The Rachel Affair is a judicial case concerning autism in France. It began in 2015 when a divorced mother was publically condemned by Isère's Child Welfare, followed by the decision of a Grenoble court to place this woman's three children into foster care. Rachel was accused by Child Protection of having fabricating developmental problems for her children because of Munchhaüsen syndrome by proxy. Rachel and two of her children were diagnosed with autism by the Centre of Autism Resources of their region, but the decision of foster placement was upheld in the Grenoble Court of Appeal.
This case was heavily publicised by French autism associations from summer 2015 onwards, on social media and then the press, mobilising public opinion against the pressure asserted on mothers of autistic children. The Rachel Affair falls within the context ofcontroversies around autism. Associations of parents with autistic children, and the lawyer who represented Rachel, see this as an emblematic case demonstrating the lack of knowledge in France regarding autism, and the influence of psychoanalytic theories which have been abandoned by other western countires. The Secretary of State Ségolène Neuville publically declared his support for Rachel; Sophie Cluzel, also Secretary of State, referenced Rachel on the 6th July 2017 at the Élysée Palace.
Context
editThe Rachel Affair falls within the context of the controversies around autism in France. A long-term opposition has existed between people who support the psychoanalytic interpretation of autism, and the people who favor an approach rooted in neuroscience, excluding psychoanalysis. Christine Philip, French sociologist, highlights that "professionals who hold key positions [...] are in the majority still trained in the psychoanalytic approach. This causes, in such cases as Rachel's and in many others, many difficulties, which the families deplore." This division is accentuated further by the recommendations published in 2012 by the High Authority of Health, condeming the use of psychoanalytic theories as non-consensual in the field of autism.