[Motivational conflict, attachment "amae" and emotional communication between infants with autistic spectrum disorders and their caregivers].

: To date, many researchers in Japan have been working on the assumption that the cause of autistic spectrum disorders is attributable to some disorder in the ability of the child. We have been working on the premise that the autistic spectrum disorders are brought about by some form of relationship disturbances in early infancy, and have been attempting to validate this hypothesis through early intervention. We have been examining the developmental process of affective communication in infants with autistic spectrum disorders. We postulated approach-avoidance motivational conflict (Richer, 1993) as the primary factor impeding development of affective communication, focusing therapeutic intervention on this perspective. As a result, attachment behavior was remarkably improved in the children. Through a clinical course of an example, the problem pertaining to the process of acquiring the function of language cognition is discussed. Starting with the concept that the meaning of any given object is not stipulated as a unique existence, but by context, it is pointed out that in order to relate the meaning of some object to a child, sharing with the child "which" attributes of the object the child should focus upon and "how" it should be dealt with are indispensable. This is then followed by discussion of how this cannot be accomplished without deepening of affective communication upon the basis of attachment formation.