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Autism and Asperger Syndrome
The story of autism contains many puzzles, but none more tantalizing than the problem of the eccentric individual who appears to be both intellectually gifted and mentally handicapped and who finds it difficult to deal with everyday social interaction and communication. Such individuals are increasingly recognized as suffering from Asperger Syndrome. The argument presented in this book is that they suffer from a form of autism, but that they can compensate for this handicap to a remarkable degree. In this volume the foremost experts in the field discuss the diagnostic criteria of the syndrome, richly illustrated with examples from their clinical practices. Clinical accounts are balanced with personal accounts and some as yet preliminary research data. Asperger's classic paper is translated and annotated. The insights of this pioneer of autism have been unjustly neglected but reflect a very modern awareness of the many forms of autism and the wide range of individual differences in the men and women who suffer from this disorder. Asperger Syndrome individuals with their intellectual and linguistic ability and their desire for social adaptation are extremely vulnerable.
258 pages, Paperback
First published November 30, 1990
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About the author
Uta Frith
13 books30 followersUta Frith, DBE (Hon), FRS, FBA, FMedSci (née Aurnhammer) is a German developmental psychologist working at the Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience at University College London. She has pioneered much of the current research in autism and dyslexia, and has written several books on these issues.
Her book Autism: Explaining the Enigma provides an introduction to the cognitive neuroscience of autism. Among the students she has mentored are Tony Attwood, Margaret Snowling, Simon Baron-Cohen, and Francesca Happé.
Her book Autism: Explaining the Enigma provides an introduction to the cognitive neuroscience of autism. Among the students she has mentored are Tony Attwood, Margaret Snowling, Simon Baron-Cohen, and Francesca Happé.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 19, 2018
My bottom-line conclusion from reading this book is that people don't really understand yet what causes autism and Aspergers. It seems impossible that all the different theories the contributing authors describe can be correct, since many of them contradict each other. It wouldn't surprise me if they all turned out to be wrong.
It's not even clear that autism, especially in the milder form of Aspergers, is strictly speaking a dysfunction; you can get the impression that it's more a case of receiving too much of something that in essence is positive. There's a nice quote from Professor Asperger, the discoverer of the eponymous syndrome, when he heard about the Apollo Project.
"Ah, I see some autists have built a moon rocket..."
__________________________
[Update, Apr 19 2018]
This book is referred to in less than flattering terms in an article in today's Guardian, which cites a recent paper entitled Hans Asperger, National Socialism, and “race hygiene” in Nazi-era Vienna. It seems Professor Frith forgot to mention that Asperger was an ardent supporter of the Nazi eugenics program, and at least in part responsible for the deaths of hundreds of his patients.
It's not even clear that autism, especially in the milder form of Aspergers, is strictly speaking a dysfunction; you can get the impression that it's more a case of receiving too much of something that in essence is positive. There's a nice quote from Professor Asperger, the discoverer of the eponymous syndrome, when he heard about the Apollo Project.
"Ah, I see some autists have built a moon rocket..."
__________________________
[Update, Apr 19 2018]
This book is referred to in less than flattering terms in an article in today's Guardian, which cites a recent paper entitled Hans Asperger, National Socialism, and “race hygiene” in Nazi-era Vienna. It seems Professor Frith forgot to mention that Asperger was an ardent supporter of the Nazi eugenics program, and at least in part responsible for the deaths of hundreds of his patients.
January 21, 2018
Although the main point of this set of essays seems to be to decide whether Asperger's should be considered a mild form of autism or a completely different syndrome, I learnt a lot about the subject as a whole. The texts written by people with Asperger's were particularly enlightening and I would recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in any form of autism (and also in the huge number of rules non-autistic people learn as they grow up in society).
December 19, 2015
Hans Asperger and His Groundbreaking Paper
Ever since Johns Hopkins professor Leo Kanner described a condition he called autism in his seminal 1943 paper,”Autistic Disturbances of Affective Conduct,” most professionals and laypeople alike had an impression of autism as being characteristic of highly disturbed, poorly functioning children – and a rare condition, at that.
Then, the following year and an ocean and a world away, a doctor in Vienna, then part of Nazi-occupied Austria, portrayed autistic children of a radically different type. The Viennese doctor’s name was Hans Asperger; his paper, however, would remain virtually unknown for nearly a half century. In fact, “Autistic Psychopathy in Childhood” first appeared in English translation in 1991. This extremely important book, Autism and Asperger Syndrome, presents Uta Frith’s translation for the very first time, all in context of her commentary and a series of other papers by other important researchers. Most notable is Dr. Lorna Wing, who developed and advocated for the term autism spectrum, especially notable here in that Kanner’s and Asperger’s descriptions of the same condition vary so considerably, this book describing the higher-functioning form of autism that bears Asperger’s name.
Dr. Hans Asperger in his Vienna clinic with autistic boy autism special education human dignity
Dr. Hans Asperger (1906-1980) works with one of his young charges. Asperger believed these children had the potential for unique and noteworthy endeavors and deserved to be afforded full human dignity.
Most notable is that, “far from despising the misfits, he devoted himself to their cause – and this at a time when allegiance to misfits was nothing less than dangerous.” It bears remembering that Nazism espoused putting people with genetic deformities, such as cognitive disabilities, to death; Nazi ideology deemed these people not worth the bread they ate and a threat to the genetic future of the Aryan race. By caring and advocating for these children, Dr. Asperger was risking his life.
Going further, “Asperger’s views on the positive value of autism as an important aspect of creative thought and intellectual style are … fresh and provocative.” In fact, Asperger’s 1944 writing and Frith’s 1991 commentary presaged the current neurodiversity movement, beautifully expressed in Steve Silberman’s “fresh and provocative” book Neurotribes.
In Hans Asperger’s paper, it is worth noting his comment that “…those who know such children never cease to be surprised at the striking coincidences of detail. The autistic personality is highly distinctive despite wide individual differences. Our method would have failed if it ignored the differences and if it let each child’s unique personality vanish behind the type.” This observation leads us to the second important paper in this volume, that of Lorna Wing, in which she compares the work of Drs. Asperger and Kanner and outlines her groundbreaking theory of autism being a spectrum of abilities while sharing important characteristics. Though the other four papers are worth reading as well, these first three make this book, nearly a quarter-century old, essential reading on autism.
Ever since Johns Hopkins professor Leo Kanner described a condition he called autism in his seminal 1943 paper,”Autistic Disturbances of Affective Conduct,” most professionals and laypeople alike had an impression of autism as being characteristic of highly disturbed, poorly functioning children – and a rare condition, at that.
Then, the following year and an ocean and a world away, a doctor in Vienna, then part of Nazi-occupied Austria, portrayed autistic children of a radically different type. The Viennese doctor’s name was Hans Asperger; his paper, however, would remain virtually unknown for nearly a half century. In fact, “Autistic Psychopathy in Childhood” first appeared in English translation in 1991. This extremely important book, Autism and Asperger Syndrome, presents Uta Frith’s translation for the very first time, all in context of her commentary and a series of other papers by other important researchers. Most notable is Dr. Lorna Wing, who developed and advocated for the term autism spectrum, especially notable here in that Kanner’s and Asperger’s descriptions of the same condition vary so considerably, this book describing the higher-functioning form of autism that bears Asperger’s name.
Dr. Hans Asperger in his Vienna clinic with autistic boy autism special education human dignity
Dr. Hans Asperger (1906-1980) works with one of his young charges. Asperger believed these children had the potential for unique and noteworthy endeavors and deserved to be afforded full human dignity.
Most notable is that, “far from despising the misfits, he devoted himself to their cause – and this at a time when allegiance to misfits was nothing less than dangerous.” It bears remembering that Nazism espoused putting people with genetic deformities, such as cognitive disabilities, to death; Nazi ideology deemed these people not worth the bread they ate and a threat to the genetic future of the Aryan race. By caring and advocating for these children, Dr. Asperger was risking his life.
Going further, “Asperger’s views on the positive value of autism as an important aspect of creative thought and intellectual style are … fresh and provocative.” In fact, Asperger’s 1944 writing and Frith’s 1991 commentary presaged the current neurodiversity movement, beautifully expressed in Steve Silberman’s “fresh and provocative” book Neurotribes.
In Hans Asperger’s paper, it is worth noting his comment that “…those who know such children never cease to be surprised at the striking coincidences of detail. The autistic personality is highly distinctive despite wide individual differences. Our method would have failed if it ignored the differences and if it let each child’s unique personality vanish behind the type.” This observation leads us to the second important paper in this volume, that of Lorna Wing, in which she compares the work of Drs. Asperger and Kanner and outlines her groundbreaking theory of autism being a spectrum of abilities while sharing important characteristics. Though the other four papers are worth reading as well, these first three make this book, nearly a quarter-century old, essential reading on autism.
June 15, 2012
An understated fact about this book is that it contains the first ever translation of Hans Asperger's paper where he identifies what would come to be known as Asperger's Syndrome. I could take or leave the rest of it, but I really needed Asperger's paper for my thesis, and I was surprised how hard it was to track down.
March 5, 2009
Probably a little too advanced for a layperson like myself, but an informative look at the development of the understanding of Asperger Syndrome as a variant of autism. The case studies were fascinating.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews