Edith Sheffer’s young son always disliked labels such as Asperger’s syndrome. By devising a diagnosis that emphasized the children’s intellectual abilities, the psychiatrist said, Dr. Asperger tried to spare them from the Nazi campaign to “euthanize” youths with cognitive disabilities. Dr. Sheffer, sitting next to her 12-year-old son, knew this wasn’t entirely true. And, Dr. Sheffer learned with horror, he had personally condemned dozens of children to the killing centers. By the time her book was published, Asperger’s syndrome was no longer listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

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Persons: Edith Sheffer’s, Hans Asperger, Asperger, euthanize, . Sheffer, “, —, Oskar Schindler, ”, Sheffer, Vox Organizations: Nazi, University of California, Disorders Locations: Austrian, Europe, Berkeley