ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the analysis of an 18-year-old woman with autism. Her analysis was deepened and promoted through the analyst discussing the patient with her stuffed monkey Daisy. These discussions were a variation of working in the displacement offered by play that the author uses with very young children. Remaining in the displacement allows the autistic patient, like a young child, to develop their mentalising capacity without being overwhelmed by the anxiety of directly knowing their own emotions, thoughts and fantasies. The developmental basis of such a technique is discussed and applied to patients with autism who have the same developmental/constitutional difficulties with mentalisation as pre-latency children.
