Dibs in search of self, by Virgina Axline. Just wondering, has anyone read this superb book? True story regarding a five year old boy who suffered from SEVERE social problems at school and at home; he rarely if ever interacted in a positive manner with anyone including his parents. Most of his teachers believed him to be either autistic or mentally challenged. A teacher/play therapist (the author, Virgina Axline) was requested to work with Dibs in order to help the little boy. Months after she started working with him, it was discovered that the 5 year old had an IQ of 168. I got the book excerpts below from a website.
…] Sometimes the battle lasted longer and was not over when his mother arrived. When that happened, his mother would send the chauffeur in to get Dibs. The man was very tall and strong. He would walk in, scoop Dibs up in his arms, and carry him out to the car without a word to anyone. Sometimes Dibs screamed all the way out to the car and beat his fists against the driver. Other times, he would suddenly become silent - limp and defeated. The man never spoke to Dibs. It seemed not to matter to him whether Dibs fought and screamed or was suddenly passive and quiet.
…] Left inside the [school] door, Dibs would stand there, whimpering, waiting until someone came to him and led him into the classroom. When he wore a coat he made no move to take it off. One of the teachers would greet him, take off his coat, and then he was on his own. The other children would soon be busily occupied with some group activity or an indivdual task. Dibs spent his time crawling at the edge of the room, hiding under tables, or in back of the piano, looking at books by the hour.
There was something about Dibs’ behaviour that defied the teachers to categorize him, glibly and routinely, and send him on his way. His behavior was so uneven. …] Another time he would quickly and quietly do something that indicated he might even have superior intelligence. If he thought anyone was watching him, he quickly withdrew into his shell. Most of the time he crawled around the edge of the room, lurking under tables, rocking back and forth, chewing on the side of his hand, sucking his thumb, lying prone and rigid on the floor when any of the teachers or children tried to involve him in some activity. He was a lone child in what must have seemed to him to be a cold, unfriendly world.
…] The other children played in the sandbox, on the swings, on the jungle gym, on the bicycles. They played ball, catch, hide and seek. They ran, skipped, climbed, jumped. But not Dibs. He walked off to a remote corner, picked up a little stick, squatted down and scratched it back and forth in the dirt. Back and forth. Back and forth. Making little grooves in the dirt. Not looking at anyone. Staring down at the stick and the ground. Hunched over this lonely activity. Silent. Withdrawn. Remote.
…] When the teacher rang the bell the children all came in. Even Dibs. Miss Jane helped him off with his coat. He handed her his cap this time. The teacher put a record of soft, relaxing music on the phonograph. Each child got out his mat, stretched out on the floor for the rest period. Dibs got out to his mat and unrolled it. He put his mat under the library table, a distance away from the other children. He lay face down on his mat, put his thumb in his mouth, rested with the other children. What was he thinking about in his lonely little world? What were his feelings? Why did he behave in this manner? What had happened to the child to cause this kind of withdrawal from people? Could we manage to get through to him?
Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest ~ Quran XIII.28