Inspirational Quotes
... by famous people with learning disabilities or differences
Autism - Hans Asperger
Found an article on Wired Magazine on why some people, like UCSF neurologist Kirk Wilhelmsen, think eliminating autism might not be
such a good idea. But what moved us in this article was finding out where Dr. Asperger was coming from when he made his
now famous quote. So very touching!
Wired 9.12: The Geek Syndrome
[excerpt - Copyright © 1993-2004 The Condé Nast Publications Inc.]
" ... If we could eliminate the genes for things like autism, I think it would be disastrous," says Wilhelmsen.
"The healthiest state for a gene pool is maximum diversity of things that might be good."
One of the first people to intuit the significance of this was Asperger himself -
weaving his continuum like a protective blanket over the young patients in his clinic as the
Nazis shipped so-called mental defectives to the camps.
"It seems that for success in science and art," he wrote, "a dash of autism is essential."
16 - Dr. Temple Grandin »
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