Behaviour
Behaviour is a form of non-verbal Communication
disturbing - disturbing/ disturbed inner state of mind
challenging - feeling challenged/ can’t cope
aggressive - feeling attacked/ got at
frantic - fear of falling apart/ of ‘losing it’
frightening - feeling frightened/ terrified
hitting/ lashing out - feeling overwhelmed/ uncontained
contained - feeling safe and contained
Early pre-mental states of mind
e.g. babies, young children, children with developmental delay/ autism
* do not conform to the logic of common sense
* are sensory-dominated
* driven by confusions, panic and fears, which require containment, not extinction which
will fill child (and the adult too) with terror, panic and a sense of persecution
Disturbing Behaviour is a behavioural communication
such as mindless and seemingly meaningless aggression and destructiveness, because child/ person is
* non-verbal or pre-verbal, i.e. in primitive pre-mental state
* affected by inner fears/ anxieties, - not just external factors
* overwhelmed by a sense of ‘too-much-ness’: PANIC!
i.e. child can’t manage their mind/ feelings, especially their anxieties.
Everyday methods of discipline assume that the child has some degree of self-control. But a child who is just about managing to hold themselves together, may disintegrate under the additional strain.
The Autistic Child
* is immersed in a sensory, not a psychic world
* has attached himself desperately to skin/ body sensations
* all biologically given means of communication are turned to self-stimulation
* the extent of dread and terror is literally unimaginable vicious circle when panic and
terror threaten to overwhelm and cannot be contained if trying to control this by
demanding self-control - leads to frustration and failure
* daraus folgt (from this it follows): explosive rage as a final defence
* where development has been compromised before the achievement of language with
its emotionally containing function
- failure to achieve narrative, not being able to learn from experience how to
encourage child to learn from experience
(e.g. T. Grandin, D. Williams)
References: Spensley 1995
Email: info@reachingautism.org
Behaviour is a form of non-verbal Communication
disturbing - disturbing/ disturbed inner state of mind
challenging - feeling challenged/ can’t cope
aggressive - feeling attacked/ got at
frantic - fear of falling apart/ of ‘losing it’
frightening - feeling frightened/ terrified
hitting/ lashing out - feeling overwhelmed/ uncontained
contained - feeling safe and contained
Early pre-mental states of mind
e.g. babies, young children, children with developmental delay/ autism
* do not conform to the logic of common sense
* are sensory-dominated
* driven by confusions, panic and fears, which require containment, not extinction which
will fill child (and the adult too) with terror, panic and a sense of persecution
Disturbing Behaviour is a behavioural communication
such as mindless and seemingly meaningless aggression and destructiveness, because child/ person is
* non-verbal or pre-verbal, i.e. in primitive pre-mental state
* affected by inner fears/ anxieties, - not just external factors
* overwhelmed by a sense of ‘too-much-ness’: PANIC!
i.e. child can’t manage their mind/ feelings, especially their anxieties.
Everyday methods of discipline assume that the child has some degree of self-control. But a child who is just about managing to hold themselves together, may disintegrate under the additional strain.
The Autistic Child
* is immersed in a sensory, not a psychic world
* has attached himself desperately to skin/ body sensations
* all biologically given means of communication are turned to self-stimulation
* the extent of dread and terror is literally unimaginable vicious circle when panic and
terror threaten to overwhelm and cannot be contained if trying to control this by
demanding self-control - leads to frustration and failure
* daraus folgt (from this it follows): explosive rage as a final defence
* where development has been compromised before the achievement of language with
its emotionally containing function
- failure to achieve narrative, not being able to learn from experience how to
encourage child to learn from experience
(e.g. T. Grandin, D. Williams)
References: Spensley 1995
Email: info@reachingautism.org
The most disruptive behaviours come from
those who cannot control themselves,
are controlled by their own unconscious impulses and
are themselves terrified of an (inner sense of) explosion -
and this is what creates fear in others/ adults too.
those who cannot control themselves,
are controlled by their own unconscious impulses and
are themselves terrified of an (inner sense of) explosion -
and this is what creates fear in others/ adults too.
As fundamental to their mental growth
every child needs a parent’s/ adult’s
‘containing mind’ to be receptive to the
child’s unbearable feelings/ state of mind.
every child needs a parent’s/ adult’s
‘containing mind’ to be receptive to the
child’s unbearable feelings/ state of mind.
The child’s behaviour shows us
what is going on inside their mind
and what the child feels like inside.
what is going on inside their mind
and what the child feels like inside.