Analysis of a little girl with an autistic syndrome

This paper is a clinical one, relating to a four-year analysis of a 28-month-old girl who developed an autistic syndrome as a reaction to the violent abduction of her parents which she had seen. The reality of the violence of the political situation in the country helped blur the distinction between fantasy and reality for both analyst and patient. The author introduced melodic singing (after the failure of singing with lyrics) as a means of communication with the little girl. Her eventual recovery seems to have been possible because of the soundness of her upbringing during the first two years of her life.