Editing Hans Asperger - Grokipedia (section)

=== Continuation at University Clinic (1945–1964) ===

Following the Allied liberation of Vienna in April 1945, Asperger returned to the University Children's Clinic, where he resumed directing the Heilpädagogik (curative pedagogy) department, focusing on therapeutic interventions for children with developmental and behavioral disorders.<ref name="Tidsskriftet" /> His wartime service in the Wehrmacht medical corps in occupied Croatia ended with the German surrender, allowing this continuity despite the regime's collapse and subsequent denazification processes in Austria.<ref name="BPS" /> A post-war investigative commission reviewed his activities and found no evidence of Nazi Party membership or direct involvement in euthanasia programs, clearing him to retain his position without interruption.<ref name="PediatricResearch2023">Pediatric Research (2023). "Asperger's syndrome – about time to rename it?" ''Pediatric Research''. [https://www.nature.com/articles/s41390-023-02885-8]</ref>

In 1946, Asperger was appointed interim chair of the clinic, overseeing pediatric care amid postwar shortages of resources and staff; he prioritized rebuilding clinical services for vulnerable children, including those exhibiting traits akin to his earlier-described "autistic psychopathy."<ref name="Embryo" /> Under his leadership, the department emphasized individualized education, occupational therapy, and family involvement over institutionalization, treating hundreds of cases annually through observation and non-pharmacological methods. By 1948, he co-founded the Society for Child Psychiatry in Vienna, fostering collaboration among pediatricians, psychologists, and educators to advance holistic child mental health practices.<ref name="Embryo" />

Throughout the 1950s, Asperger expanded clinical protocols at the clinic, publishing works such as contributions to pediatric journals on speech disorders, moral development, and adaptive therapies for "difficult" children, often drawing from longitudinal follow-ups of pre-war patients who showed potential for social integration with targeted support.<ref name="Czech2018" /> Enrollment in his specialized ward grew, handling referrals from schools and courts for approximately 100–150 children yearly by the mid-1950s, with outcomes stressing vocational training to counter deficits in empathy and flexibility. This era marked a shift toward empirical case studies, though his ideas remained localized in German-speaking academia, unpublished in English until later.<ref name="BPS" />

By the early 1960s, Asperger's tenure at the Vienna clinic wound down as he prepared for transitions, including advisory roles; in 1962, he received an honorary professorship from the University of Vienna, recognizing two decades of sustained contributions to child psychology amid Austria's reconstruction.<ref name="BPS" /> His approach persisted in prioritizing causal environmental and temperamental factors over purely hereditary models, influencing clinic protocols until 1964, when administrative changes prompted his departure to Innsbruck University.<ref name="Embryo" />