Autistic States in ChildrenFrances Tustin (1913-1994) was one of the first professionally trained child psychotherapists in Britain. Although internationally recognised for her pioneering therapeutic work with autistic children, her approach is considered by some to be controversial, as her psychogenic view of childhood autism challenged the belief that it is biological and genetic. Autistic States in Children is widely regarded as a vitally important work for understanding the causes of autism in young children. Vividly describing her clinical encounters with autistic children, Tustin argued that autistic states were above all self-protective ones. In her observational studies, she noted how autistic children's interaction with physical objects, such as keys, toy cars, or other play items, had a rigid and ritualistic quality, far removed from the typical kind of fantasy play seen in other children. Such objects are not used by autistic children for their intended purpose, Tustin argued, but rather in sensation-dominated ways that interfere with mental development. She also drew a fundamental distinction between two autistic groups: an ‘encapsulated’ group, which is withdrawn and non-verbal, and an ‘entangled’ group, who are hyperactive and chaotic but have some language. Autistic States in Children influenced not only those in psychotherapy and psychoanalysis but countless others who have contact with autistic children, especially families, and remains essential reading for anyone seeking a creative and compelling understanding of autism. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Foreword by Maria Rhode. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 64
... birth and psychological catastrophe 10 Autistic objects 11 Confusional objects 12 The asymbolic nature of auto-sensuous states 13 Awareness in autistic states 14 Psychotherapy with autistic states in children 15 Transference phenomena.
... awareness of bodily separateness, which, for one reason or another, was not healed by emotional exchanges. In fact, the authors of many first-person accounts (e.g. Williams 1992) have described the terrifying gap that they felt existed ...
... awareness of another person. But Jimmy at six years old, who could in fact do jigsaw puzzles as well as most other six-year-olds, showed much less awareness of another person than an eight-month-old baby. This failure to respond to ...
... awareness by an early aberrant development of autistic procedures. Also, this has the additional recommendation that it is in keeping with the way the meaning of the word 'autism' has been developing over the years. For example, it is ...
... awareness and active questing even from the beginning of life. This has been confirmed by the detailed baby observations reported by Pérez-Sánchez (1990) and Michel Haag (private circulation), both of whom were supervised by Dr Esther ...
Contents
Autosensuous aspects of psychogenic childhood psychosis | |
Autogenerated encapsulation | |
Autistic objects | |
Confusional objects | |
The asymbolic nature of autosensuous states | |
Awareness in autistic states | |
Psychotherapy with autistic states in children | |
Transference phenomena in autistic states | |
16 | |
Thinkings | |
Confusional entanglement | |
Autosensuousness as a basis for classification of psychogenic childhood psychosis | |
Psychodynamics and treatment of autistic states | |
The pathological operation of autosensuousness | |
Psychological birth and psychological catastrophe | |
The struggles of an autistic child to develop a mind of his | |
Autistic elements in neurotic disorders of childhood | |
Concluding remarks | |
Index | |