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This is to certify that the
thesis entitled
The Influence of Play Therapy on
Personality Change and the
Consequent Effect on

Reading Performance
presented by

Evangeline Winn

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

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University

 

THEINFIUENCEOFPLAYTHERAPIONPERSONAHTICHAME
AND THE CONSEQUEM‘ EFFECT ml READER} PERFORMANCE

Evangelim Winn

”ABSTRACT

Submitted.to the School flcr Advanced Graduate Studies of
Michigan State University of Agriculture and
Applied Science in partial fulfillment of
the requirements nor the degree of

W W EDUCATION

Department of Administrative and Educational Services
Guidance and Counseling

1959

 

EVANGEIINB WINN ABSTRACT

It is a commonplace that the critical literature in the area of
the problem of the retarded reader seems to be indeed inconsistent,
contradictory and often confusing. The results of experiments
carried on by psychologists and educators seem to demand much
clarification through still further but more carefully controlled
superinentation. (he such attempt is the present stuck. More
specifically, this writer has attempted to shed more Light upon
the function of play therapy in alleviating personality difficulties
and its consequent effect, if am, on reading performance.

The data of the study were collected solely thrmgh the admin-
istration to 26 children of three sets of tests before and after
the period of experimentation. The tests used were: the California
Test of lental Maturity, the California Tests of Achievemnt, and
the Rogers Test of Personality Adjustment. These children were
divided at random into two groups of thirteen, one experimental, the
other control. The former group was given weekly individual pm
therapy for sixteen weeks.

The results derived from the compiled data of this study re-
vealed that: 1) the experimental group showed a significantly
greater imrovement in personality than the control group. The
value of ”t" was significant at the .001 level; 2) that the experi-
nentel. m did _1§_t thew significmtly greater ilprovement in
reading than the control group; 3) that personality rating change
and reading change in both experimental and control groups, through

rank order correlations, showed no significant relationships;

A.) that, through further rank order correlations between various
measures in the experimental group, showed no significant rela-
tionships other than that children with the lowest personality
test scores made the greatest improvements in personality.

The significance of the therapy experience for positive person-
ality change and its relatively slight effect on reading performance
may have several possible explanations. First, it could be that
personality change is relevant to reading improvement but not a
crucial or determining factor. Second, it could be positive
personality change has little or no bearing on reading improve-
ment. Third, it could be the existence of reading skills in
childrenhaeabearingonthe degree ofreading improvemsntbrought
about by personality gains. &' finally, perhaps even parental and
teacher attitudes were deterrents to possible experimental results.

The results of the investigation as a whole seem to indicate
that: 1) pin therapy effected an improvement in personality scores;
2) ply therapy did not effect an improvement in reading achievement
scores; 3) change in personality scores did not effect a change in
reading achievement scores.

Although this study has brought to light the above facts this
writer feels, if she were to replicate it, that more conclusive
results would be obtained from an investigation which would depend
first on pro-experimental information concerning the nature of the

 

reading retardation in the children involved, and then proceed to
test the relative effectiveness of offering a combination of

therapy and remedial reading. The writer also feels that results
of this stuck and those of any other allied study for that matter

would be greatly enhanced by including parent interviews and
school visits with the therapy experience.

MWCEWMTWONPERSONAIJTIW
ANDTHEGONSEQUENTEFFECTONREADDGPWORMANGI

Evangeline r'wlnn

ATHESIS

Sulnitted to the School for Advanced Graduate Studies of
Michigan State university of Agriculture and
Applied Science in.partial fulfillment of

the requirements for the degree of

DOCTCB W EDUCATIQI

Department of Administrative and Educational Services
Guidance and Counseling

1959

WW3

The author' a sincere appreciation is extended to the
members of her guidance committee for their new contribu-
tions to the development and completion of the present study.
These members are Dr. Buford Stefflre, Chairman, Dr. Walter 1'.
Johnson, Dr. Carl Gross, Dr. Marian G. Kinget, and Dr. Clark
Moustakas of the Merrill-Palmer School, Detroit. Apprecia-
tion is extended also to Dr. William Kell who substituted for
Dr. Marian Kinget, on leave of absence while this study was
completed. Appreciation is extended to Miss Maude Price,
Assistant Superintendent of the Royal Oak School System, and
Dr. Richard Watson, psychologist in the Royal Oak School
System, both of whom made this study possible. Finally and
certainly most important of all, appreciation is extended to
the children of this study who, though they remain anonymous
to the world, are and always will be very real to the author.

Ci AFTER

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TABIB

VI

LISIOFTABLES

PAGE

Chronological Age, Mental Age, 53
Intelligence Quotient, Reading Age

and Reading Retardation of the Children

in the Experimental and Control Grows-

Pre and Post Persoggtz Ratiggg m 51.
for Experilental and Control Groups as

Measured by Rogers Test of Personality
Adjustment

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Experimental and Control Groups as measured
by the California Achievement Tests

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Experinental and Control Groups
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Experinental and Control Grows

Relationships Between Various Measures 57
in the Experimental Group as Measured by
the Rank Order Correlation

CHAPTER I

THE PROB m:

I. The statement of the problem.and the conditions which give rise to
the problem.

Since the time writing was first used as a means of communication
there has been the problem of reading that writing. That problem has been
with man ever since. In modern times, especially since the rise of the
sciences of education and psychology, one particular phase of this problem
has baffled educators and psycholcgists: why do children with normal or
above normal intelligence either fail to learn to read, that is, to acquire
basic reading skills, or, having learned basic reading skills, find it
difficult to use the skills or to make further progress in learning?

Many theories have attempted to explain the first part of this problem.
Barbe (5) Claims that the child who is failing to learn to read is not
"ready" to learn. Gates (20) says that although the child.may be "ready"
to learn, he may have emotional problems that prevent him.from learning.
Zolkos (73) states in this connection that faulty teaching methods and
techniques are often to blame, and also claims that the teacher's inability
to deal with individual differences is one outstanding reason for a child's
reading failure. According to Russell (59) the lack of teacher-child
rapport is also an important factor in this problem. If any one or a

combination of the above factors is present, emotional problems will doubt-

less follow and add immeasurably to the child's original difficulties.

The second part of the problem is more involved than the first.

Ellis 0%) suggests that inasmuch as emotional problems may be a part of the
child's inability to learn reading skills, he is therefore unable to fully
absorb these skills. In other words he may have learned the skills accup
rately, or perhaps inaccurately or even only partially. Gray (24) suggests
that further emotional difficulties will arise due to the child's feelings
of inadequacy in the reading situation because of increased pressure from
the school to maintain standards that are beyond his capacity. These feel-
ings of inadequacy are intensified by his inability to keep up with his class
and also by the fact that his class has labelled him a poor reader.

From this summary it is apparent that there are two factors operating
in this problem; one is educational; the other is psychological. many
attempts have been made to find a satisfactory solution for each factor.

Some educators, Gates (20), Gray (25), Witty (71), have attempted
solutions through improving teaching methods and introducing remedial read-
ing programs. In the improvement of teaching methods the traditional alpha-
betical method was replaced by phonetic method, word method, sentence method
and story method. Sometimes any one method or a combination of methods were
used. This improvement was augmented by the new concept of the experiential
or life situation method, in which the child learned to read from.material
that was familiar in his environment. more recently there has been an
increased interest in the develOpment of word perception skills. In addition
to methods, materials have also contributed largely to helping the retarded

reader. New and attractive graded reading books and posters are being

published every year.

Remedial reading programs were set up to give Special attention to the
teaching of reading skills or the correction of poorly learned ones. Tech-
niques were employed to aid in the recognition of words, the development of
an interest in reading, increasing reading vocabulary, providing practice in
specific types of silent reading and improving rate of reading.

Yet, in spite of these attempts to help the child from.an educational
point of view, children were still unable to read.

From.a psychological point of view attempts were made to deal with the
emotional problems of the retarded reader by means of play therapy experi-
ences. Through play, these experiences provide Opportunities for expression
of feelings, Opportunities fer gaining a neW'way of perceiving oneself, and
opportunities for developing self-confidence and feelings of adequacy. The
thinking has been that such eXperiences alleviate emotional problems. With
emotional problems alleviated the child will be free from.the disturbance
that is preventing him.from either learning the skills or from using his
knowledge of the skills properly.

II. Eggpose of study
The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of play

therapy on personality change and the consequent effect on reading perform-
ance.

Axline (3) was the first to make such an investigation. She used what
she called a therapeutic approach to reading. She found that the children

made significant reading gains and that emotional problems were alleviated,

though she made no quantitative measure of the latter.

Bills (6) also made an investigation using a different approach to the
problem. He employed individual and group therapy in his experiment with
emotionally disturbed retarded readers. The children in this study also
made significant gains in reading, but here again Bills made no quantitative
measure of the personality change. In a second study Bills found that well-
adjusted retarded readers made no significant gains in reading scores and
concluded that reading gains were directly prOportional to the degree of
emotional disturbance in a child.

Seeman and.Edwards (61) measured both reading achievement and person-
ality gains in their study and found their therapy group made significant
reading gains but did not, as did Bills' and Axline's groups, show any
personality change. In fact there was a trend toward a decrease in scores.

Fisher 07) studied the effects of group therapy with six boys who were
in a remedial reading group. In comparing them.with a control group receiv-
ing remedial reading only, he found the experimental group made the greater
gain in reading scores at the end of a sixrmonth period.

Roman (58) studied the effects of group therapy, remedial reading and a
combination of both in his experiment with delinquent boys. Roman reports
the group receiving a combined program.of remedial reading and group therapy
made the greatest gains. Fisher made no quantitative measurement of person—

'ty gains, whereas Roman made extensive measurements to determine many
aspects of personality change. Roman found that the tutorial therapy group
made greater improvement in psycho-social adjustment than either the remedial

reading or interview group-therapy groups.

From this brief overview of the work done in using play therapy as a
means of alleviating personality difficulty and enabling the child to
improve in reading performance, it is apparent that there has been a wide
variation in the methodology employed. For example, the approaches have
taken the form of l) a therapeutic approach to reading, 2) individual and
group therapy combined, and 3) group therapy alone, remedial reading alone,
or group therapy and remedial reading combined. The length of therapy has
varied from.six.weeks to seven months. The therapy has been given by
teacher-therapists, teachers, or therapists. The number of children in the
experiments have ranged from eight to thirty-seven, and the grade range
extended from.grade two through to senior high school level. The type of
tests employed have varied greatly. In some experiments controls were used,
while in others no controls were used.

In spite of the methodological inconsistencies, there is evidence to
point to the positive effects of play therapy on reading performance. How-
ever, the conclusions regarding quantitative gains in personality change
conflict markedly. Seaman and.Edwards found a negative personality change
and Roman found a positive one. Since positive reading change is dependent
upon.positive change in personality, it would seem.that this aspect of the
problem should be investigated further. The present study is therefore
designed to investigate the positive personality changes as well as improve-
ment in reading performance. In the process of finding a solution to the
problem, this writer has used an approach based on the principles of rela-
tionship play therapy as introduced and practiced by Frederick Allen, Jessie

Taft and Clark Moustakas.

III. fizpothesis

The experiment reported in this dissertation is designed to test the
hypothesis that play therapy experiences modify personality and reading
performance.

Specifically it is designed to show:

1. Given play therapy experiences, positive changes in personality

will result.

2. Given play therapy experiences, positive changes in reading

achievement will result.

3. As positive changes in personality take place, reading perform?

ance will improve.

Basic asgumptions

1. Personality problems exist and are to some degree measurable.
2. Reading problems exist and are to some degree measurable.
3. One cause of reading retardation is personality disturbance.

4. Some retarded readers have personality problems.

Definition of terms
Relationship play therapy: "Relationship play therapy," as defined
by Allen (1), "is a unique growth experience created by one
person seeking and needing help and another person who accepts
the responsibility of offering it." Play therapy experiences
provide, through play, Opportunities for expression of feelings,
Opportunities for gaining a new way Of perceiving oneself and

Opportunities fOr deveIOping self-confidence and feelings of

adequady.

Reading retardation: Reading retardation is defined as reading
performance below expectations for the child's mental age.
Personality disturbance: Personality disturbance refers to the
state of the child when he has ceased to grow as a unique
person. As indicated by Moustakas (50):
The disturbed child has been impaired in his growth
of self. Somewhere along the line he began to doubt
his own powers for self-development . . . . He is
unable to utilize his potentiality to grow with
experience.

Readigg readiness: Reading readiness is defined as the physical,
mental, and emotional maturation necessary for undertaking
instruction in reading, usually understood to imply a chrono-
logical age of six.years, and an intelligence quotient of one
hundred or more and no special handicaps to interfere with
progress.

Remedial readigg: Remedial reading is defined as individual or group
instruction aimed at correcting faulty reading habits and at
increasing the efficiency and accuracy of performance in reading.

Reading leve : Reading level is defined as the level of achievement

reached by a reader, generally referred to in terms of grade.

IV. methodology
Selection of ggoups

The children in the experimental and control groups were drawn from the
third grade classes of seven schools within the qual Oak (Michigan) school

system. For the selection of children with average intelligence and low

reading achievement, the scores received on the 1957 editions of the
California Tests of Rental Maturity and Achievement were used. The
selection criterion was based on a definition of "reading retardation"

as reading performance below expectations for a given mental age. There-
fore a negative discrepancy between reading age and mental age was taken
as an indication of reading retardation.

Experimental and control groups were selected in the following way:
First, the scores on the mental maturity and achievement tests from.the
seven schools were checked and forty-five children were fOund to fit the
definition for reading retardation. Second, parents of the forty-five
children were consulted as to their willingness to participate in the study.
Participation involved the transporting of their child once a week to the
play therapy room in the Merrill-Palmer School (Detroit) some fifteen miles
distance from Royal Oak as well as attending once at an initial and once at
the final interview. The parents of twenty-six children indicated their
'willingness to cOOperate. Third, the twenty-six children were assigned,
thirteen each, to the experimental and contrOl groups by the method of
random.selection.

Third grade children were selected for four reasons. First, test
data were readily available in this grade group. Third grade children in
the school system of Royal Oak are given the California Mental Maturity'and
Achievement Tests at the beginning of each school year. Second, the experi-
ence Of the writer as a therapist has been with children in the eight to ten
year old age group. Third, the readiness factor in learning to read is

normally established bythe time the child reaches the third grade. Fourth,

if problems accompany reading retardation, they are apt to be less serious

at this age than at a later period.

Pattern of testing

After the two groups were established the Rogers Personality Test was
administered to the children in groups of four to six, as directed by the
test instructions. This test was chosen to provide some measurement of
personal adjustment. At the end Of the eXperiment the Rogers Test of
Personality was repeated and the California Reading Achievement Test was

also administered to both groups.

 

Enpenimental treatment
Following the principles of relationship therapy, weekly individual

play therapy sessions were held with the children in the experimental group
for a period of sixteen weeks. Each session lasted forty-five minutes. No
play therapy sessions were held with the control group. Classroom.procedures
did not deviate from the normal routine for either group, except that the
members of the experimental group were absent from their classrooms for one-

half day each week for the therapy session.

Treatment of data

Individual and group data were collected. The individual data consisted
of chronological age, mental age, reading age, scores on two tests of reading
comprehension, two tests of reading vocabulary, and two tests of personality
adjustment, as well as differences between pre—test and post-test scores for
both the reading and personality tests. In addition tape recorded interviews

of individual sessions were transcribed. These data were used to provide

\as.

10

illustrations of the therapy experience and its influence on personality
and reading scores. The group data consisted of the mean scores on both
groups on the personality and achievement tests. The "t" test was used to
determine the significance of difference between the means of the experi-
mental and control groups in relation to changes between pre-therapy and
post-therapy measures on both reading and personality scores. The rank-
correlation method was used to test the relationships between the person-
ality changes and reading changes in both the experimental and control groups.
This chapter has set forth first, a statement of the problem; second,
some of the causes of the problem as perceived by educators and psychologists;
third, the various attempts that have been.made to solve the problem; fourth,
justification fOr working on the problem established in the light Of the
inconsistencies of previous studies; and finally, a brief outline of the
methodology. Chapter II will summarize a portion of the literature that
deals with two of the basic assumptions of the study, namely: one cause of
reading retardation is personality disturbance, and some retarded readers
have personality problems. Chapter II will also review in detail the studies
that have attempted to effect positive change in personality and reading
performance. Chapter III will discuss the methOdOlOgy of the investigation,
Chapter IV the theoretical framework underlying the therapy, Chapter V the
data and the treatment of the data, and Chapter VI the conclusions and

implications for further research.

CHAPmt II
'35le OF sz Tammie: mums w'lTH THIS mimosa manta

There is probably no other area Of school life that has been so
thoroughly investigated and written on as that of the retarded reader.

Because Of the preponderance of literature on the subject it has
been necessary to confine this review to the scientific studies and lit-
erary reviews that deal with three aspects Of the subject: 1) studies
in which the relationship between reading retardation and personality
disturbance is not considered; 2) studies and reviews which conclude
that there is a relationship between the two but are not in agreement
over whether emotional disturbance is cause, result or concomitant to
reading retardation; 3) stud'es and reviews which conclude that emotional
disturbance is only one of many factors in the reading retardation pic-
ture; A) in addition to the above, research in two areas of play therapy
will be reviewed. First, the investigations tha have been made to 8X!
plain the process of play therapy, second, the investigations that have
been made to determine the influence of play therapy on reading achieve-

ment, and third, the influence of play therapy on personality adjustment.

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In the iirst category are found studies or remedial reading programs

in which positive results were obtained when no consideration'was given

12

to the emotional factors. This category also contains studies of poor
and good readers in which the problem was to determine the personality
maladjustment in each group.

Remedial reading programs are set up for diagnosis and treatment of
reading difficulties. Treatment is given in terms of individual needs
and may consist of help in increasing word knowledge, improving word per-
ception, develOping speed in comprehension, or training in oral reading.
The emphasis is on the acquiring or improving of skills. Improvement has
been shown in any one or all of these areas after a period of instruction.

The investigations of Bond and Fay (10) and Trimmer and Corman (69)
are typical of many studies which do not deal with the problem of person-
ality disturbance but attack the reading problem directly. Bond and Fay
present evidence of a remedial reading investigation carried on by the
clinic at the University of hinnesota. Twenty-three children, one girl
and twenty-two boys, ranging in age from.eight years to thirteen years and
six months, attended a remedial reading program for two hours daily during
a five week period. A thorough diagnosis was made of each child's dif-
ficulty and a program of remedial instruction planned and carried out for
each child. The average gain for all the pupils was .50 of a school year
or 5.0 school months. The gain eXpected on the basis of past experience
was 1.0 school month. Thus the group gained five times as much as their
previous achievement indicated they could be eXpected to gain.

Trimmer and Corman carried on a remedial program with a group of
non-readers for a two-month period. The medial gain was .6 of a grade.
This represents a gain of .4 of a school grade over what would be con~

sidered normal for the two-month period.

13

‘Hilking (70) questions the assumption that poor readers invariabLy
diSplay emotional maladjustment. In a consideration of investigations
reported before 1940 he concluded that:

Much more study of the problem is necessary before definite

conclusions can be drawn concerning the role played by person-

ality as a causative factor or even as an accompanying factor

in reading disability.

Witty (71) concluded from the findings in his comparative study that
"The assumption that the poor reader is invariably a problem in personality
adjustment is not warranted." In studies carried on at Northwestern Univer-
sity he found that 50% of 100 poor readers in grades 3 to 6 showed person-
ality problems and h2% of 100 poor readers in grades 7 to 9 showed person-
ality problems. It can be seen that only approximately one-half of the

poor readers in these groups were classified as cases of emotional malad-

justment.

II. §tgdi§s and reviews of studies in which a relationship is found
between emotional disturbance and reading difficulhg.

Some of the investigations in this category are concerned with
emotional disturbance as a causal factor; others investigate emotional
difficulty as a result of reading difficulty; still others treat it as a
concomitant to reading difficulty.

Redmount (54) reports the results of a remedial program.for 2h
children eXperiencing difficulty in reading. The age range was 8 to 18
years and the grade range from two through twelve. t the end of a six—
week period h8% of the pupils made varying degrees of improvement. Twelve

per cent received reduced scores. Personality and reading changes in

1h

scores occurred in the same direction in 75% of the cases. It was concluded
that progress in these two areas is more or less closely related.

Ellis (14) also found that there was a relationship between emotional
factors and reading difficulties. He carried on a study with 100 children
who were retarded readers. He wanted to determine which of several varia-
bles were most closely associated with reading gains. As a result of a
program which lasted throughout the school year, he found significant
coefficients of correlations between reading gains and (a) the amount
and quality of remedial reading tutoring afforded the child, (b) the
intelligence of the child, (c) severity of the psychiatric disability as
diagnosed, (d) the child's age at the time the reading disability was
diagnosed. The evidence also showed that:

Both educational and emotional factors seem to be of vital

importance in the etiol0gy of reading disabilities and that

the most effective attack upon them must be made on a con-

certed educational-emotional basis.

Blanchard (8) from the point of view of the analyst states that
reading difficulties are the results of limitations in instinctual drives.
She differentiates two types of reading difficulties: 1) the non-neurotic
who deve10ps emotional conflict largely out of an inability to learn to
read, and 2) the neurotic whose reading difficulty is a symptom of and
stems from.his emotional conflicts. She arrived at the above conclusion
after considerable work in a psychoanalytic setting. Hercase studies
point out that reading problems and emotional disturbance are closely
associated.

Further case studies in the clinic by Sylvester and Kunst (66) con-

clude that poor readers should be looked upon as emotional problems.

15

They state:

It is our conclusion that the disturbances in reading are dis-
turbances of the exploratory function and that symptomatic

treatment by pedagogical methods is not enough. It is our

impression that where tutoring succeeds it does so because the

tutor intuitively has met some of the emotional requirements

presented by the child.

Thirteen children were included in this study, two children receiving
therapy and eleven reading tutoring.

At the same time that the analysts were coming to their conclusions
educators also were making similar statements as a result of their studies.
Gates (21) concluded in a review of investigations in this area that read-
ing difficulty may be caused by personality maladjustment, or result from
it or may be accompanied by it. He estimated in 19hl that among cases of
very marked specific reading disability, about 755'will show personality
maladjustment. Of these the personality maladjustment is the cause of the
reading defects in a quarter of the cases, and an accompaniment or result
in three-quarters.

In 1947 Russell (59) made a review of the educational literature of
the past ten years and stated:

There tends to be an emphasis on the relationships between

emotional and adjustment factors in all learning. Failure in

school is frequently associated with emotional disturbances as

well as unfortunate adjustments to school, to teacher and peers.

Gann (19) made a comparative study of average, good, and poor readers
and found that the poor readers were emotionally less well adjusted and
less stable than the good and average readers. She concluded that the

retarded reader should be considered as a personality problem as well as

a learning problem.

16

Gray (25) came to a similar conclusion as a result of his review
of the literature:

In case the child does not meet the demands set with reSpect to

reading, there is an excellent opportunity for the beginnings of

an inferiority complex and the failure to attain efficiency in

reading makes possible between teacher and class, between teacher

and individual pupils and the entire class tensions which may

lead to a serious consequences.

As a result of a review of 31 studies Zolkos (73) reports:

Reading problems stem from emotional, social and physical

immaturity. They are symptoms of unmet needs. On the other

hand, difficulty or failure in reading may lead to such a

degree of fear conditioning that the sight of reading mate-

rial causes a disorganized emotional response which further

inhibits concentration, perservance and motivations.

There is no doubt in Strang's (6A) mind about the presence of malad-
justment in poor readers. She points out that there is clinical evidence
to show that behavior difficulties either decreased significantly or dis-
appeared altogether when the individual made improvement in reading.

Norman and Daley (51) report a study made of a group of forty-two
superior readers that were compared with forty-one inferior readers. Both
groups were composed of sixth grade boys from middle class schools and had
comparable mean intelligence quotients. They were given the California
Test of Personality in order to ascertain differential patterns of personal
adjustment. An analysis of variance revealed no difference in pattern but
superior readers achieved significantly higher adjustment scores on all
parts of the test.

Grau (23) carried on studies with non-readers using the case study

method and concluded that many reading difficulties can be and are caused

by emotional states and vice versa, such as, "an appalling feeling of

l7

insecurity and a feeling of inability to make the grade."

The following conclusions indicate that there are some general
types of emotional reactions exhibited by children who have reading
difficulties. Sherman (62) after a psychiatric study of poor readers
concluded that the most common reactions were:

. . . indifference to failure with compensatory interests

in other areas; withdrawal efforts; antagonism.to academic

problems with defense reactions; and refusal to improve read-

ing as a bid for further attention.
In a review of studies Gates (21) points out that children with reading
problems maintain consistent behavior patterns that indicate, ". . . nerv-
ousness, withdrawal, aggression, defeatism and chronic worry." In another
review of studies Konroe and Backus (48) found,

. . . aggressive opposition, withdrawal, either astruancy

or indirect as in daydreaming; compensating mechanism; defeat—

ism; and hypertension with anxiety and nervous mannerisms,
while intensive case studies by Blanchard (8) revealed daydreaming,
seclusiveness, lack of interest, "laziness," inattention, absentminded-
ness and sensitiveness. Hardwick (36) notes in her article that children
With reading difficulties are "timid and manifest feelings of inferiority,"
while according to Challman's (12) study about one-fourth of all poor
readers are able to compensate for reading failures and do not develop
personality problems, others show "nervousness, withdrawal, aggression,
defeatism, or become chronic worriers who are always afraid they will
fail." Witty and Kopel (72) state that 50% of the children in their
studies manifest personality problers such as, ". . . nervous and excita-

ble behavior, slow, indifferent and recalcitrant reactions, timidity and

withdrawal." Gann (1?) concluded after a study that involved thirty-four

18

poor readers that,

. . . poor readers are emotionally less well adjusted and less
stable; that they are insecure and fearful in relation to
emotionally challenging situations and that they are socially

less adaptable in relation to the group.

III. Studies and reviews of studies in which emotional disturbance

is found to be only one factor in read ing difh ulgy.

The following studies conclude that emotional disturbance is only
one factor in reading difficulty and are particularly concerned with the
home and the school as contributing causes of both reading and emotional
problems.

There seems to be a growing Opinion that there is more than one
1a ctor involved in reading retardation. Ellis (1A) studied one hundred

cases referred to a clinic and concluded:

. . . that there are emotional factors in many, if not in all

cases of readig: disability, and these factors are inextricably
linked Lith education, intelligence and other considerations.
Ellis suggests that treatment involves "tie total personality of the child
rather than some set of particular sensory or intellectual factors."
Robinson (55) retorts a very extensive study in‘wh .ich she \.as a

1

participant. A social worker, a pSyCl

{Jo

Mlls , a pediatrist, a ne*“ol 0g ist,
three opthalnologists, a speech specialist, an otolaryngologist, an endo-
crinologist, a reading Specialist and a psychologist (Robinson) all studied
the effects of a remenia program on twenty-two severly r3taried leaders
with ilwtelli ence quotients between 25 and 137. She reports:

Social, visual, and emotional diffiCJltics appeared most

frequently as causes of poor progress or failure in learning

to read. Ina propriate school methods, neurological dif-

ficulties and speech or functional auditory difficulties
appeared less frequently as causes of deficient reading.

Jackson (37) studied 300 advanced and 300 retarded readers and

,-

found that, "The causes of reading ability or disability are nany and
intertwined rather than individual an“ isolated."

The influence of the home seems to be a very important factor in the
lives of retarded readers. In some studies it seems that the home condi-
tions are causal. Preston (53) worked with one hundred children, 72 boys
and 28 girls who were reading failures. Parent interviews and child inter-
views were conducted, to determine the effect of failure in reading upon
the child's security in the home, in school and among his peers. A control
group of 67 good readers was used. Preston concludes:

Reading failure causes not only a blighting insecurity in the

school world which gives rise to serious maladjustment in per-

sonalities of these children, but more serious still, home

security, the most precious to any child, is undermined to an

unhealthful sometimes pernicious degree, and brings forth even

greater maladjustments in the personalities as they are warped,
twisted, and scarred by severe unrelenting treatment.

I~Lissildine (47) studied thirty normally intelligent children with
reading difficulties. He studied the influences surrounding the children
and found that many had home influences that were detrimental to the per—
sonality development of the child.

Schubert (60) reports on a study in which comparisons were made by
eighty teachers on the best and poorest reader in respect to twelve items.
It was found that the poor reader is more frequently (a) male, (b) physi—
cally and emotionally immature, (c) a discipline problem, and (d) more apt
to come from a broken home.

Bouise (9) compared the emotional and personality problems of thirty,

seventh grade retarded readers with twenty-eight superior readers, using

questionnaires and case histories. She attempted to find out the extent

I.

/‘1

20

to which emotional and social problems were causal factors in reading
retardation. She found that:

A majority of the children with reading problems were also

children with severe home problems or serious behavior problems

or both, and they invariably felt insecure both at home and

school.

Bouise also stressed the fact thatlemotional problems may be either a
cause or a result of reading retardation.

In a recent paper Fabian (15) summarizes some of the feeling about
the role of the home in the retarded reader's life.

. . . The child brings his family to school. Society, through

the teacher, is then given its first opportunity to take inven-

tory of the family's work. The way in which the child relates

to his classmates, teachers and other adults in the school, his

ability to adjust to new situations, to compete and to master,

these reactions, attitudes, prejudices, and habits are patterns
that have already been laid down prior to his school enrollment.

The way in which the child learns has already been established.

In a recent study reported from.Sweden, Malmquist (#3) gave reading
tests to 399 first grade children in various districts in Sweden. Among
the factors that seemed to differentiate good from poor readers were the
following: 1) intelligence, ability to concentrate, persistence, self-
confidence and emotional stability, 2) spelling ability and visual per-

ception, 3) social status of the parents, 4) teaching experience of the

child's teacher.

IV. §tgdies in the research ontplay therapy.

The final category deals with research in three areas of play therapy —
l) the process of play therapy, 2) the influence of play therapy on read—
ing achievement, and 3) the influence of play therapy on personality

adjustment. In the second area are found some investigations in which

21

play therapy alone is considered an effective measure in influencing read-
ing achievement, while others combine play therapy with remedial reading
programs and still others use a therapeutic approach to the teaching of
reading.
Educators, psychologists and psychiatrists have been interested in
the process of play therapy as a means of helping the retarded reader.
Pearson (52) makes the statement that:
In recent years psychologists and educators tend to regard the
majority if not all of the children who seem to have difficulty

in learning their school work as suffering from.neurotic prob-
lems and to refer them to child psychiatrists and child psychoa-

nalyst s.

Kunst (39) would substantiate this statement, for she says, "I view
marked reading failure as a symptom of a general personality disturbance
and I attempt to treat the child for the emotional disturbance."

Spache (63) studied the personality characteristics of retarded readers
and found a consistent pattern that distinguished retarded readers from a
normative group. He states, "Retarded readers appear to be significantly
more aggressive and cocky, significantly less insightful and less apt to
accept or acknowledge blame." Spache is one who feels that the retarded
reader "is a candidate for play therapy or some other psychotherapeutic
approach."

The question now arises, how can play therapy help the retarded
reader? If the retarded reader has personality difficulties, the assump-
tion is that in alleviating the personality problems the child's capacities
will be "freed" to be utilized in the reading process. How does this take

place? What is involved in the play therapy process? Three studies have

22

been reported that deal with this process.

In 1946 Landisberg and Snyder (40) attempted to analyze and find out
by an objective approach what actually took place in play therapy. After
analyzing the protocols of the children in the study they reported that the
children's activity increased during the last three-fifths of therapy, that
a release of feeling was found during therapy, that 50% of the children's
actions and statements during the first two-fifths of treatment were de-
voted to Qgggignalixélgaae:and that this figure rose to 70% for the last
three-fifths of the process, that negative feelings increased in frequency,
that the major part of the children's feelings were directed toward others
and not toward themselves nor the therapist.

In 1947 Finke (16) studied the changes in the eXpression of emotion-
alizedmattitudes‘in six cases of play therapy. In her investigation she
concentrated on expression of feelings, for she believed that such eXpres-
sion was indicative of the child's changing emotional reactions resulting
from play therapy. She concluded that there were three stages in the
change. At first the child is either reticent or extremely talkative.
During this phase he explOres the playroom and if aggression is shown at
all it is exhibited at this time. In the second stage, if aggression is
shown in the first stage, it now lessens and imaginative play takes its
place. In the final stage an attempt is made to establish a relationship
with the therapist.

From these studies it was shown that children's attitudes changed
during therapy and that it is possible to report the changes in an objec—

tive manner.

/‘

23

In 1952 Lebo (#2) studied the relationship between the responses
made by the child and his chronological age. He found that chronological
age did seem to account for some trends in the statements made by the
children. He reports that as the child became older, he was less inter-
ested in telling the therapist his decisions, that he spent less time in
testing limits and made fewer attempts to draw the therapist into his
Play.

The chief conclusions drawn from these studies by this writer is
that the process of play therapy can be objectively measured, that chil-
dren's emotional expressions do alter during therapy, and that there seems
to be some relationship between the chronological age of the child and the
manner of his expression.

From these conclusions established it would seem that such change in
emotional expressions might have some effect on the child's personality
difficulties, and this effect in turn might make it possible for him to
overcome his reading difficulties. Axline (3) was the first one to make
such a study testing this conclusion. In 1947 she studied the effective—
ness of nondirective play therapy on the reading achievement of 37 second
grade children who were poor readers. She worked within a school system
and devised a program.that provided Opportunity for expression and release
of repressed feelings. The program.included, in addition to reading,
creative dramatics, art and play experience. The children joined the
groups only if they wished to do so. The program.was in charge of a teacher-
therapist and lasted for one semester. The results of reading and intel—

ligence tests which were given at the beginning and at the end of the

semester were analysed. Axline concluded that the therapeutic appm ach
had been helpful. Some of the children showed significant gains in intel-
ligence and although Axline made no attempt to measure objectively any
change in the children's adjustment, many of them seemed to i7orove in
this area.

The first study to measm e objectively Chang es in personal adjust-
ment resulting from nondirective play therapy was reported by Fleming and
Snyder (18) in 1947. They worked with a group of children from a Children's
Home and emlloyed a control group. Heas*~able changes in acjlotm1nt took
place, with girls sieving gl,rc,r improvement than boys, and girls showing
more change in personal than in social adjustment.

In 1954 Seeman and Edward (31) wez-e concer1ed not only with qua; Hi :—

(u

tive changes in emotional adlus‘"c 1t bu

n
C

so with ch‘n

(F
F.)

1

ornance. The ex erixeht a1 lesi gn included: (a) identificati_ .on of clli
dren ranlllg low in personal adjustment and in reading achievement, (b)
provision of an e} qyerience therapeutic in intent, (c) measurement of the
fifects of the ex querience on personal adjustxnent and reading performance,
and (d) provision of adequate controls so as to rule out alternative expla-
nations of t.e CX”dllmvHo&l outcome. Thirty—eight children who ranked low

in both the Tuddenhim Reputation Te st and the Gates Reading Survey were

selected for the study. The children were pairs d *..ith reference to score
similarity and one of each pair was assigned to the experinez group and
the other to the control group. After the groups were selected the Rogers

Personality Test was administc*cd to the children in both groups. At the

end of the study the Rogers and the Gates tests were given again to both

groups. A teacher-therapist not with the groups of A to 7 children for
one-half hour daily. The children could use the tine as they wished in
talking, reading, making puzzles, drawing or just sitting. The average
number of sessions for each child was 67 over a fouremonth period. The
results showed that the experimental group scored significantly higher in
reading than the control group. However, the experimental group was more
maladjusted at the end of therapy than was the control group. The increase
in severity of disturbance was eXplained on the basis that perhaps therapy
ameliorated the conflict about school without a more generalizing effect
or that in a four-month therapy period one might expect a tendency to be—
come more disorganized as an initial step in the therapeutic process,
since children in therapy might appear to become worse before they imr
proved.

Bills (6) conducted two studies in which he investigated the effects
of play therapy on retarded readers in which he was concerned only with
measurable changes in reading improvement. The first study included chil-
dren who were severely maladjusted, and the second included children who
were well adjusted. In the first Bills combined a program of individual
and group therapy for slow learners in the third grade. The study involved
three periods of six weeks each: (a) control period, (b) therapy period,
and (c) a period in which to assess the cumulative effects of therapy.
Intelligence and reading tests were administered to eighteen children, and
on the basis of these tests four children were chosen with high intelli-
gence quotients and four with average intelligence quotients. All showed

a negative discrepancy between.mental age and reading age. Each child was

given individual therapy once a week over a threeaweek period and a comp
bined group and individual therapy eXperience for the following three
weeks. Two controls were employed in this study, the experimental group
themselves and the remaining ten children in the class. The results
indicated that the gains of the therapy group in the first and second
periods of the study were significantly different and that the therapy
group made a significantly greater gain in the therapy period than it did
in the control period. As a result Bills concluded that:

1. "Significant changes in reading ability occurred as a
result of the play therapy experience.

2. "Personal changes can also occur in nondirective therapy
in as little as six individual and three group play.
therapy sessions and

3. "There appears to be no common personality maladjustment
present in the group of retarded readers."

Since the design of the first eXperiment of Bills did not permit the
conclusion that the treatment of the maladjustment was connected with the
increased reading ability, he set up his second study to test the hypothesis
that significant increases in the reading ability of retarded readers who
exhibit adequate emotional adjustments occur when they are given nondirec-
tive play therapy. Bills (7) then concluded that if he could prove this
hypothesis the changes he noted in the first study could be attributed to
the treatment of the emotional maladjustment exhibited by the children.

The children in his second study were eight well adjusted third grade
children who were retarded in reading. The testsused.to determine the
degree of adjustment of each were the Rorschach and TAT records. The de—

sign was similar to his first study using three periods of six weeks each.

27

The group was tested with the Stanford Achievement Test on the first day
of the therapy period, and on the first day of the third period and again
at the end of the therapy period. During the therapy period, each child
'was given individual and group therapy on the sane basis as in the first
study. The data indicated that the gains in reading, spelling and arith-
metic do not differ markedly in the three periods of the study. Bills
concluded that, "The gains in subject matter ability which accompany psyb
chotherapy are directly prOportional to the amount of emotional adjustment
present in the child."

In neither study did Bills concern himself with any kind of reading
materials. Axline and Seeman and Edwards combined Special reading experi—
ences with a therapeutic approach. The reading experiences were a part of
the therapy program and could not in any way be called remedial reading.
However three recent studies, Fisher (17), Mehus (46) and Roman (58),
report combined therapy and remedial reading programs.

Fisher used a therapeutic approach in working with twelve children in
an institution for delinquent boys. Six boys received therapy in addition
to remedial reading while the remaining six received remedial reading only.
All were tested with the Hechsler Intelligence Scale and the Gates Advanced
Primary Reading Tests. At the end of the period of six months an alternate
form of the Gates Advanced Primary Reading Tests was administered to both
groups. The final results indicated that the group which received psycho-
therapy in addition to remedial reading showed the greater improvement in
reading ability.

Kehus describes her work with four children with whom she used either

therapy alone or remedial realing alone or a combination of both, depend-
ing on the child with whom she worked. Kehus believes that:

A pattern of anxiety, discouragement, and passive adaptation to

a learning situation is commonly found in children who have

reading difficulty. The emotional drive and control needed to

motivate their desire to learn and to activity are dormant or

lacking. The child needs situations where he is free from

threat and where he is given an opportunity to experience suc-

cess. The purpose of giving reading help in clinical setting

is not to continue treatment until the child is reading up to

his ability, but only until he is emotionally ready and has

sufficient reading facility to avail himself of school instruc-

tion and/or self help.

Roman worked with twenty-one boys who had been referred to a Treat-
ment Clinic for delinquents. The boys were divided among three groups.
Group I received group remedial reading. Group II received tutorial
therapy. Group III received interview group therapy. The purpose of the
study'was to evaluate a new form of treatment fer use with delinquent boys
'who were retarded in reading. Roman concluded that both remedial reading
and psychotherapy are insufficient by themselves but that a combination of
the two is desirable. Roman reports:

Tutorial group therapy affected greater improvement in psycho-

social adjustment than either group remedial reading or inter—

view group therapy. Tutorial group therapy resulted in improved

reading ability and the tutorial therapy group showed a greater

tendency toward improvement (though not statistically significant)
than did the remedial reading group or the interview therapy group.

One final study by Dorfman (13) deals only with the change in person-
ality after play therapy experiences. Dorfman tested the hypothesis that,
"Personality changes occur during a therapy period which do not occur in
control cases." The design also implies two subsidiary hypotheses:

(a) that therapy can be conducted by an outsider in a school setting;

(b) that child therapy is possible without parent therapy. The experi-

29

mental design included two types of control: first, the own-control
method, and second, a separate control group method. The eXperimental
group was studied over a thirteen-week interval prior to therapy thereby
making it possible to determine the changes during the pre-therapy period
but also to compare the changes during pre-therapy and therapy periods.

The therapy group consisted of seventeen children selected according
to four criteria: (a) the teacher's judgment that the child was malad-
justed in his class; (b) the school principal's concurrence of (a);
(c) the consent of at least one parent; (d) age limits of 9 to 12 years.
The control group was matched for age, sex and test scores. Three person-
ality tests were given: the Rogers Test of Personality Adjustment, the
Hachover Human Figure Drawing Test, and A Sentence Completion Test based
in part upon versions published by Rohde, Rotter, and Willerman and Shor.
All seventeen children were seen in weekly therapy sessions for a period
of ten weeks. If they wished to continue after that period they could do
so. The maximum time allowed was one school year. The average length of
therapy was nineteen sessions. One year after the study fifteen of the
seventeen children were asked to write to the therapist telling what they
remembered of the sessions and how they were currently getting along. In
her conclusions Dorfman noted that:

On the Rogers Test, certain therapy improvements reliably

greater than those of the pre-therapy period and of the

separate control group. While the process of change did not

continue in the follow-up period, the gains of therapy were

maintained. Gains were also found in the Sentence Completion

Test. The gains were shown during therapy and these were

reliably greater than those of the pre-therapy interval and

the separate control group. The general conclusion is that,

reliable test improvements occur concomitartly with a series
of therapy sessions. Therapy does not start a process of

change; therapy improvements occur without parent counseling;
projective test improvements appear greater than those on an
objective test; therapy gains are not prOportionate to the
number of sessions.

Criticism of the Literature

The literature on the subject indicates that in some cases there
is a relationship between reading retardation and emotional disturbance.

A close examination of the evidence points up certain weaknesses in the
conclusions which may account for the lack of agreement on this point.

For example, in many of the comparative studies there is no adequate dif-
ferentiation between "good" and "poor" readers. Sometimes the criterion
was the relative ranking within the group, Gann (19); more often the "good"
and the "poor" were determined by a score on the standardized reading test
without any consideration for the child's capacity as measured by his
mental age Eackson (37), Schubert ('60), Bouise (9B.

Notewortm' also are the investigations made by the clinicians [Gann
(l9), Blanchard (8i), who tend to emphasize the severity of the personality
disturbance, and the educators who tend, on the other hand, to be more con-
cerned with the educational aspect of the problem [Gates (20), Witty (713 .

There is some confusion in the literature over what may be considered
causal factors in reading and symptoms of maladjustment. Grau (23) indi-
cates that many reading difficulties can be and are caused by emotional
states, such as "an appalling feeling of insecurity and a feeling of ina-
bility to make the grade," while Gates (20) points out that children with

reading problems maintain consistent behavior patterns that indicate,

"nervousness, withdrawal, aggressions, defeatism and chronic‘worry."

A wide variation exists a ong the studies cited in the way in which
personality maladjustment is determined. The variation ranges from
teacher judgment which may be quite unsound, through group psychometric
devices which are designed to give only a very gross type of detection,
to the individualized Rorschach and TAT records. Such variation in
methods of determining maladjustment must without doubt not only affect
the variation of the results, but also minimize the validity of the
results as well.

Norman and Daley (51) and also Preston (53) report studies in which
no controls were used. These studies are of limited value because normal
readers may and often do reveal the same characteristics that are found
in poor readers.

The studies that employed remedial reading as a means of studying its
effect on retarded readers [Bond and Fay (10), Trimmer and Corman (69)]
claim results without dealing with the emotional factors of the children.
The relationship between the remedial reading teacher and the child may
have had as much to do with the improvement shown as the instruction given.

There is a growing opinion that personality is an inevitable part of
reading difficulty, yet Bills conducted a study in which he selected re—
tarded readers who were well adjusted, and concluded that lack of reading

improvement was due to the favorable adjustment factor in the children.

Ho

From over one hundred studies n the field of personality malad-
justment and reading difficulties the writer has selected those which

point up the major enphases in this study. Some of the studies have been

summarized in general reviews covering a number of years. The research

. . ‘ I." rpm-1 .. a .y..._.‘.t .- . .. .m - . ,. :. n :zymrg. - 4 a,
reports have utilized case stilles, Cunxnlutlve studies, inventories aLd

O . » --‘.~ r-JJH‘ "' "~ —- h~ »,-\- I.“ ‘l - '- ‘L 1‘ . n ..“,_fir 0‘ ‘.--~»- \

questionnaires. Renaulal rw ring approacnes and therapeutic aPIthCuLS

were used as means of investig Lin" the problem. In conclusion it sheuld

H)
be noted that there is fairly general agreement, that there is a relation—

rm, '
were 13

(.0

hip between reading difficulty and enoticnal saladjustment.
however no agr emeht concerning the occurrence of emotional disturbance in
cases of readihg diffic;lty. The statements vary from.those that say all
reading difficulty assumes emotional difficulty to those that state there

\ O

was little or no relationsnip between the two. Some of the investigators

agree that there is more than one contributory cause for reading dif'
and that the parent and teacher are in many cases responsible not only for
causing the difficulty but also for making cure impossible by their con-
stant reminder to the child of his failure. There are many emotional
symptoms of reading difficulty. In some cases they may be the cause, in
some the result, and in others concomitant to the difficulty. From the
comparative studies it was found that there is no personality trait that
is especially peculiar to either poor or good readers.

Some children are able to read in Spite of possessing characteristics

of the poor reader. A few good readers are found wio have poor vision,

poor hearing, emotional instability, and who come from environments
which would appear to be detrimental to reading. In addition, many
survive very poor teaching. As there is no single cause of read'ng
difficulty; neither is one factor alone sufficient to inhibit the read—
ing process because each child reacts to the difficulty in his own wa'.
Finally the studies point to the conclusion that children with reading
difficulties are found in all kinds of home backgrounds, personality
types, and emotional patterns.

The research in this paper in the area of play therapy gives some
information on the changes in reading achievement, and in personality.
There is evidence that changes are facilitated and influenced by therapy
experience. The studies also convey something of the nature of play
therapy, the process, the child's behavior, the therapists' behavior and
the therapeutic relationship.

This chapter has summarized a portion of the literature that deals
:ith the basic assumptions of the study, namely: one cause of reading
retardation is personality disturbance; and, some retarded readers have
personality problems. This chapter has also reviewed the studies that
have been made in attempting to effect positive change in personality and
reading performance. The next chapter will discuss the method and approach
used in this study to determine the effects of play therapy on personality

I

change and reading performance.

CHAPTLR III
IHBTEODOLOGY OF THE IEVZST GA? ON

In order to test the hypothesis that play therapy eXperiences
modify personality and reading performance, the following procedures
were included in the methodology of the investigation: 1) selection of
children who met the criteria of normal or above normal intelligence
quotient and reading achievement below grade level, 2) provision for
play therapy experiences for the experimental group, 3) measurement of
the effects of this experience on personality adjustment and reading
achievement, A) provision for controls in order to rule out alternate
explanations of the experimental outcome. These points are considered in

greater detail below.

Selection of groups and tests used

The 26 children in this experiment were drawn from.the thirdggrade
classes of seven schools within the Royal Oak (Hichigan) School System.
The children were selected on the basis of the mental age scores and read—
ing age scores obtained on the California Test of Kental Katurity (67) and
the California Achievement Tests (68) which are administered to all third
grade at the beginning of each school term.

The mental age score is determined from the California Test of Mental
Maturity which yields a years-and-months estimate of the amount of general
intellectual growth that has occurred. The test measures: (a) the pre-

dominantly verbal skills and (b) the less academic and less environmentally

influenced as; ects of intelligence; that is, abstract reasoning ,spatial
relations, mechanics and non-verbal logic. The total of these two scores
gives the menta age. The mental age score was used also to determine
the intelligence cuotie nt of each child. In all cases the mental age was
ei her equal to or above the chronological age. This criterion is used
to rule out the po mibiiity of mental rcta “dation as an e; {planation of
the children's inability to learn to read.

The reading age score is deterraned fro.vn the California achievement
Test. This is a battery of tests wxich yields a grade level score for
reading, arithmetic, mechanics of English and spelling. The reading age

score yields a reading rraie placement for each child. The test is

O-

0)

divided into two parts: ( ) reading vocabulary which determines the
child's skill in answering ques stions on the content of given reading
matter. The average of these two scores gives a reading grade pml ment
for each child. The actual grade placement is the grade 1e level of the
class to which is added a fraction to allow for the approximate one-tenth
of a year that has elapsed by th.e tine the tests are taken.

In order to determine the discrepancy between the readingg rade
score and the mental ge, it is necessary to convert the reading score
into an equivalent years and months score by reference to grade place-
ment and age norms as found in the California Achievement Tests hanual.
heading retardation has already been defined as reading performance below
expectations for a given mental age.

Fort y—five cnildren with no . 11 or she e normal intelligence quotients

were found to fit the definition for reading e tarda tion and were then

36

eligible for the experiment. Parent cooperation was the next considera-
tion. Thus, it was necessary to contact the parents of all forty-five
children in order to determine their interest in and their ability to
c00perate in the experiment. The principals of the schools involved, who
undertook this task, found that the parents of twenty—six children were
willing to allow their children to participate in the eXperiment.

To participate meant l) to be willing to drive the child once a week
for sixteen weeks to the Eerrill—Palmer School (Detroit), some fi teen
miles distance from Royal Oak; 2) to attend an initial and final inter-
view; 3) to look on this study as an experiment with no "promise" of
results.

By the method of random selection, thirteen children were assigned to
the experimental group and thirteen to the control group. After the groups
were established, the Rogers Test of Personality (57) was administered to
the twenty-six children in groups of from four to six as directed by the
test instructions. The Rogers Test of Personality Adjustment is a stand-
ardized objective-type paper and pencil test yielding five indices of malad-
justment: Personal Inferiority, Social Kaladjustment, Family Kaladjustment
and Total Score. Intended to cover an age range of from nine to thirteen,
the test's questions are so arranged that the child may put check marks or
numbers by these answers which are true for him. The personal inferiority
score "indicates roughly the extent to which the child thinks himself to
be physically or mentally adequate." The social maladjustment score
"attempts to measure the child's group adjustment or maladjustment, that is,

the extent to which he is unhappy in his group contacts, poor at making

friends, poor in the social skills." The family maladjustmeit score
"measures the amount of conflict and maladjustment which the child shows
in his relations with his parents or siblings." The day-dreaming score is
disguised to measure the extent of the child's fantasy life. The total
score as well as each index of maladjustment is classified in a "low,"
"average," or "high" score. The lower the score the "better" he degree
of adjustment. On total scores, "low" averaged below 33, "average" ran

from.33 to 43, and "high" was an or above.

Treatment of Exmeriment al Group
eek y indiviiual sessions were scleduled for the 13 children in the

experm ment a1 group. Following the therapeutic principles of Frederick
Allen, Virginia Axline, and Clark houstakas, the writer conducted the ses-
sions in the playroom of the Merrill-Palmer School Counseling Service. At
the beginning of the initial session, he writer told the childrent that
they had been referred to her by the principal of their school because of
their reading difficulties; that the therapist was not going to each them
to read, but reading materials were available if they chose to use them;
that they were free to use the play mateiials in any way they wished; and
finally that the tine allotted for each session was forty-five minutes and
that the sessions would be held once a week for a tot al of sixteen weeAs.

A wide variety of play materials was provided in the play room. Nood—
working tools — hammer, saw, brace aid bit, plane, and a file - along with
a lar

go assortment of different sized wood—ends were of particular interest

to some of the boys. The rirls found the dolls, doll house, doll firnit “e,

,. , ~ . 17,. . ° -7 J -. ,_ L ",1. -1. ,. .3 1,- 1‘ __, .-;I .._2
11.3 d.;u -4 ‘ Leo Cf 1’: 8013.1 .Llluuf‘; .~u. u.-- .i‘ca .Jy yUJS 3.11m Calais

5 L

farm a.i‘
alike Lere guns, AniVes, swords, darts, the pinching big, the rtnc.ing'
cone-back toy and the art nutcrigls — finger raints, easel paints ani
clay. Toys used less froguently by the children included soldiers, cars,
trucks, sand boA, rater, drums,.Alephcne,
The way in which tr e materi als rere used and the theraaeutic process Iill
be discussed in Chapter IV.

Illness of gare $1 or child prevented conglete attendance at all ses-
sions. Two attended 16 sessions,f ive attenie d l5 s3 ssioz5, one attended
1; sessions, four attenied l3 sessions aid one attends a 12 sessions. All

the sessions were tape recorded.

The pre-test reading data for the experin.nt wh;1ch be g1n in Febru?.ry,
1959 was based on the California Test of Lental Laturity and the California
Achievement Tests that were administered in Octoicr, at the beginning of
the 1958—59 school year by the classroom teachers. The post-test reading
data were based on the scores obtained from the reading section of the
California Achievement Tests which was administered by the classroom
teachers, or by the principals of the schools involved in the study.

The chronolOg ical ag es of the t‘elby-ulf children, seven girls and
nineteen boys, ranged from seven years, nine months to ten years, the
mental age ranged from eight years, two months to eleven years, the
intelligence quot ien s from 99 to 130. The reaiing age ranged from.l.8
to 3.3 while the reaiing discrepancy varied from.h months to 3 years and

ll months.

39

The pre-test personality data for the eXperiment were bzsed on the
Rogers Test of Personality Adjustment that was administered in February,
1959 at the beginning of the experimental period. The post—test personr
ality data were obtained from.the scores on the same test administered at
the end of the sixteen-week period. The test was administered by a gradu-
ate psychology student at the Merrill—Palmer School. The pre—test scores
ranged from 67 (high) to 28 (low).

It.may be seen that the California Achievement Test served two
purposes: it afforded scores against which retests were checked, and it
formed a criterion by which subjects were selected for treatment. The
Rogers Personality Test also afforded scores against which retests were
checked, but did not form a criterion for selection.

In order to detennine the possible existence of significant initial
differences between the experimental and the control groups in relation to
intelligence quotients, personality adjustments and reading discrepancies,
the pre-test data scores were treated statistically using the "t" test.

No significant differences were found.

The post test data scores were treated statistically using the "t"
test in order to determine the significance of the differences of the
means between the eXperimental group and the control group on the basis
of changes between pre-therapy and post—therapy measures on both reading
and personality scores. The rank-correlation methodivas used to test the
relationship between the personality changes and the reading changes in
both the eXperimental and control groups.

This chapter has described how the groups were selected, what tests

40

were used and how they were administered, how the experimental group was
treated, and finally how the data were treated.

The following chapter will outline some of the therapeutic princi-
ples of Allen, Axline and Loustakas in order to provide a frame of refer-
ence for the therapy used by the writer. This chapter will also include

a description of the way in which the children used the play materials.

CHAP EUR IV

4*" r')” "* Marv n m "‘ m1“ "Nev viv‘x
4.4...)ifin 1 Juli; nu .LILJJ .L.i'1....h..1. UUu‘

rm

wv m—r'i T!-r p'fm— ~-v
IJ-a LALAJ’ .LiilVrrlel-L‘x~lilIUA-i

In Chapter III it was stated that play therapy experiences were

W1 en to the children according to the prins_ ice of Allen, Axline, and

Hob—V

Koustakas. This chaste will discuss the theoretical framework underly-

‘

\ "v J -‘ ~1 A-fr r R ~r - z 4 {'Q ‘ -v -
llxc, v 18 play th'dr's.‘ y experiences. Play tgerg‘u 330
H V 4 Nww.'1't "" ”‘1- W- P ~\,',"\J' (5,"! b QQ‘F *1 F. H“ ’1 C,” '.- wry
as a mi... ~l“eu rm 11 04“ \vlv .. OLLCJ Ci V. 0% y one kerson SU\L:.A_'.-U L‘ul-‘~"'. nu K, A;i_b

- .- L , .. f... . r-w J— arvis“, .1.1“,.'_‘1 'L . '. ,.
help and another person wio accepts the re, onsisiiioy of oiici ng it.
'P‘n 1. - , V.-.- . . .3. 3-, ..,., ° ° 3 ~° :1. ° L .LL. 1... .
there are the ini;1l,in is1i1eolwzs in this definition: 1) the hi “n

L) A

1.._'.-,~. in. J. -r. A, - . a. A Larvii '...1.-1~lv1.‘L.L . n '
oeing has the pewcr to glow, and L.) glowed lo dependent upon a relation—

1 l 1‘ ‘ .L 3 “

r~--.V -- “1-,.r -: -L "vv’ 0‘“? ‘5 a ‘ . .\ w\, ,1.
{Aid ‘J‘vi up C-;_..:._L uy VLCOI‘iSbS hat; (‘4‘ aLlVa..ILCG~l Due ilk/bit. ;;

C...
._.J
P

“Ebt there is
within man 1 farce that lrires him to attain Laximum grout1. This force
has been named by Gel ' sin (22) as the drive to self-actualization, by
Rogers (56) as the drive to self-realization. Whatever the name, it is
agreed that every individual strives to bring to fulfil ITent his unique
self. hablow 4;) asserts that it is essentially "good." Cuber (ll)
believes that it is neitLar "good” nor "bad" but "neuter" holding :it 1'-in
it the rotentiality for gooi or bad depending upon the interaction of the

u q . r. > ,— -—0 Q
13 inserlere with

;-a

'eif with environnsntal conditions. Some ”' es conditi-

l
.ao‘1

the striyin for Jox.th, and the self L;coh;s restricted or dies ‘bed.

t3

1' - . -u. ,. ,.

l Otlbthqu (; Cu) JJ:
1“, _~ >. ”L “‘ ‘~ .1 1" 1'_“I fl .‘ ‘rx’ ’7‘ ‘ O ~.‘~ h _' __‘ ‘1 . : 7‘ ‘- - ‘ ~. .... I“ 2-.» D
The disbursed Guild u.o been imp lied in ”is gru.ss o- sell.
4‘_“ .‘..,~ ‘ “'9 _ 1_ ., A ._- I_ . '14 .1-‘4— $__= l“ _>. ‘_’_"/ :
QVIILel'6.;Czi '3 0...}.01'7’ t; 113 liI - ‘, 1'") LCD...“ L-‘ let uu 11.1...) 0‘. 111 1.0.91. 9

.- D ‘ nor-“,‘ '.- 1.:-.(.,1 ,1 1- a h 1 n
for iéb‘ll"fl'sv€:_or.u;-;t. “1.) A—le . .Lu “lumeif (.I’lu -llb QEil—
i - - -4

_-._ 1... . f , i 1- A..- .r' ..
an e Lite been snltL;;ed. he does no; trust nimse i an,

rel
he lees not trust others. he is unable to utilise his poten-

tia lity to grow with en-,rie1 e.

KSSlOIv'S theory of defense and growth offers an enplanation of the

cause of this condition. Kaslow postulates that Hve human b i11g has two
sets of forces working within him. lne force reaches out, ries out one's
powers, explores, and ex:eri ences s; the other holds back, clings to safety,

(711

nie epen me es and separateiess. ine fon1er is calls d a growth trend;

6 Ell" S

F4)

the latter a defensive force.
The corflict between these two forces is imbedded in the interaction
of man with his environment. As hsslow (45) points out:

He can consider the process of healthy growth to be a never—
ending series of free choice situations, confronting eache
individual at every p int throughout his life, in which ‘1

must choose bet1een the delig hts of safety and growtz1, repaid—
ence and indeven once, regression and progression, immatirity
and maturity. . . . . Growth takes place in little steps
and each step forward is made possible by the feeling of being
safe, of Operating out into the unknown from a safe home port,
of daring because retreat is possible. . . . . In ge eneral
only a child who feels sai' e dares to Jew fortard healthily.
His safety needs must be sratified. Safety needs are prepotent

over growth needs. 0

Only the child himself can make the decision concerning his ability
to t"ke the next step forward, since he is he only one tho knows wha the
inner urge to grow nea1s for him. If choice is forced upon him by any-
thing other than his own self, there is confusion between his own judg-
ment and the judgment and standards of others. Since the child is so

dependent on the approval and love of his environment, it is sometimes

necessary for hi; to make a choice in favor of environmental approval
even to the extent of losing his own experiential self. haslow comments
further:

If adults force this choice upon him, of choosing between the
loss of one vital necessity or another vital necessity, the

f‘

child must choos safety even at the cost of giving up self
and growth.

t is at this point, when the child gives up "self and growth" and
"fails to trust himself or to utilize his potentiality to grow," that
therapy may be used to provide a relationship which makes it possible for
him to rely on his defensive forces, but at the same time to reach out
with his growth forces. In reaching out with the growth forces within the
therapeutic relationship he may once again find his self.

The therapeutic relationship is perceived by Allen (1) as an "immedi-
ate experience;" that is to say that "reality exists in a present." It is
this quality of the relationship between therapist and child as it exists
in the present moment that helps to initiate the growth process once again.
It is up to the therapist and the child to make of that present moment what
they will.

The therapeutic rela ionship cannot be separated from the therapeutic
process itself. The child, unlike the adult, does not seek the help he
needs, but, because he functions in the immediate present the therapeutic
process begins to Operate as soon as he comes to the playroom. The child
makes no attempt to explain his present behavior in tenus of the past, nor
does he think of blaming anyone for his inability to grow. Indeed it is
doubtful if he is aware of the growth or non-growth of his self. Because

he is concerned with the immediate and because play is his natural means

[+4

of expression, he finds the play materials a satisfactory medium for
getting acquainted with both the the rapist and the new situation.

The therapist believes that the child or adult has the ability and
the desire to grow. The very fact that the child finds himself in the
presence of someone who really believes this, sets the process in motion.
The therapist also accepts the child ev.ctly as he is. He accepts the
present stage to which the self has develOped. He accepts the uniqueness
and the child's way of expressing his uniqueness. Through faith and
acceptance the child feels understood. he realizes that the therapist is
interested in what he is right now. The therapist has no goals set because
the uniqueness prevents the establishment of such goals, and because in
fact it is impossible to predetennine the kind or amount of growth that
can be attained.

"Firm backlog" is a descriptive term for the role of the therapist.
The "backlog" supports and is th ere "waiting" to be used. The backlog
does not "do" anything to the child but "waits" for the child to come to
it. The therapist knows the child has the capacity to do his own growing,
but he needs the support and help of the therapist. Allen states,
"Thera13y begins when the therapist is brought into a relationship as a
supporting and clarifying in; luence around the patient's need and desire
to gain or regain a sease of his own worth."

In the accepting atmosphere the child tries out many ways of per—
ceiving the therapist. He makes many attempts to fit the therapist into
preconceived stereotypes. He finds that the therapist is not like his

teacher who tells him.what to do or like his older brother who mrIzes fun
.9

#5

of him, or like his parents who expect from him certain standards of
behavior. The therapist--to use the expression of one child in her
wonderment--is ”’ifferent." "Uho are you?" she said. "Are you a mother?
ho, you aren't like my mother. Are you a teacher? ho--I don't know who
you are or what you are-~what are you anyway? I guess you are really just
you. n

In the accepting atmOSphere the child also tries out many ways of
perceiving himself. In an atmosphere where it is safe he tries out--
holding on to his defensive forces-the possibilities of the growth trends
"\
in the new situation. He tries out his old patterns of behavior first.
Then he becomes bolder and tries out new patterns of behavior. Axline (2)
describes the process of "trying out," as "Feeling their way, testing them-
selves, unfolding their personalities, taking responsibility for themselves
-that is what happens during therapy." As a result, old patterns of be-
havior are seen in a new light; new patterns are accepted or rejected, in
light of the values inherent in the situation. The child responds to the
challenge of the play therapy situation, that is, the challenge to realise
himself, through an awareness of his capacities and his limitations. He
comes to see himself in a "new" way. He no longer feels the "'nadequate
me" but comes to find a"tremendous me;" he no longer thinks of himself as
"stupid" but in some situations one of the "bright kids." Thus the accept-
ance experienced by the child in the therapeutic relationship enables him
to perceive himself in terms of E233 he really is and to realize power

within himself tg_bg'vhat he really is.

a ’. 'r" f‘ q. ‘f- ‘r .
The levels of I ling n the tzerape utic process

(l)

Suttie (65) states, "Theraiy deals not wi th ideas and their logical
arrangements but with free emotion of an unpleasant char2cter or with
its inhibition effects such as loss of intere t, seclusiveness, etc."
The therapist in dealing with free emotion knows that emotion is a proluct
of human relations. The emotions involve the feeling part of the indi-
vidual, the feeling part of the self. ’e*“"ve emotions are nanifested

mattitudes of hos stility and anxiety which lead to many different forms

of behavior, such as Withdrawal, a'3res siveness , anger, or fear. Such
behavior is brought into the situation during the therapy sessions.

houstakas (50) has found a pattern of emotional exsres sion that takes
shape as the child e\1>lores his feelings about himself, his peers and the
adults in his life. Uhen the child fin ds himself in a situation that is
free from external pressures, he is faced with the problem of knouirg what
to do. He is confronted by his feelings of hostility alone, anxiety alone
or a mixture of the the. When hostility predominates, the first phase
shows that the feelings are diffuse in character and are expressed in a
diffuse manner. This behavior may take the form of violent striking out,
running around the room, breaking toys or throwing sand or water. The
next phase reveals this behavior in combination with anxiety, that is
the child's anger and fear are mixed. In the third phase, the child ex-
presses a more direct hostility. A particular person, a liynite or a
sister or even the therapist himself, nay be attacked with great violence.
Houstakas poirts out, "The child expres sses and releases t ese negative

feelings in direct rays, and as these e31pressions are accepted by the

therapist, the feelin;s become less inteice and affect the child less in
his total experience." The fourth Lhase reV’als an ambivalgu’e of feel—
ings. The child's cs plete nxoative fttitudes are aixed to some ie;ree
with cositive attiiddes, lor ali c. h -3 rev cantinue on occ-;ion "seating
us" a "‘istel," he may psoffer the sister sti-ce njtuT77PJS. In the fine
stabe the chil ex1resses preiaxinantly -itive Pttituies. As one girl
said in her final s qd'ufl’ "I love my lithCT aha 3y etha' a;d tto sisters
and even Ly third sister a little."

Td’se uuxq tn.i,s ~e seen also in the exkressi\n CI ‘nxj Ly. The
first Chase finls the child withdraxn, frightened and t'“,e. Ye ni' be
so anxious thit it is ingossibie for him to b;qin an activity. If he does
begin 0‘10, he is uni? to finish it. He flits from one activity to another

without finding satisfaction in any

. -. 7'. ,..,.._.._.’_J "J
4.01:5 lubethu. he.

anxiety becoming

q

\v

.. .Hn-’ .. .0 , 1..: .- .L‘-- .,
Ear-nuxlnb .LI‘UTII 13.4.3 lilOU$Aalg

The second phase nay find the child' s

we-.. of

fill “I-;ess his

'fl‘ I . a
- LL10

is folloved by

.r- ‘ -3 ”.1. n ' .2 4.. .2- . ,. “,7 .L a -r' ,.. 4,3; .. n1 .3 A, . M 4' - ‘1
an 8414;33 bidn OJ. $1UQLI4..L.~LJ VOHA-J. Vt 03.33 .L(-3 2.: 3&1 LIST; <01]. U1“ Dive/Ct. -*.A.UV.‘_ Uaav
‘ A, ~-'- -' 1:- Y’\ "' ,‘ 1N ‘ 1". "“ -“.‘»\ ~ 1* it . r-a . J +- t; D~~q T v- ‘ , 1‘3 1”,;- ‘" —. l' R v “ ‘3“
‘. v:u....__ey ”do “met an U3.‘.‘C.L rl.J.lL/y uO v 4.4.4....j Lair; L':)QU‘J., r‘ooiuik v 'mLaL/a “£490
‘ ‘7‘? 4» a. -_ ' ‘ ~ \ _: "x ) .: . . ‘ . C". ‘ . _l 1 - (a. .V.‘ ‘
take exsr and the analogy «com es milder in its expression. In one i.ndl
3.11...“ 1-.. ..'1.1 “."".3. -14. '.,_H.. ‘._‘ 3.. x--. .3. "13:1! - ,_.°.L' names.“ ... .
passe the child hlliofcubl ess “is n65.. Jo and rosioive eeiinos of
A ‘5"; ~ .~ -r‘-; - .-.~ ~' ' 'f‘z'. w "~’ ‘ I I. ‘ .1 /~- h r\ ' “ '-v' '. vhf - (‘1‘. ‘ ‘ ‘* ‘flq ('1 \“
anniety, cl lilies lul leuell th e feelings u the ei_st and to is out a
V - ““ "‘- .5 - ~" !-~- 4-": ‘9!
solution for dekijJ—i'b’ V. ibh tutti}. lat a 0&3sz L.'f-.lcu._ve llanrler.
J- o. - ‘77 \ (-~.- 3 —: if, . m‘ r- y an ~- x—~“~ r. -~ r‘ .fi h, - r ~l-‘r -'«
U .LS 3.1.1 C‘Vol‘og._i._!_.LJ.lC .‘ul' ‘Al to “11.38 {411985 .LOur rwulboet) a.) Selfish “be,
.-, 4. ...-.1 m" .. - . C: -.L, . 4 . T4- .L 1 .1. “a .4“
r thL-CU and mutually eaclusive casebories. it -dJo be l3-emeeiei, as

V
nlf.‘ ’w

Houstanas says:

‘

The levels of tle' c

DOHS "

b)

A

process and the Chan es in ieeling
inite ly observ—

_-. . mum.
5V8" C~.L ‘J’O \A:-L

at.

48

able. They occur in the clili's filmy and in his erotiena l be—
havior, not ste 1 by stout, bat in in iVnixsliy varyiz segyeuces.

She levels overlap at ergrgxxh1'na,ris do'the children}: atti-
tudes t.e1selv 5. 0n t 6 other hand, they are seoue;r1ces of the

process vhich can be seen and ulderstood.

The settilu;

The settin5 for this study was one of the playrooms in he counseling
service of the Lerrill- P lner School in w21ich the re are play 1+t-r’“ls of
many varieties. The materials used most frequently by the clzildren 1 re:
woodworking tools-—hammer, sow, brace and bit, file—_ahi a lar5e assort-
ment of pieces of wood of Mf erezt shaies and sizes. Also used were the
pop5un, cows anl arroa s, darts and board, dolls and dollhouse, punening
bag and come—back unching toy, CuLCnCro, toy soldiers, sandbox and sand
toys, pail ting 611-581 and bras shes, finger paint and clay.

Some of these materials were used to express positive feelin5s exclu-
sively, others neg: tive feelings exclusively, and still others to expless

both positive and ne52tive fe

«1 -

-in5s. The sand and the water, for emaiple,

C.)

provided the means for expressing the child's desire to live on a farm, as
he created gardens, pools, houses and animal shelters. Too, the bows and
arrows, guns and darts provided the means of expressing a feeling of self-
confidence when the child used them to try out his skills. As for exclu-
sive ne5a ive feelin5s, the punchin5 bag and come-back toy were especially
useful for bringing out in the child feelin5s of hostility toward pla1—
mates, brothers and sisters. Son1etiLes t11e activity was accom:;anied qy
verbalizations of the object of hostilitv; other tires the activity in
itself was sufficient. Finally, such things as art materials, dolls and

dollhouse were used to express both positive and ne5ative feelings. Clay,

49

being punched and pounded, :as sometimes used to 5ive vent to feelin5s of
hostility, and, being molded, to bring out a fear, say, of a devil, a

horned creature that "lives down below and sets you if you're bad;" and

Q

L.

sometimes it was used to mold a turtle, a snake and a horse. Paints an”
crayons were sometimes used to release feelings of anxiety about failure

in school and feelin5s of inadecuacy in school relationships; sometimes

1
they provided a median for expressing a child's love for animals and "all
living things." The dolls and dollhouse were used to dramatize family
relationships. One little 5irl whose parents are separated played consist-
ently with the mother, father and child-dolls, altays involving the family
in lovin5 relationships. The dollhouse held so much si5nificance for her
that her first activity during every session was to put th house in order.
She always referred to the house as "my precious house."

Frequently a child would ask the ther pist to en5a5e in an activity
with him. This occurred most often in playin5 checkers. Children who
were acquainted with the 5ane and played it a home used the situation to
try out their skill against someone who "played fair." One child expressed
it, "At home my brother cheats, then I cheat too. A little devil 5ets
inside and tells me to. I shouldn't let him, but I do."

The room provided an atmosphere of quiet and security for the chil-
dren. This feeling was expressed in words, such as: "I like it here";
"This is a beautiful room"; "This room should be kept clean; I will sweep
it up"; "At school I have to do what the teacher wants; here I can do
what I want." The room is the child's room, a place where he eXperienced

a sense of belonging and a feeling of joy. "This is a play—work school,

a place where you can Have fun and also a place to work, like making
things for your mother and father and sisters."

The playroom is a place where the child finds freedom to eivress his
feelings of hostility and anxiety. The expression of feelings, however,
is not free from limits. As heustakas says, "Limits define the boundaries
of the relationship and tie it to reality. They remind the child of his
responsibility to himself, to the therapist, and to the playroom." There
are limits to the way in which sone materials are used. Paints, for
example, may be used on paper, but not to smear the child's or the ther-
apist's clothing. There are also safety limits which prohibit the child
from hurting himself or the thera1ist.

There are limits in re5ard to len5th of session and, in this study,
to the number of sessicns. Sometimes a child finds it difficult to end an
experience which is meanin5ful for him, and when reminded by the therapist
that, "Five minutes remain for today," will reply, "Perhaps that is true
in your world, but in my world there are a hundred ninutcs left." Some of
the children found it difficult to accept the limit of sixteen sessions
and expressed their feelings by sayin5, "I wish it didn't have to be the
last session," or "I'd like to come here until I'm an old lav"."

In the therapeutic setting the child learns that limits exist in
relationships and limits exist within his own self. It is an inte5ration
of these two facts that allows the child the freedom to grow and to
develop the self.

This chapter has dealt with some of the theoretical constructs under-
lying the therapy used in this study. It has enumerated the materials

used in the therapeutic situation. And finally it has elaborated upon

the way in which these materials were used in that situation.
Chapter V will present the quantitative results of the data and

examine the extent to which they support the hypothesis stated in Chapter I.

(“‘7'

Q v-‘r svw

Ulnn J. JR V

-—w

L mtl-EJIRm

”yr-rm"?!
lA‘J-c. All—J.

DATA, IT

r\ ‘v‘ 4

hl" Chuku r will dea ir

the treatmext of then

sults.

General data

Ta ole I contain

sthe chrone103ical

ILLJD Dlouodu:\ 3.. UF TIL: 1::vDIIZS

1 -_

u

...
5—...

1eral

.r—4

st wit h the 5 ate, second

scussion of the re

Quotient scores, reading scores, a1“ read ng retardation scores of
t11-e children in the x'krll antal enl the control groags. The eata

J-L‘

'J- AZ.)

~

how t the childr s;

1 in the exgeriner‘*l

H‘Od a mean Chrono—

lobical a;e of 8 years 5 nonths, a mean dental qu of 9 years 5 “\thu,
the mean intelliyence nuoti; t mas .lO.3, the nenn realing a;e score
mas 7 y 1r" 7 hanths and th r:an reading retirlnti.n scare Las 1 year
7 mont hs . The data shew l"0 thnt the children in the entrol a;
had a nean chronolooical a:e ol 8 y71rs h LCRLLJ, a hean nenta r_e of
9 years h Lonths, the nean insel_i ;nce ,goticnt Ias 111.9, *he mean
reads". av: Sizer: 2x1; 7 yea3“* 3 :anrths, 2h;£ tjhr'li n :2,‘YL_; kabllil-
tir sco1e uas 1 yet 8 non ss. The staieht "“ test 3,;calad that no
i: tial sibnificant differences existed bet sen the eggerinental

.-.L. 'v ... w - , L
control blu ks 0. tie r -test

‘ I
rw-w --

1.. ‘I‘U u.) u...C

-

k“

on ti; nts, ‘~“";>Ons-llo)

I — H I ,“\ in l‘( 1 ‘,
*1ta seoz s n ela tion to intelli 31ce
ht and reading aiscr erancat

 

TABLE I. Chronological Abe, Rental Abe, Intelligence
Quotient, Reading Age* and Healing Retarda—
tion%* of the Children in the Experimental
and Control Groups.
3132 1‘i’1:'*r._t :1
Subject C,£. n;a, .Q, BIA. R.R,
IE .LQ 12..L2 .12 .LE 12. LE
A 9 — O 9 — 9 110 7 - 7 2 - 2
B 8 - O 8 - 6 106 7 - 8 O - 10
C 9 - 7 9 - 6 99 7 - 1+ 2 - 2
D 8 - 4 9 - 2 110 8 - O 1 - 2
E 7 - 11 9 - h 117 8 - A 1 - 0
F 9 - l 9 - O 99 7 - 8 l - A
G 8 - 8 9 - 11 113 7 - 9 2 - 2
H 8 - 3 8 - 11 108 7 - 6 l - 5
I 7 - ll 9 - 5 118 7 - 10 l - 7
J 8 - O 9 — 6 118 7 — 5 2 - 1
K 8 — 10 10 — 2 115 7 - 3 2 - 11
L 8 - 7 8 — 7 100 7 - 9 O - 10
M 8 - 9 10 — 2 122 8 — 3 2 — 6
Kean 8 - 5 9 - 5 110.3 7 - 7 l ‘ 7
Control
N 7 - 10 9 - O 114 7 - 3 l - 9
O 8 - 7 10 - 2 118 8 - 2 2 — O
P 8 - 2 10 - A 122 8 - 3 2 - 1
Q 8 - 2 8 - 2 100 7 - 11 O - 3
R 7 - 11 9 — 8 122 7 — l 2 — 7
S 8 - 7 8 - 7 100 7 - A l - 3
T 8 - l 8 - 8 107 8 - A O — A
U 7 - 9 8 — 9 112 8 — O O - 9
V 8 — 2 10 - 8 130 8 - 7 2 — 1
W 8 - 2 8 — h 102 7 - O 1 - 4
X 10 - 0 ll - O 109 7 - l 3 - 11
Y 8 - 9 9 - 3 105 7 - 7 l - 8
Z 8 - g 9 - 6 115 7 - 2 2 - 5
Kean 8 - A 9 - 4 111.9' 7 - 8 l - 8

 

* Reading Age determined by converting grade placement according to
Table 23 of California Achievement Tests hanual.

** Reading Retardation obtained by subtracting 3.1. from.K.A.

Table II contains the total personality ratin= score for each child

(.
C)

on the pre and gost personality

(J)

in the eXperimental and control gregp
tests. The data Show the ;ain or loss made for each child. The total per—

wain nade in the exgcrinental group varied from —1 to

(*9
D

sonality rating score
+A3 with a mean score of 13.1. The total personality rating score gain

made in the control group varied from -lh to +14 uith a mean score of ~2.0.

TABLE II. Pre and Post Personality Rating Scores for

Experimental and Control Groups as Leasured by
Rogers Test of Personality Adjustment*

q

C
11:12: e T1115: nt a1
4 :-

 

Subject Pre Post Difference
A 35 2 +11
B 30 2 +10
0 55 51 +04
D 59 33 +26
E 56 42 +14
F 44 2 +16
G 5 43 +0
H 30 37 ~01
I 5 15 +43
J 42 3 +03
K 54 2 +27
L 35 27 +03
11 3 32 +0

Kean 46.1 33.0 13.1

Control
N 36 A4 - 8
0 33 34 - 1
P 37 2 + 8
:4, 60 59 + l
R 28 42 —14
3 5O 5 - 3
T 67 66 + 1
U 2 AQ ~1h
V 3 2 + 3
W 43 #2 + l
X #5 8 - 2
Y 51 37 +14
Z 2 ’ -11
Mean 4-1.9 43.9 '- 20

*According to the total score on the Table of Norms for the Rogers Test
of Personality Adjustment, 44 or above constitutes a "high" score and 33
or below a "low” score.

Table III contains the average reeling graie for each child in the

exper'nental and control groups on the pre and post reading tests. The

0

data show the gain made for each child. The readinv graie gains made in
the experimental group varied from 0.0 to 2.8 grades with a mean of 1.38.

The reading rade gains made in the control group varied from 0.3 to 1.9

F'
u

grades with a mean of .96.

TABLE III. Pre and Post Reading Grale Scores for

Experimental and Control Groups as measured
by the California Achievement Tests

Subject Pre Post Difference
A 2.4 2. 0.0
B 2.5 .1 1.6
C 2.2 3.3 1.1
D 2.8 3.8 1.0
E 3.1 4.3 1.2
F 2.5 4.1 1.6
G 2.6 3.2 0.6
3* 2.3 --- --
I 2.6 4.2 1.6
J 2.2 3.1 0.9
i 2.1 4.9 2.8
L 2.6 4.6 2.0
M 3,0 3.2 9,2

Loan 2.47 3.93 1.33

Control
N 2.1 3.3 1.2
0 2.9 3.2 0.3
P 3.0 3.7 0.7
Q 2.7 4.1 1.4
R 1.9 3.0 1.1
S 2.2 3.1 0.9
T 3.1 4.2 1.1
U 2.8 3.6 0.8
V 3.3 3.9 0.6
Ti; 1.8 2.1 0.3
X 1.9 2.7 0.8
Y 2.A 4.3 1.9
Z 2,1 3,6 1.§
Mean 2048 3.45 .96

‘

*Subject H did not do post reaming test.

Tre1tment offdata
The mean values of the results of the before and after testing for
person lity rating sco; -es ani for reading grale scores for both erpcri-
mental and control- 5ro )o are shown in Titles IV and V.
able IV lists the mean test ersonality ratin? scores for the
experimental and the control growl s and the differences. A student "t"
test, used to determine whe*}er the eXpe iment til group shoned a si c,nifi—
cantly gre ater increase in te t score than the control group, revealed
a "t" = 3.75. This value of "t" for the total pogulation number of
26 is significant at the .001 level.

Table V lists the mean test re ad in; gr ade scores for the eXperi-
mental and the control groups and the diffs ences. A student "t" test,
used to determine vhether the experimental group showed a significantly
greater increase in test score tha n the cone rol group, revealed a

"t" = .46. This value of "t" for the total pOp‘ ation number Of 35 is

 

TABLE IV. He ean Pers onali.terating Scores for the
Experim': ‘ mlm " 1d Control Groups
Pre Post Difference
Experimental Group 46.1 33.0 13.1
Control Group Al.9 43.9 - 2.0
Difference 15.1
"t" = 3.75 H = 26 df = 2

Significant at .001 level

57

 

TALLJ V. Mean Re:di:1“ Gr:ie Scores for the
VKQeri ' wntal n11 Control Grou L
Pre Post Difference
Experinental Group 2.47 3.93 1.38
Control Group 2.48 3.55 .96
Difference .h2
"t" = .h6 N = 25 df = 2

Not significant

In order to test the effect of personality rating change on
reading score change, the following tests were performs-: a rank

order cor: elation be ueen personal ty rating Chang e and readin* chan e

a
was obtained for the control group anda 130 for the exper neatal group.
The Rho value for the exuerirental group is +.32. The Rho value for the
control group is -.11. Neither of these values is significant. In

addition Rho values were obtained on various reasures in the experi-

mental group. Th ese are presented in Table VI.

THSLE'VI. Relationships Betveen Various KGBSHTGS in
the E; coerimental Group as Keasured by the
Rank Order Correlation

Rho Scores

1. Reading Improvement vs Pre-Personality .07
2. Reading Inprovement vs Reading Retardation .02
3. Pre—Pers onality vs Person 'ty Inprovenent —.51
4. Intelligence Quotient vs Reading Inpr venent .09
5. Read ing Bet Ration vs Pre-Personality —.09

6. Personality ImproveHIe t vs Intelligence Quotient .32

\n
O)

l — The Rho score of .07 indicates that the children's original
scores on the personality test showed no relationship to
the do Dree of; 1wrov zuent in their reading scores. This
result does not corroborate Bills' (3) conclusion in which

"my a o o :-

he states that'1ne ga31' s in sutJoct rd: tor abilit; are
directly proportional to the amount of enotioral male ijust-
ment pres ent in the child. "
2 M‘r 1-. q 7 O 1: r\ A " ”Pro“ 1 ' ‘ _ 1 J. .A , 1
- lne Rho seeie of .0~ 1nd1c1tes that there is no re1asiunship
betreen reading improvenent and reading retardation scores.
3 - The Rho score of -.51, “hich is s.-g1ifica.11t at the .05 level

,3

with N= 13, 1n11c tes that the children \fho more lorest in

personality rating to begin with made grea ter gains than the

children who were highest; conversely the children who were

highest made less gain than those who were lowest. In other
words, while there was systematic or unifon1 izwiivorent s10"n
by practically all the chi1iren, those rith the lowest scores
tended to show the greateot ingroveuent.

A — The Rho score of .09 indicates that there is no relationship
between reaii-e "mirovereno and i1 ite elligence.

5 - The Rno score of - .09 inuic1 es that there is no relationship
between the chilrren‘s pre—personality sco re s and tnelr
retardation scores. Again this correlatim 1fai1s to corrobo—
rate the thinking of? ann (l9) xii Nozman iniD 32 J(Sl) L10

.0. . ‘ 1 ,1- 1. -,-..,.‘ -1... , -. . - ,:,1-
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' V

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# ."“- fi' ' ‘r ~‘r‘ .J-vv »-—.--\ ‘«-.\I-‘ .‘O— ‘ 'Q’ ‘ z . ~s+ P' [I r“ v.
c that the reroouclioy 01118 n11e by the enter11eioul 5rUQf’

F!
v

as a group, 1ailed to eff3ct the reeling i grove.ent leads to a nisoer

of fossible conjectures: l) th1t those p1rtiC1l1re elc Lents of person—
alit‘ te sted b the er scnulit“ ratir“ scale are net the 031* elements
J 1t;
of 'ersonalit' thich affect rs iiLv eerformance° 2 th1t t.ese elc.ents
L) 1 )

1

have little or no Jearing on reaiin; yerLOI ance, 3) that a cgild's
personality :1 1strent does not invariably influence or c<>1trol his
reading acrievement, A) that no mutt On ziuch a child‘s yersonality

m:roves, his re1iigge n1 lity 11*ll not, unless he has somewhere accuired

- V‘ -‘-p run—"w 1"1 (fl
a Lnon1e1 e of re1e1LO shi1ls.

H

o
H)

t is possible that an analysis data congilei for individual

'

children could reveal the ef. ects of t epositive personality change

on reading im;rovement, depending on the child's knovledge of re1din5

i

skills. There were Children whose pers onalityc :1aLJe brought -bont marked

HA

9;

reai1ng ix4rovenezit because the change enabled them to use the reading
skills they already possessed. There vme e others whose personality
change brought about some reading improvez1ent because the ch: nae enaolsd

them to use the wartial kno‘leibe of r3e1lrg skills they alresqy 303 5655 ed.

A

‘

Fin1lly there were children whose person - w; on ge bro 1'h wt no

:4

reauing 'nproveme nt because the y possessed no reading skills.
There is yet one more possible “x ml tiltion for reaiil~ ingrevement

"r-G
4L
0

in some children. It has been the e:q>cr1ence of this 1dr cer tml in the

cases of children whose reading abilitg- did img‘ rove , there was almost
invaria sly marked coo wtion 1ith and interest in t11e whole ex1eri-
ment on the part of both parents and te1c hers.

It is a parent from t‘ is i11vesti ation that play thera1:y allevi—
ates personality difficulties but personality adjtstment alone is
inSquicient to bring about reading ingroverent. It hws been suggL> Lsted

ha t a IznOLcledDe of reading skills is needed. Those crildren who gos-
sessed readin5 skills were aile to utilize the personality gains in

order to in rove their rGLding, vhile those who did not possess reading

:3”

skills were unub1e to utilize their persona1ity gains. In dealing tit
the retardel realer, therefore, it is necessary to recognize not only
the psychological aspects of the problem, but the educational aspects
as well. The1 M3c 1olori cal asyects may inc1ure not on1y the partial
or total presence of e.otion:l o1_11L11s1es but lso the 1ttitude of
parents and tezwchers, sioling and ml m1"ce rivalriecs, and 1:0rries over
meeting the ex>ect1tions of p.rents and teachers. The eu ucauicaul
aspects may include a consideration of not only the e,11tezce of read-
ing skills but also classroom conditions, school airidistration, and
quality of teaching.

he child's readine ‘roblem, then, beco: es an educational as well
as a psychol gioal one. The therapist cannot ass1me that in all cas**
ther1;y alone c;n ingrove realing achievement. On the other hend, the
remedial reading teacher cannot assure th it in allc ases a TGQEdial
realir‘ program alone can improve reiding achievement. The question

see 3 to we the her the thera1ist rcludes re: eiiel rcaain with therapy

or whether the remedial reading teacher includes therapy with remedial
reading. Either aggroach is, in the mind of this writer, acceptcble.
The choice of one appioach in preference to the other would degend on
the individual child and his particular situation. It must be pointed
out, however, that whatever the choice, the full COOperation of the hone
and the school is essential.

This chapter has dealt with the data, their treatment and a discus-
sion of the results. The following chapter will summarize the investiga-
tion, draw the final conclusions and mnke suggestions for firther

research in this area.

CHAPT'? VI

SULlAAI, CQTCLUSICHS Al) SUGSLSTI IS FOR RJSDARCH

 

The purpose of this investigation was to study the influence of
play thera;y on personality chanbe and the cons eouent infl luence, if any,
on reading performance. This writer designed an experiment to test

- \ ' .‘L‘ I";
'Fel‘SCulzl lu J an.

i"

the hygw ow“;sis that play therapy experiences modify
reading erlornlnce. An ex,e riucntal anl control arout‘) were draw:

from the third grade classes of seven sch 013 in the Royal Oak, Kichigan,
School System. The groups were selected as follows: on the
scores received on the 1957 edition of the California Test of Lent;
Katurit and the California Achievement Tests, 25 children whose c'd-

ing age was lower than their mental age were assigned, at random,

13 to the exyer'hental “ed 13 to t e control grouis. The Rogers Test

of Personality Adjustment was adrfi-nistered to both groujs. uitialiy
there were no sigrificant diffi ences between the two grougs in rela—

tion to personalit;r adjust: Mqlt rea d _ng grade score sand intelli ence

fl

quotients. Lech child in the eXpe rimental brozo rece:Lve d indivi1;a

weekly tlag theraty 45-minute sessions, for a varied of sixteen weeks.

I
Classroom ,rocedures did not deviate from the regular routine for either

group except that the children in the experimental group were absent

R 11

from the classroom one he ll day eac week to attend the therapy session.

0

On com,letion of the thereby expe ric nce in the experimental

groups were retested on pe r onality performance and reading achievement.
Pre-experinent and gost-ex;erimert test scores were used for comparing
the two groags. The following results were derived iron these data:

1) a student "t" test revealed thst the exceri.m ental g1 rou; showed a
significantly greater improverelt in personality than the control groue.

~nifieant at the .001 level; 2) A st male1t "t"

The value of "t" was siU
test revealed that the eAaeri1-n a1 grou; did not show significantly

gr eater i:;1provemez 1t in reading than the control group; 3) Rank order
correlations bet1ee1rersonelity rating change aid reaiing chance in

both ex;erinental and control greats evealed no e1111iic.nt reqation-
ships. The Rho value for the exterimental group is +.32, for the control
group -.ll; A) Further rank order cor relat' ions betxeen various measures
in the erierine ntal group revealed no signi icant relationships other

than that children with the lovest personality test scores made the gr at-

est it

*5

om“ :.ents in yersonality.

An uncer of possible exglanations were set forth in atte pting to
understand the significance of the tm1e asy experiences for personality
change end its relative if i gnii icance in re aairg 'nprovenent. These
were: 1) posi tive gersonality change is relevant to reading iae1ovenent
but not a crucial or d1ternini“ factor 2) positive ger sonality c‘ ange
has little or no bearing on reading improvenent; 3) the existence of
reading skills in children has a hearing on the l;g so of re ading
improvement brought about by gersonality mains; h) narental and teacher

kw A

attitudes were detrimental to no ossit ve exxer r1nental r331; ts.

O\
\‘1

' ‘ I‘ 1‘1 o *v ‘1 r1 s "' " 1‘! ‘1 ~— ‘ ‘ ‘ “ '\ fl .
he resul s of the investi mt on seen to na-r;nt the foilox
cone clusi ens: l) relatiehshig ;l:y there y efiect ed nix;rov xent

. -~ 1,-‘4/'-'~t~ :Jw \ - .- r‘ —. 1--.‘- 1 f‘ 4" r ~v r 0”“ A. fifi J-
in hereonlliey scores; 2) fth.tlQanlfi Elly cl r; J did 1ot e-ich

‘
- . .: ,1_°, -. 1-.: . , . '7 1_,., 5 .. .. 3
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a contination of one or more of the follorirs ”ectors: a) “coding

‘0 "L"'

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'“J " MY

lllu .1.:JLC :1i..g_; in -elf con..idence, or does me feel iznit 111;: to in the

O
"4

1e“ 9irent o

*3

1.eers; 0) teacher Lisa.rers.-u-iub of the
cl.ild's ca9ooities3 d) parental 9rossrre to "make" Q19 chil d learn
to redo. In the li ht of the results obtained from.the pro—ex9erimental
research an investi'itian could then be dos :ned to test the rel: tive
ffectivoness of offering thera9y included in rape odi.al r;odizg or
remedial reaiir" included in thGILJy.

Further invest_51tidn is also needed to e19hax siLe the extree
uportance anl effectiveness of 9arent and te acher coo erati on in the
thera9y e::eri mice. fishy educators have long stressed the Lg9ortance
of teacher‘s concern for t}1e "vhole" cilild and the 1:;rental illte rest
in the child's school ex.o"iences. Any investication that purports to
add to tie body of information concerning the effects of a total

ap9rooch to tre problem of the retsrdod reader would achieve greatest

success by including 9irent iitervi s and school visits :ith t11:w a.y

experience.
This study has gointed up the plex nature of the problem.of

ful

C)
U)

the retarded render. t is clear that for it there is no one succe—
forn of treetnent, nor is there any one best aggro1ch to the treitment.
Remedial reading, the re;;, renc1_ul r::*'1 conbined 'ith the r1 y, a
therapeutic agproach to reading all have been u: ed wati varying degrees
of success. Perhaps the greatt11t contribzt:7 on to the solution C. the
problem of the retarded reader Vueild be the prevention of the reading
diffiCIlty in the first place. The first step in this procedure mould
begin in: l) the teacher training institutions in which teacxers would
be made sensitive to the in:ortance of good teaching and its consefuent
effects on the lives of children; 2) school aixinistretion policies
which would te::er the strict coxiformity to curriculum requirements by
even qr tee Cher irre31ective of the n1t1re of t}e cl3s53 3) school
administrition policies which would limit the number of pupils in a
class room in terms of the needs of the children.

The suggestions made above have some relerence to the problem of
prevention. Concrete suggestions for-grevention, hovever, cannot be
stated in simple terms, for the solution to the problem of the retarded

re1ler Lay really be found in the relationships that evolve :1 mo 1d
ILe1rnin; situations. "Pro‘oler s" iisepgeir or‘y when eich cl ild is
Exerceived in terms of his capacities and his uniqueness. Uhen he is,

“is then evolved from

cf-
:7;
5 3

ct
.0

L7
[.1

I. J
Lu
he

61 relationship between the teacher and

a (lee) understexuins of the clild by the teacher, fron.an intensive

Gefixire to grow as an individual on the part of both the c ild a11d the

C\
O}

tegcher, and, finally and most i ;ort1nt, from a mutual realization

the growth is a tvo~t1y grocess---the child lezrning from the teacher

and the teacher lea ring from the child.

7.

8.

9.

10.

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,"

APPENDIX

In this section three children" from the euqacrimental group are
presented to illustrate the influence of relationship play therapy
on personality performance md reading achievement. The before and
after scores for these children on both personality and reading tests

are given below:

W

Pre Post
David 36 26
Susan '35 21.
Peter 36 37

5.39.529:

David 2. 5 4.1
Susan 2.4 2.15
Peter 2.3 '—

It can be seen that both David and Susan made improvement
in personality scores. The transcribed recordings of these two
children reflect the significance of the therapy eocperience in that
they corroborate the personality scores. Both children used the

experience to gain a new sense of self-worth and self-confidence.

 

*The names of the three children are fictitious.

77

In David's case the awareness of a “new” self enabled him
to use the reading skills he already possessed as reflected in his
improved reading score. Susan, on the other hand, showed no
improvement because she possessed no reading skills.

Peter' a score shows a decrease in personality improvement
and a failure to attempt the post reading test. The therapy experi-
ence failed to bring about an measurable positive change in either
personality or reading performance. The transcribed recordings
reflect a beginning of an awareness of self, but anxieties in him
were so deep seated that it was impossible in a sixteen week period
to alleviate then. In Peter's case it is apparent that the anxie-
ties were so closely related to his reading problem, that therapy
alone proved to be ineffective. In the opinion of the writer this
case would demand a combination of therapy and remedial reading.

m
The case of Susan is an illustration of a child whose person-

ality change failed to bring about an change in“ reading performance
because she lacked the reading skills necessary for reading improve-
ment. Susan was a little girl failing in school, feeling rejected
by her school mates and ”Just another child who can't read“ to her
teacher. During her experience in play therapy she found in the
relationship with the therapist a means of exploring the emerging
self and of discovering the creative imagination that made it
possible for her to give expression to the richness of her inner

1'9 BOWCO 8.

Is

78

Three phases can be noted in her exploration of the self,
although each is not in itself at times clearly separated from
the other two. The three phases are: l) a restriction of the
self, 2) an exploration of the self, 3) a birth of an Open and
expanding oolf. _

In the first phase, Susan represents a restricted self, curbed
by the social conditions of our day. During her second session she
finds in using the dolls, a means for her expression of feelings, a
part of her self that was disconnected and alienated from the whole.
A self that was made to feel inadequate and lag in truth inadequate
to its owner. Susan is the youngest in a family of five children.
As she played with the dolls she said, “Four is a good sized family,
a mother, father and two children. We have six in our family, five
children and a mother. It doesn't pay to have big families these
days. People are so fussy about their property; why even when I'm
in ny own yard playing ball and the ball goes over the fence, the
neighbor hollers, 'Get out of my yard!‘ Houses aren't big enough for
big families either, everyone getting in everyone else's way, - and
so many dishes to do! There aren't enough jobs for people to earn
money to buy all the things children need.“ Later in the session as
she painted a picture of a large house she said, ”You are looking at
a girl with no imagination at all. I cannot paint like the other
kids in school. I'm different. All the girls in school think I am
different, so then I M be different. I hate all my paintings.

79

Sometimes I get so angry that I tear them all up."

Susan' a sense of failure and self alienation is further
illustrated two sessions later. Sitting at a table she uses the
crayons on a piece of paper, not attempting to draw anything, but
surely filling the space with color, with very quick movements of
hand and arm. ”One year I failed in school, I felt real bad.

Mother said, try, that's the important thing, that's the main thing.
But I get lots of zeros in spelling, zero, sero, zero: Me, I've
been trying ever since I've been in school. It Just doesn't seem
to work with he. I don't (know why, I've tried and tried and tried,
but I Just can't do it (as well as everyone else can."

The second phase of Susan's growth toward a worthy self was
marked by a groping and searching for a meaning of the conflict both
within herself and within the school situation. She is trying to find
a deeper awareness of the situation and the part she plays in it. By
doing so she is trying to establish her self as a part of the whole
situation. "When they say, never doubt yourself, now mg dose that,
mean? Does it mean, never say I Just can't do it, I'm gonna do it?"
Later in the same session during a checker game she stopped for a
moment, looked at the therapist and said, "The kids say I'm stupid,
they say, 'Susan, you're stupid, you can't do reading and you can't
do spelling.’ But youknowwhat I say? (I say, each dayIlearn
somethingnewweachdayIlearntodoborrowingbetter, soIcan

do arithmetic and the reason I can is because I tried and that's all

80

anyone can do, Just try. I tried and tried and tried and the first
thing I knew I could do arithmetic.”

The next session found Susan moving to find a level of adequacy
for herself, a place to belong in the world of her school mates.

Here it is apparent that she is testing both herself and the therapist.
“I can't do spelling and reading but I can do arithmetic. The Good
Book says 'All men are created equal' and that is true and I'll tell
youhowiti_s_true. Supposing Imake alOOinarithmetic andaOin
spelling and another kid makes 100 in spelling and O in arithmetic,
soitalladdsuptothe same thing, seewhatImsan? Somehdsare
good spellers, some are good readers and I'm a good arithmetical"

he she talked she graphically illustrated the “truth" of her eteteuent
on the blackboard. When the therapist consented that it seeped as if
she were finding for herself some of the answers she replied, “Yes,
the important thing is to pm. To do it the best 193 can do it without
talking or looking on someone else's paper."

School mates were responding to the “new“ Susan. School mates
who formerly looked upon her as stupid were "surprised. " "At ny table
I'm the only girl. One girl and three boys. I got ny arithmetic done
first. The boys were surprised. All men are created equal and all
mencando some thingswellandI cando arithmeticwell. Ialso can
do drawing sometimes. My teacher put one of mineup on the wall and
all the kids were so surprised to find out it was mine. They asked,

Q; Lb; m class kids, '13 it 12213, is it m7', and they found
out it was m.”

w.--

81

The same philosOply of trying and realizing one's own abilities
can also be applied to one's schoolmates, for after finishirg her
own arithmetic, she says, 'I help the boys with their problems. I
don't give than the answers though, I Just help them to do it them-
selves, because they've got good brains on their shoulders, in their
heads.” Susan was playing with a ball as she spoke. As the ball went
down she said, 'I'mawaydown, downinreading." Astra ballwentup,
she continued, "The other kids are away up, up, up. I'm away up there
in arithmetic, kids away down, down."

After finding a place for herself in the school world, Susan was
ready to reach out in the larger world. At the next session, as die
drew a picture of an office building on the blackboard, die said,
"Which floor would you want to be on?“ file had drawn it in the shape
of a tower with four windows on the first floor, three on the second,
two on the third, and one on the fourth. Without waiting fa: a reply
she said, "I'd want to be on the first or second floor, because if I
were inanofficeand Iwantedaphone weror somethingI could
. Just run over into another office and ask. If I were away up on the
top floor I'd be too far away from anybody.” When the therapist com-
mented that she would be lonesome, she added, "Yes, people like people.
People help people. My mother helps so with my arithmetic. Teachers
are made to help people to, -to help them to be educated. It's nice
to have people. Everybocw needs to have someone to love and someone

to love thu."

82

During the next sessions it was apparent that she was gaining

faith in her own ability and in the place of trying, in determining
one's abilities. ”If I have to wait until I get to grade eight, I'll
still learn to read, because I'll Just keep on trying." She was
finding that within her was the source of help, but also she was
realizing that strength also may be found in others, for she added,
"My mother helps me."

The sessions were coming to an end. Four more remained, when
Susan came to the playroom with very light steps. Her whole bow
moved with a lightness comparable to the movement of white clouds on
a smer's day. Her face shone with sparkling eyes. She began to
blow up balloons. When she finished she tossed them in the air. With
head uplifted and hands scarcely touching the balloons she danced about
the room, keeping the balloons aloft. The bodily moments gave expres-
sion to the lightness of her spirit, and the radiant light in her
face matched the color of the balloons. Altogether the picture was
one of great beauty, a beauty that is expressed in the richness and
fullness of the discovery of a ”new“ self. This discovery is epito-
mized in her own words, “I passed the cotton test. There was only
about half in the class passed. No there is 1.0 in the class. Thirty-
eight passed, two failed. I was one who passed and I'm almost the
worst in the class and that's a bad subject, because there's lets you
havetodolike readinginit. Igotan80andifIgot @901de
have been one of the best in the class, but I got an 80 and that's
one of the highest marks you can get. I only got four wrong. The

83

teacher said it was a miracle that half the class passed. It was hard

to do it. I thought, 01, I can't do this, I won't be able to do it
and all that, and when I passed I was one of the highest kids. And
whenggggggm I felt like, oh, oh, I was sohappy I nearly
got sick because I thought, 01, I'm going to fail for sure, and then
I M. I thought she was kidding, you know, I said to wself, (h,
she's kiddirc. But when I saw aw paper, she wasn't. It seems almost
like it was a miracle." When the comment was made that she really
surprised herself thattime, she added, "I really did that time. I
thought, oh boy, I'm going to 1:31. I did and I passed. I felt like,
'Hello, Everybody.‘ I wanted totreat everybody. I wantedto but I
couldn't. m mother is going to give me five cents for passing." When
the coll-lent was made that it makes you feel good when you find out you
can do things yourself, she added, "You think you can't and you turn
around and you can. You feel like yelling out, 'Helle, Everybody.’
Iou feel like you're a kid on top of something. It makes you feel so
proud, sort of like you were in your best uniform. And you always
want to go [say] , I'm the M in the class but there's always lots
of kids ahead of you and the teacher said I was one of the best ones.
After the cannent was made that the sun was really shining for her
that day, she added, "It's just like the sun was shining and never
stepped. Lots of kids said, Q1, you're not going to pass and I made
ahigher mark thanthey did. As they say, mmgmu.

I did: as: I m I sea 22 it!"
Her feelings about school changed as she was able to find a self

/\

81.

that could do things when she tried. I”ill of our fun is when the work
is done. Work first and pleasure next in our room: no pleasure and then
work, work before pleasure, whether we like it or not. I'm getting used
-to it now, and I like it. I used to hate school, now I don't, I'll get-
ting used to it." I

As her awakening self was coming to fulfillment she was reaching
out to others and they in turn were reaching out to her. She expressed
the feeling of loneliness one experienceswhen one is “different“ and
when one is not a member of the group. She did this in retrospect as
she looked back over the past four months, “If you don't have friends
you feel as if everyon hates you and you want to run am. I had
that feeling once, but not manure!"

During the last session which coincided with the closing of school
she said, "I'm going to miss school. At first I hated it, then I got
used to it andnggglggg.‘ The childrenwho called her stupid and
contributed to her feelings of inadequacy and her feelings of hatred
about school are now her friends. "Tomorrow is the last day of school,"
she said. ”To some children that's going to be a big, big relief, and
to others, not. I like to be at school, when you'reout, you miss the
children you like. It's going to be half relief for me and half not,
some of my friends are real nice, that's the half not, leaving them,
the half relief - well, there's no more school: Just the same I don't
like leaving it, Just when I get to liking it, I have to leave it. I

wish we could go to school when we wanted to. I don't like having to
stop and having to start again. Some things about school make me happy,

85

some make me sad. It's the happy things that make me sad leaving
than. I.
991;;

In contrast with Susan, who was able to express her feelings in
direct verbal expression, David used the medium of play to express his
feelings. To be sure he used verbal expression occasionally, but
almost always as an accompaniment to the feeling expressed by his play.
Susan, on the other hand, found words her principal means of expres-
sion with play as an accompaniment.

The initial interview with David's mother revealed a child who
was a virtual nonentity as a member of the family. His mother expressed
the feeling that she had not been able to relate to David as an indi-
vidual. His younger brother and sister were ”different,“ in that both
parents seemed to think of them in concrete terms, with special patterns
of behavior. David seemed to remain in the background while the other
children found themselves as individuals. David' s teacher corroborated
his parents' view of him. He found it difficult to keep up with the
other children, yet strangely enough, no one seemed to be aware of it.
In a word, he simply was not noticed. He never gave the teacher any
"trouble” nor did he contribute in any positive way in the group. In
the classroom he was hidden in the group and at home, in the family.
Conditions were such as “to make it impossible for him to emerge as an
individual in his own right.

He was limited as a self, but if he felt the restraint, he did not

86

talksbout it. thisfirstvisittothe playroomhetalkedabout

his family, his dogs and his pets, but without definitive thought or
feeling. He began with his imediate interests and the life in which
he was submerged. He found it difficult to decide on an activity and
sat for the major part of the session biting his fingernails and blink-
ing his eyes. He was anxious about the time elemnt in this session and
at various intervals in a strange way he kept thinking he heard his
sister calling him.

During the second session he explored the room more freely. He
caressed sm'prise in "finding more things here today.” After a
rather cursory survey of the room and a few attempts to use the guns
and the bow and arrow without success, he said he would like to have
a doll house for his sister and wondered if it would be all right for

him to make one. When he found that such decisions were entirely up
tohin, hewent tethework benchandtakingout allthe toolsinthe
drawer prepared to make a doll house. For the remainder of the session
he sawed on a large piece of wood. He found the sawing very difficult
but persisted until the time was up, though he appeared to be exhausted.
The third session found him eagerly entering the playroom, walking
straight to the work bench and his piece of wood. He canpleted the
sewing and then decided to mail it to another piece. With feverish
activity he tried to harsher nails in the edge of a very thin piece of
wood. He repeated this activity until he had the four sides precar-
iously nailed together. He decided to paint the framework he had made
and then left it to dry. As he worked in this cosqmlsive fashion he thought

87

he heard voices and several times stopped his pounding or sewing to ask
if the therapist had said awthing. Each time he said it sounded like
someone saying David. His amdety pervaded his whole being. His move-
ments were sporadic and uncoordinated. The "house'' - five pieces of
wood all going in different directions -- symbolised in some measure the
undifferentiated, and diffuse, quality of its creator.

For six more sessions David worked on the house. It came to pieces;
he put it together again, he painted it one day and decided to paint it
adifferent colerthenextdsy. Heattemptedteputroomsinit, tomake
a roof for it. When the nails proved unsatisfactory for his purposes
he tried screws; when the screws failed he tried glue. Each day he worked
enit. At one pointhe said, “This isroughenne, butsysisterwillbe
lmppy.’t Another day he said, '16 sister is pretty anxious to see this
house. She has spread unsure about it all around the neighborhood.“ He
also decided that when he finished the house for his sister he was going
to make a boat for his’brether.

Dming the six sessions, the time he spent on the house decreased
steadily. Theughhewerked on it each day, he exploredmore andmerethe
play environment. (he day as he played checkers and won two games he
said, "I didn't know I was so good.” Another day he plqed with the
puppets. He faced them toward the therapist, making them wave, dance
and mod their heads. He said, “The puppets can't speak, the only thing
they can say is, 'Helle'." The next session he‘stopped in the middle of
hispaintingandcamseverand steeddirectlyinfrent ofthetherapist.
His face was alive, his voice filled with a mixture of hostility, anxiety,

’5

88

and delight. Delight in finding within himself a satisfying answer

to his feelings about himself and his relations to his family, delight
also in finding a means of directly expressing his hostility in words.

"I went to visit my aunt and uncle over the Easter holidays, but,

every time I go away for a visit, nw brother and sister have a better
time than I do. This time they went to the carnival and had _tw_§l_v_e_
rides.” When the cement was made that he certainly didn't think that
was fair, he replied, "No, I don't, the same thing happened in the sinner
when I went away. They had picnics or something special every div.

1': going to get smart and 22": go the next time.”

' Inmakingthe doll house forhis sister Davidwastryingveryhard
to attain status as a contributing member of the family, a member who
could "do" things. His wish for recognition and approval was further
mlified during a session in which he was making a model airplane.
is he worked he said, “I can't £13, to see the expression on 1v father's
face when he sees this. I Just can't wait. He thinks I can't do a
model, but I'll show him!" The next session David entered the roan say-
ing, "Ion w my Dad wasn't a bit surprised about the model I made. He
wasn't a bit surprised. He Just nailed and said, '19; can make models!"
rs. remark that David then made would seem to indicate that outward
approval. as a means of inner satisfaction was becoming less significant
in his life, for he said, ”Well at least 3.13 knows now I can, and also I
know that I can."

The crucial moment in David's experience occurred in the tenth
session. ”I told my sister I was sorry to disappoint her, but I wasn't

89

going to finish her doll house.” He proceeded to the work bench, took
the hamer in his hand and demolished the house, throwing the pieces of
wood in the box. 341th a wiping of his hands and a broad smile on his
face he said, “That didn't take long." With great freedom of movement
and lightness of touch he went to the easel and painted a large target,
several circles within each other. Tacking it on the wall. he threw darts
and on each bulls-eye exclained, “I did it, I thought I could do it, I
can do it, I did it!" David was now finding strength within. He was
finding that the greatest rewards come fro- knowing that dependence on
one's own ability is more satisfying than the approval of the outside.

' In demolishing the house he left the ”old“ self behind. He freed
himself from the approval of others and said, in effect, "What I want to
do is important, the w in which I do it is important an! the fact that
I have done it is all the reward I need.“ Thus David decided to be some-
one in his own right, not Just approved or and not a nonentity. He took
a step forward to the center of his own being.

David's teacher reported a “new“ child in his classroom. Six weeks
after the therapy sessions began the teacher reported that David had
”come out of his shell.” His teacher continued, ”David is now willing
to try things. He interacts with the children ani participates actively
in class discussion." During a recent discussion of clothing worn in
different countries, David volunteered that he had a kilt at hose and if
it was all right he would bring it to school. This was David's first
active participation in classroom activities. Although his school work
was still far behind the expectations of his grade level at least he

r'w

sensed to be ”there” now, and the teacher was hOpeful of further
progress. At the end of the term his teacher said he had no hesita-
tion in promoting David to the fourth grade. "His school subjects
are pretty well up to grade level and with his changed attitude I
have no doubt about his success in the years to com. He is a very
intelligent boy, and I am delighted that he has at last been enabled
to use his ability."

The final interview with his mother was in marked contrast with
the initial interview. A self-assured mother radiated happiness as
she entered the office. She reported that David's report card showed
great improvement. However, more important than the newly developed
skills in school achievement was the ”new“ David. His mother proudly
exclaimed, ”He is more outspoken, and at the same time more down to
earth. He knows that he can do things and that he can do then without
the help of anyone.” She reported tint no longer does he expect or look
for ipproval. He reads the newspaper and shares his experiences with
her. Formerly at meal tin David sat silent. How he entereinto the
family conversation. He recently made a tray which his mother thought
must be a present for her for Mother's Day. To her surprise he decided
to give it to a neighbor, "because she has done so new things for ma.‘I
He recently decided to write a letter to his granimother in which he
said, l'Thenk you for all the things you've given me." His mother added
that she is “amazed at his initiative and the ideas that are his.”

She ended by saying, ”We have both grown from this experience." A letter

which followed said in part, "I find that David and I are drawn
closer each day. Perhaps until now I had unconsciously given more of
awselftotheyounger children . e e I canunderstandhimmore andmore."

Pete:
It is not possible to pre-detemins the amount of time it will take

to enable a child to gain the feeling of independence and worth experi-
enced by both David and Susan. For thu, sixteen sessions were long
enough, for Peter it was not. Susan experienced a ”new" self, and the
new self was manifested in her attitude toward herself and her abilities,
and also in her attitudes toward others. Because of her increased self-
knowledge, she was able to use her capacities in arithmetic and in passing
the ”cotton test.” Yet, because she did not have the basic skills needed,
she was not able to utilise her capacities in reading achievement. David
was freed to use his capacities, and because he did have the basic read-
ing skills, he was able to increase his reading achievement. '

Peter had mam difficulties to overcome, and sixteen weeks did not
give him enough time to overcase them. Neither did he have the required
skills. This child was filled with feelings of failure, inadequacy and
worthlessness. He was never at ease in the therapy situation, for he
was continually reminded by home and school that he could not read.
Before cming to therapy he had had a thorough diagnostic program at a
reading clinic andithadbeenrecosnendedbythe clinic that hebe
given an intensive remedial reading program. The principal and teacher
in the school felt that he had may personality difficulties and they

92

recommended therapy as the first step in alleviating his reading

problem. His parents were willing to cooperate in the program, but

were doubtful from the beginning that it would have any effect on Peter's
reading achievement. After each session his mother anxiously wanted to
know if Peter “had read today," in spite of having been told in the
initial interview that he would not be expected to read, as reading was
to be a part of the session only if he wanted it.

Although Peter seemed initially relieved when he was told that he
was free to do with the forty-five minutes as he wished, it was apparent
that the pressure from home and the constant reminder in school of his
inability to read caused a great deal of confusion and anxiety within
him. Some days he would try very hard to read to the therapist; other
days he would sit during the forty-five minutes while the. therapist read
to him. Even when the therapist stopped briefly to see if he was tired
of sitting, he would imediately say, “Keep going. I'll tell you when I
want you to stop.” He felt that this was closer to what he 313933.93
doing than playing with the toys. Sometimes he would sigh in the middle
of the story and say, ”I want to be able to read more than anything else
in the world." He became so involved in the reading process as the
therapist read that many times he became oblivious to the story content.
This was evident when he would bring the same book to th therapist and
say, “Read this, you didn't read this yet,” when perhaps the book had been
read to bill the week before.

He did not want to play with the toys to am great extent, saying
they were all ”little kids' toys.” when he did plq with than his

93

feelings of inadequacy always came through. the day, for example, as
he played with the bow and arrows he kept repeating, "I can't do it," or
”I won't be able to do it,‘ though many times he hit the target. The
therapist said to him, am wondering who it is that hits the target.
Are there two me's, one who hits the target, and one who doesn't?”
Peter replied, "The me who doesn't hit is me, the one who hits is you.”
later in the sane session he said, “I hit it: I hit it: The I that is
me, tremendous me!"

one day he threw darts at many balloons that were hanging from the
ceiling. He succeeded in hitting and breaking them all aid found satis-
faction in doing it. Afterwards, however, he sat down on the chair and
looked at the ceiling with a very sad expression on his face. When the
therapist commented that the I that was he, was really successful this
particular day, and that it must make him feel better to know he can
succeed, he replied, ”Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. It the
room] doesn't look as pretty now as it did.” It was almost as if he
could not let himself find satisfaction in anything he did.

This feeling was further illustrated in a session in which he painted
a ship. Here Peter said aloud, ”It's not very good, even you couldn't
tell what it is.“ The feeling of inadequacy was expressed again on may
occasions when he would speak of trying to ”toughen himself up." He
would butt his head against the wall, or hit his hands against the work-
bench and say, "You will think I'm goony, but I'm toughening up nw head
and I'm toughening up ny hands.n Sometimes his feelings of inadequacy
were mixed with feelings of adequacy. For example, he said, “I can't

cw.

91+

tell time. I'm not much good at doing things, except at arithmetic, but
spelling I can't, nor reading. That's why I'm here, of course, but I
can run and climb trees and fight.” Peter would compare himself with his
friend, John. He would say, ”I can't swim as far as my friend; he can
swim underwater about the whole length of this room. He's only seven and
I'm eight."

Peter felt the duties of home and school so overwhelming that it
seemed to him that he never had time to play. Ole day he said, "I never
have tine for playing. I plan a long time ahead to play, but take last
night, for instance, what did I have to do? First, the dishes, and I
hate doing dishes; then I had to make something for cubs, then I had to
get my hair cut, then shine aw shoes, have a bath, and then it was time
for bed . e . no time for p133. I never have time to play.”

Not only did Peter feel that he was inadequate himself, but also
that his father was inadequate. "John is lucky,“ he would say. "His Dad
is a doctor. When he gets hurt, his Dad can fix him. His Dad makes
twice as much as mine does and his house is twice as big. And he has a
swiming pool to swim in in sumer,and to State on in winter. His walls
are wooden, and there is a whole bunch of furniture—nice furniture."

Although Peter was experiencing success in may areas, he couldn't
quite let himself admit that he was successful in the playroan. Even,
when approval was not given of his paintings and drawings, he would read
approval into the interest which the therapist would show in his work.
Qle dayafterhe hadmadeapaintingandhadleft itintheplayroomto
dry, his mother asked what he had done. Peter said to the therapist,

/s

95

”It's all right to tell w mother what I do but it's not all right to
tell her it's good.“

He was reluctant to depend on himself or to take responsibility
for his own decisions. (he day he went to the easel and the following
conversation between himself and the therapist ensued:

Peter: Now what shall I paint?

ll‘her: It's up to you what you paint.

Peter: But I want you to tell me what to paint.

Thor: When you are here you do what you want to do.

Peter: IfIcandowhathant, andhave what Iwant . . .what I

want is for you to tell an what to paint.

Thor: I can't tell you what to paint. It's up to you entirely.

Peter: 01!. Shall I paint trains going past houses, or ships, or

airplanes . . . 7 You chose one of those.

Thor: You will have to make the decision. If you want to paint,

then what you paint is up to you.

Peter: (K. I'll paint a picture, but you will have to guess

what it is.

This child tried to’ find his real self. Toward the end of the
sixteen weeks he worked on a model and said, I"1‘he me that can do things
is here today. I thought this would be too hard, but I can do it."

The session before the last, he decided to draw an engine and give
it to the therapist. As he drew he spoke of his love for trains and his
hope of being an engineer when he grew up, "If there are still steam
engines, but not if there are only diesels." He pointed out various

96

parts of the engine as he drew them, saying he knew this was right
because every day on his way to school he looked at an engine and found
out more things about it.

Peter expressed his feelings about himself that he said, “I like
conng here because I can relax."

It was at this point that the sessions stapped. His parents, who
were still anxious about his inability to read, said he would begin the
remedial reading program during the sinner.

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