Margaret Mahler's Theory Of Separation Individuation

In the early 1900’s autism was a completely misunderstood concept and any child who was living with it was assumed to be living with “childhood schizophrenia” and developed much slower than children without autism. A four year study of Donald Triplett gave Dr. Kannar a better understanding of what autism was and what it caused certain people to do. The main question was, does it affect the child’s development? Living with autism can affect a child’s development due to the fact that they don’t have a long attention span, can cause them to have a repetitive behavior, along with trouble in social situations whether it be verbal or non verbal.

As Antonio is forced to develop into a more independent and well-informed young man, he must come to terms with the harsh realities in the outside world from which he was shielded during his early childhood. He encounters the truth behind what happens at Rosie’s—while he has always been told that Rosie is “evil, not evil like a witch, but evil in other ways” (34), he does not learn of the nature of that “evil”—and that his brother is partaking in it (165); Antonio even begins to have dreams that are far more “intense” than any he has previously experienced (70). Antonio must also confront the reality of the hardships of loss, as the people around him with whom he is acquainted—and even those he loves—die at the hands of others. This is particularly important in Antonio’s exploration of religion, as he begins to question why an all-powerful God would allow his loved ones to die, and why such a deity would not sentence those who killed them to hell (186). Antonio’s loss of innocence is finally and forcefully demonstrated at the end of the novel, when he speaks to his mother “as a man,” commanding her to take the younger (and still “innocent”) children inside (269). This is doubly important, as it demonstrates not only that Antonio has lost enough of his innocence to be speaking “as a man,” but also that he recognizes innocence in others and strives to protect them from what he has

In stage two, transition, the child is beginning to individuate from his mother. The child realises it’s dependence, and learns about loss. There is a realisation that other’s sometimes take priority, and their emotions must be considered. Winnicott believes that if this disconnection is done suddenly, it may be traumatic for the child. However, if done well, it

Leo Kanner (1943) believes autism is a result of emotional deprivation. He notes that parents of autistic children are intellectually and analytically oriented, but lack emotional warmth (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009).Some psychodynamic theorist believe autistic children were born normal, but became autistic after experiencing painful interactions with hostile or cold parents (Hansell & Damour, 2008). The term autistic implies a failure to effectively relate to the environment. Autistic individuals are perceived as elusive and distant (Meyer, Chapman, & Weaver, 2009). Behavioral programs are most effective with autistic children and are used to teach them language, communication skills, self-care, and adaptation to the community (Hansell & Damour, 2008).

Are you able to comprehend the confrontations faced by an autistic child? In the book “the curious incident of the dog in the night time” by Mark Haddon, You are able to understand the challenges faced by the main protagonist Christopher Boone. In order to gain a sense of maturity an individual must overcome difficult challenges. This will be demonstrated by examining Christopher Boone’s ability to learn to become independent and understand social interaction and emotions.

Despite the fact that Antonio is only a newborn, the two sides of the family have already predetermined his path in life. His mother, Maria, wants Antonio to become a priest while his father, Gabriel, would rather him be free and follow in his example. Both parents want to instill their own aspirations upon him and partake in a mentalgame of tug of war with Antonio, the youngest and last son of the family, the final chance to make one of his parent’s dreams a reality. At a young age, Antonio is forced to come to a consensus of which parent will he please and which one will he forsake. This fact lingers over him and often resurfaces within his dreams. Though he doesn’t yet have to reach a decision, this dream acts as a cautionary reminder that he will have to soon in the future as it slowly approaches.

Antonio has gone through a tough and difficult journey to attain maturity, in 2 years. He is not that young, little, innocent boy you had seen before, he is much stronger and more mature. All of his

Waltz (2002) stated, “Autistic spectrum disorders are a medical puzzle. Although the symptoms can be seen, they are hard to define medically or treat. (p.1)

In the mid 1900s, psychiatrist Leo Kanner and a pediatrician Hans Asperger used the same word “autism” for a condition where children had deficits in socializing and forming contact. Stemming off the greek word “autos” meaning self, Kanner stated that autistic children had good cognitive potential yet they had islets of ability meaning their intelligence was focused in silos. There was an assumption that autistics were incapable of intelligence and were mentally disabled. Later, Laurent Mottron discredited the theories that autism is caused parents or “refrigerator mothers” and shed light on the fact that neurotypicals lack the abilities of autistic savants. The view of individuals with autism is skewed and as Amanda Baggs shows in her vivid video describing her behaviour, it

While his mom argued it would be best for him to become a Luna and be connected to the Earth, his father’s side argued that the Marez blood inside of him would compel him to become a vaquero, free to roam the grassy plains and not being shackled by anything. His dream encapsulated the idea of his thinking and identity being imposed on him literally from birth. A child’s mind is like clay that can be molded in an infinite amount of directions. The absolutely worst thing a person could do to this flower of growth is to put it in a box that restricts it from germinating on its own. The only saving grace that Tonie found in this dream was Ultima, who eloquently scolded both sides of the family in saying that only she knows what Antonio will become in life. This concept of Antonio’s parents tearing him apart from either side and Ultima giving him the peace of mind of his own critical thinking is a recurring theme. As Antonio’s mother and father were simultaneously attempting to pull him to completely opposite shores of happiness, they created a chasm of uncertainty that Antonio had become very susceptible to crashing through.

Temple’s mother was not her only champion. While at the Mountain Country School, a teacher, Mr. Carlock emerged as an influential mentor for Temple. Like Temple’s mother, Mr. Carlock “didn’t see any labels, just the underlying talents” (p.90). “He didn’t try to draw [Temple] into his world but came instead into [her] world” (p. 90). Through Mr. Carlock, Temple learnt many social skills. “He didn’t preach but showed by his own conduct a social perception that I envied and tried to emulate. From him I was learning humanistic values that I lacked because of my autism” (p.91).

Refrigerator Mother Theory. Initially, Leo Kanner (1943), a child psychiatrist at the Johns Hopkins University, introduced the term “early infantile autism” in 1943. He considered that the refrigerator mother triggered early infantile autism. In other words, he believed that the autism was developed after the birth, and lack of parental warmth triggered children to become isolated from the society. Consequently, those children who did not receive enough care exhibited autistic like feature, meaning “alone or self” in Greek. Furthermore, this idea was strongly supported by Bruno Bettelheim, Austrian-born American child psychiatrist, for two decades. He similarly claims that the autism was caused from mother withheld appropriate affection toward their children and failed to make a good connection with them during infancy (Bettelheim, 2010). Moreover, he states that weak or absent father would likely cause autism, since children would not receive enough paternal love. In both cases, psychiatrists in mid-twentieth century believed that the autism was developed from children not receiving enough love, warmth and care from their parents. Moreover, they believed that good parenting could alleviate children from becoming ASD.

Years on, many researches and observations have been undertaken and new psychoanalytical theories started to reject Freud's and Erikson's staged view on child development and replaced it by introducing child emotional development in the context of development of self and attachment with significant others.

Kanner observed that the parent-child relationships in cases of children with autism appeared to be somewhat unusual. This suggestion fit with the tenor of the times, in which psychology and psychiatry were dominated by Freudian theories. They suggested that children developed the syndrome as a result of cold, abusive, or confusing home environments (references were made to “refrigerator mothers”), and early

While a mother was escaping an abusive relationship in search of welfare assistance, she took her thirteen-year-old daughter along with her. “Genie,” as she was called, intrigued the social worker in the welfare office. She was mesmerized by Genie’s posture, size, and stance. Curiously enough, the worker thought Genie might have been a case of unreported autism in a possible six- to seven-year-old (Rymer 1993). As a result, the worker notified her supervisor, who contacted the police.