Dibs: In Search of Self

by Virginia M. Axline

He twisted his hands together and turned around toward me, looking very miserable and unhappy. “Miss A say it paint one picture of a house and then it leave you,” he said, huskily. I noted how confused his language had become. Here was a child very capable of great intellectual achievement, whose abilities were dominated by his emotional disturbance.

It speaks volumes that he is trying to find every way to extend his time so he doesn’t have to go home.

Note for later

Dibs suddenly stood up. “No!” he shouted. “Dibs no go out of here. Dibs no go home. Not never!”

Note for later

He sat down muttering “No go home. No want to go home. No feel like going home.”

Note for later

I wanted Dibs to feel that he had the responsibility to take away with him his increasing ability to assume responsibility for himself and thus gain his psychological independence.

Interesting

Dibs sighed. He had apparently exhausted his resources. He stood up and walked out the door. Just outside the door, he stopped abruptly, reached up and turned the sign on the door from Do Not Disturb to Play Therapy Room. He patted the door. “Our playroom,” he said.

Note for later

Why?

Why is he acting like a baby by sucking on the bottle

I was interested in the manner in which Dibs had been displaying his ability to read, count, solve problems. It seemed to me that whenever he approached any kind of emotional reference he retreated to a demonstration of his ability to read.

Note

Perhaps this was a brief bit of evidence of some conflict he had between expectations of his behavior and his own striving to be himself

Note

Perhaps he felt that his intellectual abilities were the only part of him that was valued by others.

Note. This is sad that he feels like the only thing he has of value about himself is his smarts

Could it be because he desired above all things to be a person in his own right, respected and loved for all his qualities?

Note

Note

Interesting. Not for later

Besides, it was evident that intellectual achievement without the attendant emotional and social maturity was not enough. Was this the reason for the dissatisfaction in Dibs by his family? Or had his mother felt an uneasiness and fear of Dibs because she could not understand him?

Note

deficient.

Note

Bottle sucking = coping mechanism???

Why?

He picked up the nipple, chewed and sucked on it, looking steadily at me.

Note

Rain boots?

This shows this was an expectation of him at home

Verbalized a want for help

“I am thinking,”

Verbalized his actions

I wanted him to learn that he was a person of many parts, with his ups and downs, his loves and hates, his fears and courage, his infantile desires and his more mature interests.

Note

A very slight and fleeting smile crossed his face.

Pre planning

He smiled more openly now.

Display of emotion

He laughed. It was brief, but it was the first laugh I had heard from him.

Note

Note

“It is very confusing,” Dibs repeated. He nodded his head emphatically.

Problem solving

Interesting

Who is this man to Dibs

Note

Nite

He plays imaginatively

Disturbing a little

Maybe the people is his mom dad and sister

Interesting

“Today is Valentine’s Day,” he said suddenly.

Good observation

“Write this down in your notes,” he said. “Dibs came. He found the sand interesting today. Dibs played with the house and the fighting men for the last time. Goodbye!”

Interesting. Note for later

He left without another word.

Was he mad that he had to leave?

two basic truths: that no one ever really knows as much about any human being’s inner world as does the individual himself; and that responsible freedom grows and develops from inside the person. The child must first learn self-respect and a sense of dignity that grows out of his increasing self-understanding before he can learn to respect the personalities and rights and differences of others.

Not for later