Journal 20/26

1. Between self-sacrifice and the sacrifice of others: Walking the tightrope of family balance
2. From an autism diagnosis to self-understanding: How spoon theory and sensory processing differences can transform daily life
3. Hylomorphism and Neuronism: The conception of intellectual disability and autism, from Plato and Aristotle to artificial intelligence
4. Shame
5. Focusing, but toward what? Psychostimulants and anxiety in the face of a lack of future perspectives in a young adult with level 1 autism spectrum disorder and suspected ADHD
6. Making space without acting in the other person’s place
7. From fantasy through delusion to the quest for mental health

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2. From an autism diagnosis to self-understanding: How spoon theory and sensory processing differences can transform daily life

In « From an autism diagnosis to self-understanding: How spoon theory and sensory processing differences can transform everyday life », Carmen Zecca-Tagan argues that an autism diagnosis should not be viewed as an endpoint, but rather as the beginning of a journey toward greater self-understanding. Through psychoeducation, autistic individuals learn to understand their neurodivergent way of functioning, identify their specific needs, and develop strategies that help them preserve their well-being instead of exhausting themselves by trying to conform to neurotypical expectations.

The author draws on spoon theory, a metaphor for energy management, to explain that every daily activity carries a different energetic cost depending on the individual. This approach helps autistic people anticipate their energy expenditure, plan recovery periods, and reduce the risk of meltdowns, shutdowns, and autistic burnout.

The article then explores the sensory processing differences associated with autism. Hyper- and hyposensitivities may affect hearing, vision, taste, smell, touch, interoception, and the vestibular system. A wide range of practical environmental adaptations  —  including noise reduction, adjusted lighting, appropriate clothing, structured routines, and sensory tools  —  can significantly reduce sensory overload and improve daily well-being.

In conclusion, Carmen Zecca-Tagan encourages a shift in perspective on autism. Rather than attempting to change autistic individuals, the goal should be to adapt their environment so they can invest their energy in their strengths instead of constantly compensating for their difficulties. Understanding one's own neurodivergent functioning promotes autonomy, self-esteem, and a better quality of life while recognizing and valuing the unique abilities of each autistic person.
 

4. Shame

The article “Shame”, offers a multidisciplinary reflection on a universal yet often unspoken emotion: shame. Drawing on the author’s therapeutic experience with people with disabilities and their families, the article demonstrates that shame, although rarely expressed, represents a major source of psychological and social suffering. Through an exploration of philosophy, literature, sociology, psychology, and disability studies, the author examines the mechanisms underlying this complex emotion and its impact on individuals and their relationships with others.

The article begins with a quotation from Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, suggesting that one can never completely escape a history that causes shame. This idea is extended through the reflections of Edgar Morin, who spoke of feeling “ashamed of his own species” when confronted with human violence and atrocities. However, this shame does not prevent commitment or hope; on the contrary, it reflects a lucid awareness of human complexity, in which individuals are capable of both the best and the worst. Shame is defined as an emotion connected to self-image and the perception of oneself through the eyes of others. Although it was long neglected by the human sciences, shame has gradually become a significant field of study, particularly through trauma studies, which have highlighted the close relationship between trauma and emotions such as fear, sadness, anger, and shame. The author distinguishes between different forms of shame — individual, familial, social, and cultural — which frequently overlap and influence one another.

Literature provides an essential perspective for understanding shame. Jean Genet transformed shame into an instrument of rebellion against bourgeois norms. In his works, what society considers shameful becomes a source of pride, provocation, and identity. Albert Camus explored shame from different perspectives: his own experience of social inequality, the absence of shame in the character of Meursault in The Stranger, and the overwhelming guilt and shame experienced by the protagonist of The Fall. Jean-Paul Sartre offered one of the most influential philosophical analyses of shame, arguing that shame always emerges in relation to another person. It appears when individuals become aware of themselves through another’s gaze and suddenly perceive an image of themselves that they cannot control. Shame is therefore fundamentally a relational experience.

Contemporary writers such as Édouard Louis, Annie Ernaux, and Sorj Chalandon further illustrate the social dimension of shame. Their works describe experiences of social mobility and the painful distance between their origins and the worlds they later entered. They experience a double form of shame: shame about their social background and shame about feeling ashamed of their own families. Writing becomes a way of transforming suffering into meaning and sometimes into symbolic repair. For Annie Ernaux, shame becomes a central element of her autobiographical work after a traumatic childhood experience. For Édouard Louis, it becomes a tool for analysing social domination and inequality. For Sorj Chalandon, shame is connected to family violence, childhood wounds, and the hidden truth about his father’s past. These examples demonstrate that shame is deeply linked to identity, belonging, and social position.

The sociological perspective further develops this analysis. Erving Goffman showed that shame emerges when an individual’s identity is discredited by a stigma — an attribute that prevents full social acceptance. People experience shame when they feel they no longer correspond to the expectations of society. Vincent de Gaulejac considers shame a “total social fact” resulting from the interaction between personal suffering, family history, and cultural context. He highlights humiliation, contempt, and social judgment as powerful sources of shame. Pierre Bourdieu describes shame as a deeply embodied emotion, expressed through blushing, hesitation, anxiety, or physical discomfort. For him, shame reveals how individuals internalize social inequalities and dominant forms of judgment.

Psychology and psychoanalysis approach shame from different perspectives. Freud considered shame mainly as a psychological barrier protecting against certain impulses, while Lacan viewed it as a sign that the subject still preserves dignity and a relationship with reality. Jung associated shame with the concept of the “shadow,” the hidden and rejected parts of personality that individuals attempt to conceal. In clinical practice, shame is rarely presented as the explicit reason for seeking therapy. Patients more often describe feelings of discomfort, humiliation, rejection, or inadequacy. The therapist must therefore identify the hidden presence of shame behind these expressions. The article also emphasizes that shame is frequently connected to family secrets and can be transmitted across generations, with descendants sometimes carrying emotional burdens whose origins remain unknown.

A central aspect of shame is its connection with the gaze of others. Individuals experiencing shame often feel exposed, judged, or “unmasked,” leading to withdrawal and a desire to hide. This judgment is not always real; it may be an internalized perception shaped by social, cultural, or family expectations. According to Serge Tisseron, shame has a paradoxical nature: it can destroy individuals, but it can also preserve social bonds because it implies the continued existence of others and the desire for recognition. Shame is also strongly associated with loneliness, as people often believe they are the only ones experiencing it, which increases their sense of isolation.

The article then focuses on disability, which represents a major clinical context for understanding shame. People with disabilities, as well as their families, may experience profound shame due to social judgment, unconscious guilt, and the loss of the idealized child they imagined before disability was identified. Unlike temporary forms of shame, shame related to disability may persist because the situation itself is often permanent. It requires a long psychological process of acceptance and reconstruction. The author also highlights the existence of an implicit hierarchy in social perceptions of disability: acquired physical disabilities are often more socially accepted than congenital disabilities, and intellectual disability remains particularly stigmatized.

Finally, the author examines society’s response to disability. Feelings of discomfort, avoidance, or rejection often reveal a deeper fear of human vulnerability. The article concludes that shame remains difficult to express because it is frequently unconscious, inherited, or hidden behind other psychological difficulties. Nevertheless, sharing experiences through support groups, therapy, and personal narratives can help break isolation by showing individuals that they are not alone in their suffering. The article opens further perspectives for research, particularly regarding the links between shame and ethnicity, gender inequalities, cultural norms, and social exclusion.

6. Making space without acting in the other person’s place

This article offers a clinical and institutional exploration of the conditions of hospitality that enable a person with a disability to appropriate a place without professionals defining or shaping that place on their behalf. Drawing on the experience of Antonio, who attends a day service and presents, among other characteristics, features associated with autism spectrum disorder, the author examines the tensions between the containing function of the institution, the need for predictability, educational support, and respect for the subject’s singularity.

The care setting is conceptualized as a living environment, continually shaped by the bodies, voices, movements, interactions, and investments of those who inhabit it. From this perspective, the appropriation of a place forms part of a process of subjectivation. The issue is not simply for the individual to adapt to a pre-existing environment, but to be able to establish their own mode of presence within it and, in doing so, contribute to its ongoing transformation.

Two clinical vignettes illuminate this question. The first demonstrates how a tool initially designed to enhance predictability may become increasingly rigid and ultimately function as a constraint, both for the individual and for the group. The second describes the contingent emergence of a ball as a bodily resource during a moment of heightened tension. Unlike a prescribed intervention, the object emerges spontaneously, is temporarily invested and then disappears, without being transformed into an imposed therapeutic or educational technique.

These situations invite a distinction between supportive scaffolding and educational over-intervention. “Knowing how to let things unfold” entails maintaining a presence that is sufficiently close and containing, while remaining sufficiently unobtrusive not to override the subject’s own initiatives and movements. In this respect, the institution’s mediating or third-party function helps preserve a space for play, transformation, and appropriation.

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