Chapter 3: What Sister Viktorine Knew

     In this chapter, we meet one of the founders of autism: Dr. Asperger, whom Asperger’s syndrome was named after many years down the road. Here, we get a close up view of Asperger’s studies working with children in Vienna during the 1930s. Asperger understood it wasn’t about how well or how poorly the child learned, but what’s the most effective way to teach him. Asperger saw his patients as allies and thought of them as absent-minded professors who were able to teach him about how to appropriately and effectively teach them. 

    Unfortunately, there was a storm on the horizon. Eugenics was making a grand push at this time, and people with disabilities were thought of as being less than human. During this time, one institution caretaker sent out a letter to parents of institutionalized children asking if they would consent to being put to death painlessly. The majority of responses from parents were horrifyingly in the affirmative.

    As Hitler rose to power, his first enemy of eugenics was to purify the race by exterminating people with disabilities. As a result, many were sent to hospitals where they were then euthanized based on government commands.

    Because of Asperger's attempts to speak out against eugenics and show the value these people possessed, he was shunned by his academic and professional community. The shadow of World War II and Nazism continue to shadow his legacy.