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 She also drew a fundamental distinction between two autistic groups: an ‘encapsulated’ group, which is withdrawn and non-verbal, and an ‘entangled’ group, who are hyperactive and chaotic but have some language.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
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... hands. Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank the friends from all over the world who contributed to the retirement present for me initiated by Dr Victoria Hamilton and Dilys Daws. This enabled me to revise this book in ...
... hand, such as patterns made with the child's own breath or spit, are soothing and tranquillising. Tustin emphasised the importance of integrations at these fundamental sensory levels, where hard and soft are the forerunners of male and ...
... hand on the knob of a door, and then try to use the hand to turn the doorknob and open the door. An autistic child seems to lack a sense of himself as a separate person. He does not seem clear about the difference between himself and ...
... hand open, banging hand and fist together rapidly, and uttering a high-pitched squeal and screwing up his face at the same time. Some of the children are preoccupied or obsessed with certain objects, or certain aspects of the objects ...
... hand, I remember an autistic child clapping his hands over his ears and rushing round the room in some distress when the other children began to sing, as if the sounds which the other children were enjoying were too much for him. Some ...
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 | |