Narrative Means, Enaction and Autism: Alternative Ways of Being

Leurs Massart Alexandre [UCL] De Mol, Jan [UCL]

Contemporary approaches in psychology focus on agency and meaningful action. Narrative therapy promotes dialogical practices while embodiment supports the body as an alternative means of meaning. When revisiting autism through these contemporary lenses, practices of power are exposed. These practices of power invite us to revisit autism from a phenomenological perspective to uncover interpersonal stakes. As interventions in autism remain essentially corrective and overlook such practices of power, alternative realms for alternative interventions are explored using both Social Relational Theory and Child Family Narrative Therapy. By recognizing an autistic embodiment, autism becomes an alternative way of being in the world instead of an inherent inability.