This revolutionary reappraisal of autism, its theories and therapies, written by a recognised expert on the subject, comes to us at a time when France is under fire for failing to provide adequate means for the care of autistic children, and has countered by announcing various programmes and reforms. Despite the current fascination with autism, the fundamental questions remain: Why do autistic children consistently refuse all forms of exchange? Why do they reject all attempts to engage in relations with them? Who are they? Where do they come from? Autistic children remain one of the great challenges facing psychiatry. The term autism originated at the beginning of the nineteenth century. By 1943, it had come to designate the now-familiar innate disorder of communication and affective contact . For a long time, only psychoanalysts were seriously concerned with autistic children, who were otherwise regarded as mentally retarded.Now universally recognised as a disorder, autism has been the subject of fierce disagreement within the scientific community: between cognitive therapists and psychoanalysts, between those who believe the causes of autism are organic and those who say they are purely psychodynamic. Jacques Hochmann argues that if the quality of care is to be improved, scientists must set aside their differences and enter into a new era of dialogue. Among an abundance of specialist and of one-sided works on autism, here, finally, is a book that offers a unique overview of how the concept has evolved and of how autistic children have been treated over the years. By looking beyond the controversies that divide the various currents of thought, the author gives us clear, accessible information on autism today.In this exceptional work, an eminent expert combines scientific erudition with a therapist's empathy to reappraise the history of his specialty. Jacques Hochmann is an honorary member of the Psychoanalytical Society of Paris, a professor emeritus at Claude Bernard University (Lyon), and an honorary physician for Lyon city hospitals. He has diagnosed, guided and treated a large number of autistic and psychotic children and adolescents. He is the author of La Consolation. Essai sur le soin psychiatrique (1994) and the co-author (with M. Jeannerod) of Esprit, o�; es-tu? (1991). / Alors m me que la France est stigmatis e pour son manque de moyens et d'attention dans la prise en charge des enfants autistes et que l'on annonce plans et r formes, l'un de nos meilleurs sp cialistes propose une extraordinaire relecture des th ories et des modes de th rapie qui ont entour cette trange affection. On ne cesse de parler des autistes. Et, pourtant, la question demeure: pourquoi persistent-ils se d tourner de l' change, mettre en chec toutes les tentatives pour entrer en relation avec eux ? Qui sont-ils ? D'o viennent-ils ? Les enfants autistes restent l'un des plus grands d fis de la psychiatrie. Depuis plus d'un si cle, les batailles font rage autour de ce que l'on a enfin reconnu comme une maladie. Selon Jacques Hochmann, pour favoriser une meilleure prise en charge, le moment est venu non pas d'oublier ces querelles, mais de passer l' re du dialogue. Un document psychiatrique exceptionnel: un grand sp cialiste relit toute l'histoire de son domaine, alliant l' rudition du savant l'empathie du th rapeute.Membre honoraire de la Soci t psychanalytique de Paris, professeur m rite l'universit Claude-Bernard, m decin honoraire des H pitaux de Lyon, Jacques Hochmann a diagnostiqu, orient et trait un grand nombre d'enfants et d'adolescents autistes ou psychotiques. Il a notamment publi La Consolation.
