidence that it causes psychological and emotional harm.

There are still plenty of people who would happily and willingly punish autism out if existence.

[Synchrodipity]

I was diagnosed with Asperger's this year (2022) -- the NHS has not yet updated its 'SNOMED' database to reflect the change from ICD 10 to ICD 11.

[mtdavis]

This was excellent overview of the issues surrounding the Terms, Reinforces my own choice of switching to ASD to describe my condition. I hate bullies, so If I was trapped in the History that the Dr. was in, I might not have survived just on that basis. Aspergers "Nature" led to him staying and participating in the system as it evolved around him. (Even if a little voice inside him was screaming "THIS IS ALL Wrong!") This also ties in with the Stanley Milgram experiments in the 60s which demonstrated the high percentage of humans who will willingly cave in to the demands of what is perceived as "Authority Figures". Even when the demands have NO threat of punishment directly to the Underlings.
I will be recommending and sharing this overview to my Neurodiverse circle of friends and acquaintances.

[echofoxtrot.]

I have Asperger's (ASD level 1). Why can't individuals choose individually how they feel comfortable labeling themselves? There is next to no actual diversity and inclusion in collectivism. We know we are on a spectrum, so why do we keep insisting that everyone follows the same way of living and labeling? Just let people live their lives and you live yours. Stop trying to tell me what words I can or cannot say, and stop telling me how I should describe or label myself! That's no one's business but mine. You speak for you, please do NOT think you speak for anyone besides yourself. There is no "we". There is you and there is me. We are separate, distinctly unique individuals. Stop trying to collectivize certain labels, whilst ostracizing other labels. Stating that ASD is not a disability is false, as it is included under the 1981 ADA act. By claiming that it isn't a disability, you are not so subtlety stating that you believe that having a disability is a negative thing. That's not society being judgemental. That's you not embracing your diagnosis and that's you judging other disabled people. Changing labels to be super non-descriptive and over-generalized doesn't support anyone and doesn't celebrate diversity or acceptance of individual differences. I am disabled and have Asperger's, but I am merely different, not less. I embrace the disability label because I can show how much I've sacrificed and how much work I've put in consistently to overcome the challenges of life plus the additional challenges of having ASD. Saying I'm not disabled completely ignores how hard I've fought to get to where I am today! So instead of stigmatizing disabilities further, let's embrace all people as individuals and celebrate their successes and help them get through failures. Remember, disabled means different, not less. There's nothing wrong with having a disability! That's why we shouldn't seek to erase the word "disability" but instead seek to listen to each other, no matter what label we have.

[tangerinefizz]

I wonder if any nurses refused to send children to their deaths, regardless of whether or not they would get a commission.

[usernamelessish]

This was very well presented, thank you!

[maxxwellbeing]

I see no reason to change any names associated with Asperger. The truth is what matters. Erasing history is a whole other problem. Regardless of the origins, it is what it is. No change is necessary.

[jaqsre]

first off, you seem like a very likeable person and it was really nice watching this! i’ll add some thoughts down below of things that i want to share after watching :)


1. i personally would disagree that autism/neurodiversity in general isn’t a disability. maybe the main reason for this is because of our ableist society, because obviously we aren’t always incapable of doing things, but i would definitely classify myself as disabled and i know of a lot of other people feeling the same!

2. i’ve heard from jewish people is that they prefer us who aren’t jewish to use “jewish people” i stead of “jews” because of the nazi history.
i feel it’s important to share so that we can be more respectful towards others!

3. as for if it’s appropriate to use Aspergers still: yes and no. if someone who was diagnosed with it feels it’s the best description for them, then that’s totally okay. if people don’t want to use it anymore that’s also totally okay! i wasn’t diagnosed with it, so obviously i can’t have any final say, which is why i’m very open to both scenarios.

4. i think naming something after a person is definitely honouring them in a way, but it’s also simply a recognition of their work. i don’t think we should remove his work, but we also shouldn’t follow it blindly whatsoever.

5. as i said earlier i wasn’t diagnosed with aspergers, but i will use the term if someone wants me to. my sister was diagnosed with it and she uses both autistic and aspergers, so if she decided she prefers aspergers i would use it for her :)

6. i don’t think your analogy with Epstein and Prince Andrew was bad at all. if you’re friends with someone horrific, you’re not a good person. sure, you might not have agreed with it fully, but you clearly didn’t disagree enough to not be their friend :/

7. honestly, i think Herta’s mother believed that her daughter wouldn’t be very happy as she grew older. parents still believe similar things today, so if a doctor tells you something like that, it isn’t unlikely that you’ll trust their decision.


thank you for doing this! it was very interesting and informative :D

[jkRatbird]

You conclude that the more "historically correct" answer to "was he a nazi" is "no, but he sympathised with nazis". I strongly disagree with this conclusion. What is the definition of a nazi? Is it "someone who holds nazi values" or is it "someone who is a member of the nazi party"? If we use the second definition then no one is a nazi today since the party is gone, so its a useless definition. If he agreed with nazi values, then he was a nazi. Just a nazi who wasn't an official member of the party.

Thanks for a great informative lecture!

[jonathanvalverde]

It's my understanding that although the Children's Clinic of Dr. Hans Asperger was located at the University of Vienna in Austria, during the World War II the Reich needed doctors on the front lines, and Asperger was drafted into the German army to serve as surgeon in a field hospital in Croatia. The Children's Clinic was located in Croatia when the Allies bombed it, where much of Asperger's early work was lost, reducing the Heilpädagogik Station to rubble, therefore it wasn't in Austria.

Could you investigate where in Croatia was located the burned Clinic of Dr. Hans Asperger?

And if it was the Royal Air Force of UK who was responsible for bombing the Children's Clinic?

Could you possibly help me get that information, or say me where I could get that information, please? 🙏

[melisamaurino]

He called it autistic psychopathy. Grunya Sukhareva was apparently the first to describe autism, before Kanner and Asperger.

[HaleyStaleySeattle]

I demand my psychiatrist prescribe me LSD

[tangerinefizz]

Franz Hamburger's glasses make him look like a villain.

[turtleanton]

Yes very controversial but interesting