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 She also drew a fundamental distinction between two autistic groups: an ‘encapsulated’ group, which is withdrawn and non-verbal, and an ‘entangled’ group, who are hyperactive and chaotic but have some language.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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... 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 ...
... play of the process by which physical sensations in his bottom were literally 'lifted up' so that they became thoughts in his head. We see Tustin at work at a time when she had found her own voice, when her interpretations seem to flow ...
... play materials in the cupboard. I sat down and spoke to him, taking out a pegboard and coloured pegs and showing them to him. He did not respond to what I said, or look at me, and did not show by any sign that he was aware of my ...
... play with other children, as well as lacking responsiveness to adults. They sometimes use people or parts of them in an unusual way. A characteristic gesture of an autistic child is to get hold of someone's arm, place the person's hand ...
... play of several other children alongside him. The same inconsistencies apply to vision as to hearing. Autistic children often do not focus with their eyes; they do not seem to look at things or people. When occasionally they do look ...
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 | |