[Transformation, deformation and dysfunctioning in early interactions]

This article develops new perspectives that result from the early identification of dysfunctions in an infant's interaction with its environment. The authors develop research currently in progress concerning ways of screening interactive precursors possibly informative of the later emergence of autistic behavioral symptoms. After a review of articles concerning the screening of early signs of autism and of recent investigations regarding parent-infant interactions, they highlight their own therapeutic orientations. The methodology involves a "blind" sequential analysis of the interactions in home movies covering the period from birth to 2 years of age of 30 children divided into three groups: healthy, later autistic and those developing another pathology. This leads to theoretical hypothesis regarding the contingency and the creative inscription of chance events in the transformation of early interactions; the intersubjectivity and its deformations are considered, the observation of dysfunctions confronts the researcher with a freeze of empathy; what does this emotional lock-out mean? Appreciating the nature, the uniqueness, and the evolution of interactive dysfunctions can influence preventive strategies and lead to conceptualizing new theoretical and therapeutic models.