ARW – Project France

Yvonne Jessey, North Philadelphia Autism & Parenting Examiner for Examiner.com, published on Feb. 1st 2012 an article which analyzes the role of mothers from a religious and genetic perspective. This article follows the presentation of “The Wall” at the ABAI conference on Jan 27th. Excerpt: “The film, Le Mur (The Wall), brought to light that, although this theory was proven to be nonsense, many people in France, particularly psychiatrists, still believe it to be true. Ms. Robert wanted to bring [...]

Michael Yudell, associate professor in Public Health at Drexel University and an autism specialist, published a thorough article on the Public Health blog of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The article explains puts the story of “The Wall” in an historical perspective. Michael Yudell also interviews Evelyne Friedel, vice-president of Autism-Europe. The Philadelphia Inquirer is a leading newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 330,000. The website Philly.com itself is ranked 594 in the United States by Alexa. Excerpt: [...]

Because of psychoanalysis, many children and adults with autism in France are denied the support they really need. And what they need is education based on scientific knowledge about autism, not an approach that is based on a pseudoscientific approach like psychoanalysis. I fully support ” The Wall”. Dr. Peter Vermeulen, PhD Belgium Author of : Comment pense une personne autiste ? (Dunod, 2005) Comprendre les personnes autistes de haut niveau. De l’épreuve á la clinique. (Dunod, 2009) Autisme et [...]

The first effects of censorship are being felt. The DVD of the film is no longer sold by Autisme France Diffusion (AFD) on their website following the court decision of Jan. 26, 2012. It is no longer possible to buy the DVD at the moment. A bailiff notified Sophie Robert on Monday Jan. 31st 2012 morning. She is currently studying with new lawyers how to handle the current situation.

The International Center for Autism Research and Education (ICare4Autism), based in New York City, published on Jan. 30th 2012 an article about the court decision in “The Wall” scandal. The short blog entry, titled “France Still in the Dark Ages of Autism Treatment”, summarizes well the questions of the film and the larger questions about Autism in France. “A court case against a French filmmaker has brought attention to the questionable treatment of people affected by autism in France”. Read [...]

The week of January 23rd to January 29th 2012 can be regarded as a landmark week for “Support the Wall – Autism”. Following the articles published in the New York Times and in the International Herald Tribune, this week confirmed the interest of the global autism community for the story of the film “The Wall” and more largely the issues faced by autism in France. Jan. 24, 2012 “Support The Wall – Autism” and “Collectif Soutenons Le Mur” release funny [...]

Adynaton, a blogger from Finland, shared his feelings after viewing the film “The Wall” of Sophie Robert. “This particular documentary called Le Mur: La psychanalyse à l’épreuve de l’autisme really got my goat. [...] Awful people. Anyway, the second disturbing thing about the film is that my sources tell me that the film has been banned in France because the psychoanalysts’ feelings were hurt. The filmmaker, Sophie Robert, is now in a bit of trouble, although the ban should bring [...]

As a scientist with some expertise in autism, I was shocked at recent reports (depicted in “The Wall”) that psychoanalytic approaches to autism still dominate in France. It is well established that autism is a neurodevelopmental disorders that has its origin in atypical brain development, with genetics making an important although heretofore not fully understood contribution. To treat such a disorder using psychoanalytic methods is a departure from standard of care in most Western countries. I sincerely hope the medical [...]

From as long ago as the 1980s I have tried to show that psychoanalytic approaches do not have a positive contribution to make to autism and can even be harmful. I am amazed that psychoanalysts are still trying to claim that they can help – ignoring the insights on autism that science has achieved over the last three decades. But this looks like a last desperate bid, which to me is totally against the spirit of Enlightenment. I support ‘The [...]

It is amazing to us that psychoanalysis for autism survives in France, despite the evidence for its total failure to help. Just as bad is the continuing blame of parents, especially mothers, which is central to this practice. I send my support for ‘The Wall’ and hope it may have an effect on reducing this archaic and pernicious approach to a very unfortunate and serious neurodevelopmental disorder which very much needs evidence based treatment. Margot Prior Professor Margot Prior PhD [...]