From Autism and Mutism to an Enlivened Self A Case Narrative with Reflections on Early Development

Description

“For any parent of a child diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome or Autistic Spectrum Disorder, this is a must-read book. Part I movingly narrates a child’s gradual emergence from a world cut off from emotional intimacy into one in which she blossoms as a vitally alive, creative human being. Anna’s story, as movingly told by her mother, Dr Diana Thielst, demystifies an autistic developmental state, despite facing a barrage of social opprobrium and blame from family and professionals.

In Part II, Lichtenberg employs a developmental perspective to explicate the modes of human relatedness harnessed by Dr Thielst to facilitate Anna’s emerging sense of self in relationship with others in her social world. In a clear, precise and masterful way, he details the interactive, intersubjective, and relational components active in Dr Thielst’s and Anna’s relationship that reawakened in Anna a sense of emotional relatedness, and fostered her impressive adaptive development. This book will be an indispensable resource for professionals working in this field and is warmly recommended.” – Paul Renn, Forum for Independent Psychotherapists, author of The Silent Past and the Invisible Present: Memory, Trauma, and Representation in Psychotherapy