Dibs in Search of Self
by Virginia M. Axline

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• ISBN13: 9780345339256
• Condition: USED - Like New
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Book Reviews of Dibs in Search of Self

Book Review: "Miracle Cure"
Summary: 1 Stars

Remember, the book was written in 1964. Psychoanalysis was in the air, and Freud was viewed as some sort of guru. Read the popular as well as the psychiatric literature of the time. Implicit in Freudian theory is the notion that psychiatric disorders are rooted in early childhood experience. From this it was a quick (and prevalent) step to blaming one's parents for various neuroses and complexes.

Dr. Axline is clearly a product of her times. A little boy is non-verbal and withdrawn -- what did his parents do to make him lock himself away like this? Read her description of Dibs's tense, defensive mother on page 34. (Note that "the mother" is the only major player in the story who is not even given a name.)

I think of this mother and her pain. She and her husband are wealthy and have taken their son to a number of specialists. The professionals all eventually make clear in one way or another that she is the source of her child's problems. She wonders if they are right, and ponders the ways she might have damaged him ("he was the product of an unwanted pregnancy! It's all my fault!") OF COURSE she is tense and defensive around Dr. Axline (who in fact concurs with the other specialists that Dib's problems stem from her lousy parenting, and probably subtley conveys that attitude).

Those reviewers who read the book with warmth and delight might feel differently if they were the parent of a child like Dibs. And don't kid yourself - - it could happen to anyone. The pain of having a child with severe neuropsychiatric problems is devastating. The public stigmatization that goes along with having a child who never smiles at anyone, has explosive tantrums in public, and doesn't answer when spoken to is something you just have to get used to. Thank God for support groups.

The book is an entertaining and inspiring read for the uninitated, but hurtful to those dealing with an real life mentally ill child. As to those reviewers who are in the psychological profession, don't you think that whatever faint value comes from the pleasure this book brings to the uneducated, (or its teachings on the value of non-judgmental and child directed play) is surely outweighed by all the years of useless but expensive play therapy furnished to autistic children as a result? And how about the stigmatization of the parents that results from this type of literature?

I'm sure I sound like a tense, angry and defensive mother myself at this point! But that's the Catch-22 you find yourself in if you have an autistic child. If you know more about your child than the person treating him, you are seen as rigid, hypercritical and controlling. Medical research you do concerning your son's condition is seen as evidence of your tendency to coldly intellectualize his problems. And if a book like Dibs brings you to tears of frustration and empathy -- well that just shows how emotionally unstable you are. I wish this book would go out of print.

Summary of Dibs in Search of Self

Self-Help Books

• Subjects > Self-Help
• Health, Fitness & Dieting > Psychology & Counseling
• Medical Books > Allied Health Professions > Occupational Therapy