|
 |
 ResourcesEvents/Awards |
|||||||
|
Summary of the American Psychoanalytic Association Winter 2004 Meeting, New York Psychoanalytic Approaches to Working with Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder: The Work of Dr. Anni Bergman with Child Treatment and Adult Follow-Up Videos Co-chair: Susan
P. Sherkow, M.D. In this session, Drs. Anni Bergman, Susan Sherkow, and William Singletary discussed the present clinical and theoretical understanding of autism, including its etiological trajectory, symptomatic features, and current treatment profiles. Dr. Bergman, who has been an integral contributor the psychoanalytic study of autism, presented a video with a detailed account of the case of Rosie. An extremely gifted artist with many unique talents, Rosie was a special case assigned to Dr. Bergman. Bergman’s technique, in working with Rosie, demonstrated the importance of expressing or reflecting the child’s mood with words. Dr. Singletary noted that envy and narcissistic omnipotent defenses against needing and caring persist in these children. Part of the work of the analyst is to translate the child’s symptoms into something that makes them understandable for the child, as well as for the mother. It is this process, in particular, that brings the child out of the autistic world as much as possible. Following in the steps of Mahler, Dr. Bergman followed a tripartite treatment plan with Rosie, integrating cognitive, object-relations, and drive-derivative viewpoints via psychoanalysis. Dr. Sherkow explained that each of these methodologies are approached as a stage and applied one by one; integration takes place either directly in the mother-child dyad or in the transference. Often, when a child like Rosie comes out of the “autistic shell” and begins to relate, she relates in a bizarre manner. It is important, therefore, for the child to have contact with the outside world in any way possible; Rosie had many ‘helpers’ on her support team. By the time Rosie was 15 and a half years old, she was in the tenth grade at a regular school, only one year behind her class. After the film, Dr. Sherkow led a discussion in which she explained that in autism, the brain is abnormal from birth. Ultimately, it is important for the autistic child to develop cognitive and affective connections to the biological bases of the disorder, which to an extent determine his or her behavior. Early intervention can prevent the exacerbation of –or even reverse— neurological abnormalities. Ideally, a trained team will work with the autistic child from the moment the symptoms emerge – usually between 18 months and two years. Early intervention, in which the child’s attempt to fend of stimulation is assaulted through constant (analytic) input, can prevent the further withdrawal of the child into robotic behavior. Basic engagement is the first step; Dr. Bergman, for example, attempts to make “sense out of nonsense” in order to engage the autistic child. Once this is accomplished, shared focus and attention, back-and-forth communication, communication about affect, and symbolic play are all possible. After the discussion about Rosie, Dr. Sherkow presented a new case of an analysis of a young male patient with autistic symptoms. Dr. Sherkow’s case highlighted the importance of putting play into words in order to forge a basic connection with the autistic child, who often cannot make sense of his or her bodily experience in the world. |
|||||||||
|
For
Professionals
| For Parents | About
Us | Home
|
