Is he an enchanted child, a fairy-tale child? He is a suffering child, anguished, often very beautiful, who—unable to make contact with reality—constructs his own world instead, living in it like in an "empty fortress," alone. This captures both the difficulties and the passionate commitment that drew two physician-educators from the specialized centers of Saint-Mandé near Paris to the study of autistic children.
Italy has translations of their other major works: on mental retardation (Educating the Subnormal Child: A Guide for Parents and Educators, Armando editions) and on the same subject as this book (Living with an Autistic Child, Giunti Barbera editions; Verbal and Non-Verbal Language in the Psychotic Child, Armando editions). Here Alfred and Françoise Brauner trace a history of autism—from distant times when it had not yet been identified and diagnosed, to the present day.
They search for it in the "memory of peoples" preserved in fairy tales, in folk traditions, in history books, in literary works, in early and recent research by physicians and educators, and in a rich and often excellent body of documentary films. It is a fascinating study, enriched by documentation and examples, and brought to life by the intense commitment of those who undertook it.
Like all who study this condition "in the field," the authors and their colleagues have achieved numerous successes and experienced painful failures. The truth is that we still lack reliable tools for early diagnosis of autism, nor do we yet understand its causes, prevention, and treatment with certainty. The sheer number of schools, theories, and methods proves this. But research has now become interdisciplinary. Much progress has been made, and it is clear that the best results come when psychopharmacology, education, and psychotherapy work together with active family collaboration. Those days are gone when families were separated from their children, when a Norwegian mother, Tordis Orjasaeter, author of My Child Who Did Not Speak, could say: "I wish they would give us back our share of responsibility, because in any case we cannot escape it. What we need are people ready to help us and share our responsibility. We need collaborators, not guardians." Today we are all completely in agreement with her.
The book includes an extensive bibliography on the subject, as well as a rich filmography from 1956 to 1980, about which Ombre e Luci can provide information.
- Natalia Livi, 1993
For bibliographic information on disability issues, you can call Ombre e Luci from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday, or write to us at info@ombreeluci.it.