#aspergers syndrome
The problem with the Asperger’s label
This post contains mentions of the Holocaust, ableism, and eugenics. Please do not read if you are sensitive to these topics.
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There have been conversations regarding whether the term Asperger’s should still be used in the autism community. This post will explain the biggest issue I and other people have with the label. There’s no way to gently segue into this so I’m just going to start.
The term Asperger’s was coined by an actual Nazi. Hans Asperger worked with the Nazis during the Holocaust. He saved some children who he deemed intelligent enough by giving them the label of Asperger’s and sent the rest of the kids to die.
Some people call him a hero for saving kids during the Holocaust, but he sent children to be murdered because he saw them as genetically inferior. He saw some of us as a “hardly bearable burden” to our families. He believed that they should be put out of our misery.
I do not believe allistics should use the term Asperger’s to describe an autistic person. I do not believe that autistic people should use it for themselves either. However, I’m not saying that you should assume someone is a bad person for using it. I figure that most do not know the history. There are autistics who use the term for various reasons even knowing the history, which I heavily disagree with.
And I’m not the only one who feels this way. I learned this from listening to Jewish autistic people speak on the subject. If you are not Jewish, it is best to listen to those who have the authority on the matter.
Here is a video of a Jewish autistic person explaining how use of this label harms not only Jewish autistics, but autistic people as a whole. She also makes a very good point about Asperger’s being a functioning label.
Here is an article about Hans Asperger being a Nazi.
Some of the information here is correct. However, Asperger did not name the condition he studied after himself. He actually called it “autistic psychopathy,” back when psychopathy meant something different than it does today. A psychologist named Lorna Wing named Asperger’s Syndrome after him decades before it was clear that he was a Nazi. (Source: Neurotribes by Steve Silberman, paperback edition)
To be absolutely clear, I don’t think what Asperger did was okay. It’s just important to be accurate in informational posts.
The problem with the Asperger’s label
This post contains mentions of the Holocaust, ableism, and eugenics. Please do not read if you are sensitive to these topics.
—————————————
There have been conversations regarding whether the term Asperger’s should still be used in the autism community. This post will explain the biggest issue I and other people have with the label. There’s no way to gently segue into this so I’m just going to start.
The term Asperger’s was coined by an actual Nazi. Hans Asperger worked with the Nazis during the Holocaust. He saved some children who he deemed intelligent enough by giving them the label of Asperger’s and sent the rest of the kids to die.
Some people call him a hero for saving kids during the Holocaust, but he sent children to be murdered because he saw them as genetically inferior. He saw some of us as a “hardly bearable burden” to our families. He believed that they should be put out of our misery.
I do not believe allistics should use the term Asperger’s to describe an autistic person. I do not believe that autistic people should use it for themselves either. However, I’m not saying that you should assume someone is a bad person for using it. I figure that most do not know the history. There are autistics who use the term for various reasons even knowing the history, which I heavily disagree with.
And I’m not the only one who feels this way. I learned this from listening to Jewish autistic people speak on the subject. If you are not Jewish, it is best to listen to those who have the authority on the matter.
Here is a video of a Jewish autistic person explaining how use of this label harms not only Jewish autistics, but autistic people as a whole. She also makes a very good point about Asperger’s being a functioning label.
Here is an article about Hans Asperger being a Nazi.
Some of the information here is correct. However, Asperger did not name the condition he studied after himself. He actually called it “autistic psychopathy,” back when psychopathy meant something different than it does today. A psychologist named Lorna Wing named Asperger’s Syndrome after him decades before it was clear that he was a Nazi. (Source: Neurotribes by Steve Silberman, paperback edition)
To be absolutely clear, I don’t think what Asperger did was okay. It’s just important to be accurate in informational posts.
The problem with the Asperger’s label
This post contains mentions of the Holocaust, ableism, and eugenics. Please do not read if you are sensitive to these topics.
—————————————
There have been conversations regarding whether the term Asperger’s should still be used in the autism community. This post will explain the biggest issue I and other people have with the label. There’s no way to gently segue into this so I’m just going to start.
The term Asperger’s was coined by an actual Nazi. Hans Asperger worked with the Nazis during the Holocaust. He saved some children who he deemed intelligent enough by giving them the label of Asperger’s and sent the rest of the kids to die.
Some people call him a hero for saving kids during the Holocaust, but he sent children to be murdered because he saw them as genetically inferior. He saw some of us as a “hardly bearable burden” to our families. He believed that they should be put out of our misery.
I do not believe allistics should use the term Asperger’s to describe an autistic person. I do not believe that autistic people should use it for themselves either. However, I’m not saying that you should assume someone is a bad person for using it. I figure that most do not know the history. There are autistics who use the term for various reasons even knowing the history, which I heavily disagree with.
And I’m not the only one who feels this way. I learned this from listening to Jewish autistic people speak on the subject. If you are not Jewish, it is best to listen to those who have the authority on the matter.
Here is a video of a Jewish autistic person explaining how use of this label harms not only Jewish autistics, but autistic people as a whole. She also makes a very good point about Asperger’s being a functioning label.
Here is an article about Hans Asperger being a Nazi.
The problem with the Asperger’s label
This post contains mentions of the Holocaust, ableism, and eugenics. Please do not read if you are sensitive to these topics.
—————————————
There have been conversations regarding whether the term Asperger’s should still be used in the autism community. This post will explain the biggest issue I and other people have with the label. There’s no way to gently segue into this so I’m just going to start.
The term Asperger’s was coined by an actual Nazi. Hans Asperger worked with the Nazis during the Holocaust. He saved some children who he deemed intelligent enough by giving them the label of Asperger’s and sent the rest of the kids to die.
Some people call him a hero for saving kids during the Holocaust, but he sent children to be murdered because he saw them as genetically inferior. He saw some of us as a “hardly bearable burden” to our families. He believed that they should be put out of our misery.
I do not believe allistics should use the term Asperger’s to describe an autistic person. I do not believe that autistic people should use it for themselves either. However, I’m not saying that you should assume someone is a bad person for using it. I figure that most do not know the history. There are autistics who use the term for various reasons even knowing the history, which I heavily disagree with.
And I’m not the only one who feels this way. I learned this from listening to Jewish autistic people speak on the subject. If you are not Jewish, it is best to listen to those who have the authority on the matter.
Here is a video of a Jewish autistic person explaining how use of this label harms not only Jewish autistics, but autistic people as a whole. She also makes a very good point about Asperger’s being a functioning label.
Here is an article about Hans Asperger being a Nazi.
wondering if i’ll ever be able to be close enough to someone to actually fall in love with them haha. i’m going to be alone forever babe. fuck my autism and fuck my life.
autism be like
howdy folks
hi! i have ASD and i’m looking to make some friends who have it as well. is there anyone out there who plays video games like don’t starve together, overwatch, or paladins? cus we can play together :-) if not, we can just chat! hit me up fellas. i can even make a groupchat with people who are comfortable enough to be in it.
a person: i’m autistic. i don’t have a professional diagnosis.
a neurotypical: you can’t! self diagnose! autism!!! onLy a dOctor can do that!!!
most doctors: don’t know what autism looks like in people other than nonverbal white cis boys
most doctors: recommend abusive therapies for autistic kids and teens
most doctors who specialize in diagnosing autism: refuse to evaluate adults
an autism evaluation for a minor teen who wants one: requires having supportive parents who understand that autism is not a tragedy and looks different for every autistic person, and that many autistic people can talk, have friends, do okay in school, and otherwise fake looking neurotypical
an autism evaluation for an adult: very expensive and often not covered by insurance in the U.S., also extremely difficult to get in France
an on-record autism diagnosis: can be used to deny you custody of children, to have your kids taken away, to forcibly institutionalize you
autism advocacy orgs that actually help autistic ppl like ASAN, AWN, AANE: Here are some resources for figuring out if you could be autistic. Professional diagnosis is a very personal decision and is not required for knowing that you’re one of us. We support you as an autistic person even if you don’t have a paper diagnosis.
a sincere autism self diagnosis: harms no one even if it’s incorrect, enables the person to feel part of a community of people with similar issues and learn more about autism, a gateway to learning about autism acceptance movements, often the first step toward self acceptance and self esteem
Okay, this post actually helped me a lot a while back. Idk if I’m ADHD or autistic, but either way, super helpful
This post is really helpful!
Anyone know of any of those self diagnosis resources they talked about-?here you go (the coding of the original post got weird, I’m the op of the long chat post section, not actingnt):
https://awnnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/AWNNetworkWelcomeautisticadultspacket.pdf
What is an Asperger Profile? – The Asperger / Autism Network (AANE)
Asperger/Autism Spectrum Fact Sheet – The Asperger / Autism Network (AANE)
Asperger/Autism Spectrum Diagnosis in Adults – The Asperger / Autism Network (AANE)
I…wait..really?
It’s, fine..? Because Ive always been so scared of like, calling myself autistic or smth because I don’t have a proper diagnosis and I don’t want to offend people.
it’s fine. there are actually very few autistic people who will be assholes about self-diagnosis and they’re usually the ones who most strongly support medical authoritarianism (and most paper-diagnosed autistic people don’t like them either)
Yesterday was amazing. Went with the BF to see the Blue Man Group in NYC. It was a trip that a club at his college (hes an engineering major) was taking, and he was able to get discounted tickets and take me as a guest. Though the show was great, what I loved the best was the bus ride, where the chaperone forgot to bring dvds and we had no wifi. So we only had eachother to keep ourselves busy- whether cuddling, talking or acting like complete fools.
When we first started dating we hardly knew anything about each other, but now that we’re learning more about eachother its kind of creepy/awesome how alike we are. So what is the big thing I learned yesterday? HE IS AN ASPIE.
The conversation about it was brief- I mentioned that I brought ear plugs, since I get sensitive to sound. He said he should’ve brought his too but was so busy and stressed out today (family things) that he even forgot to put on deoderant. I then said I should’ve brought sunglasses or something because I cant handle strobe lights. He said he was surprised I even agreed to come then. I said I like going to concerts, I just have sensory issues since I have Asperger’s Syndrome. His response? So do I!
I should’ve guessed that (like, he’s quickly picked up that he can use my hand as a stim toy) but for some reason it went over my head. Possibly because I mostly saw him at work, where both of us attempt to have a mask of “normalcy” while interacting with coworkers and customers. But when we’re together outside of work we can be as weird as possible. We can be ourselves!
*Oh, and he ended up throwing his jacket over my face whenever he thought there would be another round of strobe lights. Luckily there wasn’t many!*
Post link
i need people to understand that whereas theres nothing wrong with being disabled, a disability does imply a defect or damage. it means that something isnt working properly. autism is not any kind of defect or damage. nor is it caused by any kind of defect or damage.
autistic brains are functioning as they should. optimally. and are a natural variation in the same sense that any normative variation in personality is.
autism is not a disability.
autism is not a disorder.
the fact that autistic people have a harder time than others in modern society is not evidence that autism is the cause, but that modern society is flawed and has not taken us into account.
arguing that autism is a disability is equal to arguing that being transgender or gay is a disability, because it is a variation in much the same way and it negatively impacts the person with that label for much the same reasons.
Reblogging with original tags.
