Leon Brenner - The Autistic Subject: On the Threshold of Language
Oct 11, 2021
auto_awesome
Leon Brenner, author of The Autistic Subject: On the Threshold of Language, discusses the discourses around autism and the importance of an affirmative understanding. The podcast also explores language acquisition in autistic individuals, the case of Joey who uses objects as machines, and the analysis of psychosis through Schreber. They also challenge maternal responsibility in a child's development.
Understanding the structural differences between autism and psychosis helps avoid misdiagnosis and guides appropriate treatment approaches.
Autistic individuals rely on synthetic others, matrices of signs, to compensate for the lack of a place in language, allowing them to navigate the world and create meanings.
Individualized treatment for autism requires flexibility and adaptability, encouraging the development of unique linguistic and behavioral strategies based on an individual's inventiveness and needs.
Deep dives
Differentiating between Autism and Psychosis
The first main idea is the distinction between autism and psychosis based on their structuring mechanisms. Freud and Lacan both emphasize the importance of looking at the structural causality rather than symptomatic manifestations. Autism is characterized by a disturbance in drive functioning, which occurs earlier than in psychosis. Autistic language is based on signs rather than signifiers, leading to a different mode of access to language and linguistic objects. On the other hand, psychosis involves delusional formations as an attempt at stabilization. Understanding this structural distinction helps avoid misdiagnosis and guides appropriate treatment approaches.
The Role of Synthetic Others in Autism
The second main idea focuses on the role of synthetic others in autism. Synthetic others are matrices of signs that autistic individuals use to compensate for the lack of a place of inscription in language. Through the acquisition of signs and conscious association between signs and their effects on the body, autistic individuals are able to stabilize their experience and gain a body image. This reliance on signs allows them to navigate the world and create meanings. However, these meanings may differ from those of neurotypical individuals, making abstract concepts more challenging to grasp.
The Importance of Individualized Treatment
The third main idea highlights the need for individualized treatment for autistic individuals. Unlike traditional analysis, the treatment of autism requires flexibility and adaptability. Rather than imposing predefined treatment plans or expecting specific outcomes, therapists must be attentively responsive to each individual's unique inventiveness and needs. This approach encourages the autistic individual to explore and develop their own linguistic and behavioral strategies, harnessing their interests and social skills to enhance their well-being and engagement with the world.
Understanding the Structural and Symptomatic Differences in Autism
The fourth main idea revolves around understanding the structural and symptomatic differences in autism. Autism is marked by a disturbance in the ego construction and drive functioning, leading to a unique mode of language acquisition and bodily experience. While both psychosis and autism display similarities in symptomatic manifestations, such as alterations in language use and bodily experiences, it is essential to differentiate between the two based on their underlying structural mechanisms. By comprehending these distinctions, misdiagnosis can be avoided, and appropriate therapeutic interventions can be implemented.
Autism and Foreclosure
In this podcast episode, the concept of foreclosure is explored and its relation to autism is discussed. Foreclosure, as Freud described it, is the rejection or eradication of a piece of reality. In autism, foreclosure occurs at a different level and with different effects. This foreclosure in autism is not a repression but rather a foreclosure of something else. The choice to use the term foreclosure in relation to autism is both practical and ethical, as it helps to understand the mechanism of autism in comparison to psychosis. The podcast also touches on the importance of engaging with existing literature and concepts before creating new ones.
The Name of the Father and Symbolic Authority
The podcast delves into the concept of the name of the father in Lacanian psychoanalysis and its significance in the structuration of the psyche. The name of the father is not about the actual father figure, but rather the symbolic authority and the function it represents. It is through the name of the father that the subject gains access to the symbolic order and social bonds. The podcast emphasizes that the name of the father preserves the consistency and transmissibility of the symbolic. The discussion also touches on the distinction between actual fatherhood and symbolic fatherhood, as well as the symbolic compensation and becoming woman in psychosis and Schreber's case.
Leon Brenner joined us for the first of two discussions on his book, The Autistic Subject: On the Threshold of Language. It's also part of the Palgrave Lacan Series. https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030507145
https://leonbrenner.com/
https://twitter.com/leonbrennercom?lang=en
Support us on Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/muhh
Twitter: @unconscioushh
Instagram: @unconscioushh
Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts
Save insights instantly, chat with episodes, and build lasting knowledge - all powered by AI.
