Dibs in Search of Self: Book Review

The novel “Dibs In Search Of Self” is written by Virginia M. Axline, and is about a five year old boy named Dibs who is misunderstood by many people, especially his own family, who believe he is mentally retarded. Dibs has been attending a very exclusive private school for the past two years which he was only admitted to because of his great-aunts contributions to the school and his mother’s influence through the board of trustees. Everyday Dibs attends school regularly. He always relies on his teachers to help him take off his hat and coat for him in the mornings and then goes off in his own corner and either crawls under a table or looks at a book. Dibs does not talk and prefers to be alone and he attacks the other children if they approach him. His New York background is upper class and wealthy, but at home he is often locked in his room as he is mute, unmanageable, and an embarrassment.

The teachers are very concerned about Dibs and no one is able to figure out what is wrong with him. The school psychiatrist has tested and observed him and they are unable to conclude what is wrong with him and diagnose him. The teachers at the school do not believe he is mentally retarded, because his behavior was so uneven. One day Dibs would act mentally retarded and another day he would act in a way that would make the teachers believe he had superior intelligence. At the end of every day, Dibs would throw a tantrum when it was time to leave school and go home. Often times the teachers thought there would be no hope for Dibs in their private school, and wondered if he should go to a school for the mentally retarded. The teachers were divided on this, and the assessment of the professionals was that they cannot fathom Dibs’ problems.

They decided to bring in the therapist Dr. Axline to examine Dibs and hopefully help him. After watching Dibs’ behavior in the classroom she spoke with Dib’ mother who believed there was no hope for her son. Her and her husband...