Anni Bergman, an Austrian-born psychoanalyst, who worked with autistic children and contributed to a landmark study of early childhood development, died on Oct. 2 at home in Manhattan. She was 102.

One of Dr. Bergman’s innovations in the treatment of autistic children was to add a helper to the mix: a therapeutic companion, who could help the child navigate his or her world. One example involved a child who wanted to take down all the items from the shelves of a grocery store. She knew that behind the child’s impulse was a need to establish her own sort of order on the world.