ABSTRACT
Psychoanalytic research into autism makes us sensitive to the importance of cathecting body image in the relationship with the other and to the role of early fixations and regressive movements in relational development within the context of the transference. The child loses the sense of otherness, and sometimes even physical movement become difficult. For some children without verbal language however, they cannot even bear to listen to other people’s words, up to the point that they block their ears with their hands. To avoid a relationship that is too direct and unpredictable, autistic children seek their sensations in the inanimate worlds that they can control. A group of four autistic children between fifteen and twenty years of age, without language, in deep retreat from the world, has given the author's clues for their reflection. If well supported, going through a primary depression offers a renewed possibility for language to emerge, as well as connectedness and communication.
