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Autism (Greek, ‘selfness’) is a mental condition which becomes apparent when a young child fails to learn cognitive skills, and appears not to have the thought processes which lead to communication and to relationships with other people, including parents. Such children might be thought to be subnormal, were it not for their creative involvement with inanimate objects. The autistic state is thought to be present from very early on, possibly from birth. It leads to a permanent state of anxiety, creating an inability to relate to others and to develop social skills. The outcome of such limited contact with others is obsessive patterns of behaviour. Bettelheim, in his book The Empty Fortress, suggested that the condition was the result of very early lack of emotional support from the mother, but some autistic children have been found to be suffering from an oversensitivity to noise something which could be radically altered with training. MJ |
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