Autistic children present important deficiencies in the emergence of reflective self-consciousness. The present paper analyzes processes involved in these deficiencies through both naturalistic and constructivist approaches in areas such as Philosophy, Neuroscience, Child Development and Autistic Disorder. It concludes that the constructivist approach allows a better understanding of these deficiencies for it considers that they result from an innate inability of affective engagement which hinders social interaction and language development and, therefore, self-reflective competence.
autistic disorder; child development; self-consciousness