ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book shows that how the author work with families of children like Joseph, Geronimo, Filippo, and Nicola—families who try so hard to reach their autistic children only to see them retreat even further. These days, it is quite common to read about early signs of alarm that have been tested and proved to be prodromal signs of severe later mental health disturbances. The identification and full understanding of the interplay between specific genes and environment will perhaps never be fully established. Identifying signs of alarm might be the first step in validating or assuaging a parent's concerns but it is not, on its own, enough. If we are alarmed, we need to act. While underpinned by psychoanalytic thinking and led by parent–infant, adult, and child psychotherapists, our team is truly multi-disciplinary, as, in our experience, this is most effective way to work.
