Stella Acquarone – författare

The term 'pre-autism' is becoming more widespread as a result of growing awareness of the importance of a child's first three years of life in diagnosing behaviours which, if untreated, can develop into autism. In this book we are shown the problems parents can experience when their young child does not respond to them in a 'typical' way, how they often voice concerns that something is 'not quite right' with their child, and how it is important to address these concerns, which may be signs of pre-autism. This book is about a new approach called 'Re:Start', developed by Stella Acquarone, to diagnose and treat early autism. In the Re:Start infant/family programme, a multidisciplinary team works with the parents and through the family relationships to reconfigure dysfunctional dynamics with the aim to "change destinies".

This is a comprehensive handbook, full of vital information on the theory and practice of infant-parent psychotherapy, that will revolutionise the treatment of babies. It is essential reading for all professionals working with children. This volume is based upon the author's observations and treatment of over 3,500 parents and their infants throughout several decades. With its roots in the major fields of psychology, such as developmental psychology and psychoanalysis of early life, she has created an exciting and ground-breaking new field of psychoanalytic psychotherapy - infant-parent psychotherapy. It focuses on pre-verbal communication with babies, using the simple tools of experience and observation. In the first chapters, the history and background of infant-parent psychotherapy are laid out. Then, its application to understanding babies is detailed, demonstrating the psychodynamic approach in theory and in practice. Once the basics are explained, the author presents a step-by-step guide on how to assess, diagnose and treat babies, including case studies for practical illustration.

As a group, babies later diagnosed as autistic are found to have more complications during gestation and delivery than their normal siblings and others. In addition to all these complications, infants later diagnosed on the autistic spectrum have a two-fold rate of residence in neonatal intensive care units. Over the past 50 years, ever younger previously non-viable very low weight babies are being kept alive, some born as much as four months before term. However, it is becoming apparent that miraculous procedures to counteract organ immaturity and prolonged incubation contribute to a new gamut of hitherto unknown forms of neurological damage. With pregnancy curtailed, prematurely separated mothers and their babies both experience a prolonged state of limbo, with the fragile infant being exposed to excruciating medical interventions and overwhelming stimulation. International researchers and clinicians renowned for their work in the field of early autism come together to resolve queries around the long debate on the development and resolution of autism.

This book considers the principal physical and psychological ideas and thoughts of what happens to parents from the moment they conceive. The discussion covers mothers who have become vulnerable due to "external" circumstances and provides different models to help overcome this process.

The term 'pre-autism' is becoming more widespread as a result of growing awareness of the importance of a child's first three years of life in diagnosing behaviours which, if untreated, can develop into autism. In this book we are shown the problems parents can experience when their young child does not respond to them in a 'typical' way, how they often voice concerns that something is 'not quite right' with their child, and how it is important to address these concerns, which may be signs of pre-autism.This book is about a new approach called 'Re:Start', developed by Stella Acquarone, to diagnose and treat early autism. In the Re:Start infant/family programme, a multidisciplinary team works with the parents and through the family relationships to reconfigure dysfunctional dynamics with the aim to "change destinies".In the first section of the book we learn about the up-to-date research in psychoanalysis, neurobiology, and paediatrics which underpin the Re:Start intensive programme. In the second section, the programme itself is described in three parts: assessment, therapy, and follow-on care continuing the progress made during treatment in the child's home environment. With this three-pronged approach a child's early behaviours can be monitored and changed, giving a baby the best chance to develop into a healthy child, and even enter mainstream education. A sample timetable of the three-week intensive intervention is included as well as the scales and graphs used to assess the relationship and monitor progress in four areas: interpersonal, sensorial, motor and affect.In the third section we are presented with the testimonies of parents who have taken part in the programme.This book is equally important both as a documentation of a successful treatment model for researchers and clinicians, and as an aid for concerned parents to understanding pre-autistic behaviours and taking the necessary steps to help themselves and their children.

This book is about the hope underlying the ability to survive the early years. Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is both metaphor and framework of the despair and hopelessness that some babies and parents experience in their efforts to hold on and go through difficult circumstances. Their early experiences are not voyages "into a sunny and cheerful sea": some are years-long voyages into horror and weariness - babies born into difficult families, into countries in difficulties or into difficult circumstances.Some babies born into difficulties are pretty much alone because their mothers might be too ill to look after them, and nurses are too busy to fulfil the maternal function other than changing and feeding them. They may have been born in war zones, or in prisons, or have been in intensive neonatal premature units. Unlike mothers who recall the early years with their babies as a dance of understanding and development, other carers don't recall hearing the music at all. They slog through the early years with only hope as a compass. Like the Ancient Mariner looking for a sail on the horizon, theirs is a poignant search of the horizons for hope in any form.Different professionals, each expert in their field, address the different difficulties. They show us the connections between traumatic experiences and traumatic consequences of survival, the implications in both the families and in the professionals who, in constant contact and working together, deal with the containment and transformations of those events. This book brings us face-to-face with the wonderful capacities of the newborn and the great potential for parents (both mother and father) and child to continue growing together in a society that cares for them.

This is a comprehensive handbook, full of vital information on the theory and practice of infant-parent psychotherapy, that will revolutionise the treatment of babies. It is essential reading for all professionals working with children.This volume is based upon the author's observations and treatment of over 3,500 parents and their infants throughout several decades. With its roots in the major fields of psychology, such as developmental psychology and psychoanalysis of early life, she has created an exciting and ground-breaking new field of psychoanalytic psychotherapy - infant-parent psychotherapy. It focuses on pre-verbal communication with babies, using the simple tools of experience and observation.In the first chapters, the history and background of infant-parent psychotherapy are laid out. Then, its application to understanding babies is detailed, demonstrating the psychodynamic approach in theory and in practice. Once the basics are explained, the author presents a step-by-step guide on how to assess, diagnose and treat babies, including case studies for practical illustration. She also provides separate chapters on special needs babies and troubled mothers, again using case studies for examples. Quick reference tables, maps, matrices and indexes are all provided.