ABSTRACT
This paper by Jorge L. Ahumada and Luisa C. Busch de Ahumada is implicitly motivated by the challenge from clinical practice in child psychiatry that has seen a hitherto unexplained explosion, frequently noted in the professional literature and popular press, in the numbers of children who are diagnosed with so-called autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). Psychoanalytically based treatments tend not to be considered in a culture where organic explanations predominate. Justification for this is hard to find as there is meagre understanding of why this explosion is taking place. Explanations in the aetiology and inter- and intra-psychic dynamics of these conditions perhaps can best be demonstrated by detailed reports of cases that do or do not respond to treatments, and accounts of psychoanalytic treatment seems to be best placed to provide this. One might assume that those that respond well, including development of function and recovery, indicate that the organic explanation (genetic, inherent brain structure, bio-chemistry, and so on) is not sufficient. It requires a wider and deeper elaboration including an understanding of complex psychic functioning in the developmental environment.
