Dibs: In Search of Self

A child therapy classic. Dibs will not talk. He will not play. He has locked himself in a very special prison–and he is alone. This is the true story of how he learned to reach out for the sunshine, for life–how he came to the breathless discovery of himself that brought him back to the world of other children.

Dibs in Search of Self is a true story by psychologist & author Virginia Mae Axline. It chronicles a year of play therapy sessions with an emotionally crippled boy from a wealthy, highly educated family. In spite of obvious signs he’s gifted, his parents perceive him as mentally defective because he presents abnormal social behavior. He continuously isolates himself, shuns social contact, rarely speaks, physically lashes out at his sister & classmates, has homicidal ideation & displays anti-social behavior. He’s misdiagnosed as autistic.

To maintain anonymity, Axline gave him the Dibs pseudonym. She uses play therapy in order to communicate with him. Gradually, he’s rehabilitated & brought back to normal social behaviors. Tested, he was a gifted child with a 168 IQ.