This text discusses theoretical dilemmas posed by the treatment of pre-verbal patients who present themselves as ‘out of reach’, like autistic and mentally delayed children. The questioning goes through concepts such as unconscious communication, countertransference, communication as a survival tool for the human species and Lacan's and Winnicott's ‘Mirror Stage’. In this way, the clinic of such patients contributes to the thinking about the very nature of the communication between analyst and patient.