| Abstract: | Next to nutritive and hygienic needs, emotional needs have been most commonly considered in theories on early human development and in therapy of early disorders in social interactions. Needs concerning cognitive and communicative development have gained far less attention although they belong to species-specific means of human adaptation, depend on intrinsic motivators, and are very often involved in the symptomatology of disorders in social behavior. Most mechanisms of dialogic interchanges are based on nonconscious processes and escape parents' rational control. They may be disturbed or inhibited due to pathological deviations and/or unfavorable sociocultural circumstances, both on the parental and infant sides. Preverbal communication plays a key role in the environmental support to infant cognition, communication, and social integration. The elucidation of its forms and therapeutic application has proved helpful not only for infants but also for children whose communicative age is lower than their chronological age. |
