Dr. Coplan continues his review and commentary on NeuroTribes by Steve Silberman.
October 5th, 2015 by drcoplan 
Leo Kanner – Mixed Decision (part 2)
Revisit Part 1.
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A Fable The time: The 1700’s The place: The Black Forest of southern Germany Baron von Rothschild, one of Europe’s wealthiest men, is deep in the forest, hopelessly lost, when he stumbles across a small Inn. He decides to stop for lunch and directions. He goes inside, and orders two boiled eggs. Upon finishing, he beckons to the Innkeeper. “How much do I owe you, good Innkeeper?” he asks. “That will be 100 guilders, Herr Rothschild.” replies the Innkeeper. “100 guilders!,” exclaims Rothschild indignantly. “Are eggs so scarce in this part of the forest?” “No,” replies the Innkeeper with a smile, “but Rothschild’s are!” |
For decades, Leo Kanner sought to perpetuate the notion that autism – “his” pet diagnosis – was a rare condition. In his book Silberman cites numerous examples of Kanner’s tendency to gloss over or dismiss the descriptions of children with autistic features by other researchers, as well as his tendency to limit the diagnosis to only a tiny fraction of the children referred to him. Why did he do those things? The joke at the head of this blog post does not appear in Silberman’s book, but it speaks to the motive (as Silberman sees it) for Kanner’s behavior: Rarity begets power. As long as autism remained rare, and as long as he cast himself as “Innkeeper,” Kanner was assured a leading role in the world of autism. And this is exactly what happened. (The joke, by the way, is a venerable example of Jewish humor. Jews are capable of barbed self-deprecation – in this case, being “sharp” over money – in a manner that would come across as anti-Semitic in the mouth of a non-Jew.). Read the rest of this entry »
