The Cut and Misunderstanding

Abstract

This article attempts to approach the question of the cut in analytic practice and in directing interviews with parents of autistic children admitted to the institution. The clinic of autism can be envisaged in its relations with language to develop a crucial aspect of the symbolic register: the notion of misunderstanding. This notion was introduced by Jacques Lacan early in his teaching and can be traced to his initial work on structural linguistics till his final pronouncements in the 70’s on topology and the nodal clinic. In his very last seminar of 1980, entitled Dissolution!, Lacan associates the notion of misunderstanding with that of trauma that leads on to this idea that one is already traumatized by misunderstanding that exists between parents. We hope that these formulations will provide us with elements to better conceptualize direction and organization of interviews with parents of autistic subjects admitted to Institutions.