ABSTRACT
In the adult patients discussed, the recognition of autistic features in the psychic organization did not take place at first sight, as occurs in infantile autism. The recognition and elaboration of the elements makes it possible for the autistic capsules to become integrated into the rest of the personality and for the sense of identity to become more consolidated. As Anne Alvarez says, the autistic child needs an "intelligent, animate object" that can reactivate reduced mental functions and stimulate his thinking process by holding him in an empathic way. The recognition of the analyst as a separate person and of an intermediate space through which feelings are exchanged takes place only after a long period of time as the patient's sense of identity becomes more defined. The chapter also presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book.
