One of the girls in the video is on ritalin, can you tell which one?
November 29, 2017 3:25 AM   Subscribe

 
I thought the intrusion of noise, cacophony, at the end of the video was effective in simulating a mental state in which focused attention is more difficult.
posted by brainwane at 5:13 AM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


Context would be helpful.
posted by freya_lamb at 6:16 AM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


I haven't had my ritalin yet today, could you summarize this for me please? And, since I get defensive about such things, are they expressing an opinion on the subject, speaking from personal experience, or just using our condition as a prop?
posted by traveler_ at 7:08 AM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


Summary: Music video for a song called "ADHD" by Benjamin Fro consisting of side-by-side videos of a girl sitting in a chair, presumably listening to the song.

Video description is: This music video is an adaptation of the artwork 'RITALIN' by Lili Liane van Doorninck; also the maker of the original.

One of the girls in the video is on ritalin, can you tell which one?


I didn't perceive judgement being passed, but others may feel differently.
posted by jferg at 7:20 AM on November 29, 2017


Correction, the video is directly from a previous work, and is not of the girl listening to the song, but rather a cleaned up version of this video.

Spoiler (Google translated)
posted by jferg at 7:26 AM on November 29, 2017


Thanks jferg, you did all the backtracking for me. The last thing I wanted to do is pass judgment. @traveler_ are they expressing an opinion on the subject, speaking from personal experience, or just using our condition as a prop? Neither, they are just showing what it is.
I'm in awe of the courage of the girl, filming herself in such vulnerable conditions and using the power of the image to show that ADHD is not just a mental state. The longer you look at the two versions of her, the more differences you (I) see. In her face, her breathing, her posture...
I'm grateful that Benjamin & Lili teamed up to do this. I'm grateful that these two kids picked up their phone & computer and created this to learn an old fart like me about the facts of life.
(And I hoped the Youtube description would cover this)
posted by ouke at 7:42 AM on November 29, 2017 [4 favorites]


...I can‘t. They both look similar to me. What am I missing?
posted by Omnomnom at 12:02 PM on November 29, 2017


...to show that ADHD is not just a mental state. The longer you look at the two versions of her, the more differences you (I) see. In her face, her breathing, her posture...

I have no idea what you're talking about. Between 1991-3, I worked in years 2 and 3 of an 18 year longitudinal study administered by Vanderbilt from a $60 m NIMH grant in which protocols of ritalin were a variable. In '92 there was a month of panic because caps on production and illicit trade created a shortage. Procedure and documentation had to be made ready for the contingency. I was pretty young. It was a "real world" lesson in the amoralities of policy. There's illicit trade because its effect in adults (speedy) is different in children and adolescents. That difference is the issue addressed in the video and by many people affected by these diagnoses and treatments.

The range of effects *monumental sigh* on children (in my experience) was wide and I could not see the basis for much conclusion, but I was not hired for evaluation. My clinical psychologist boss played her cards close to her chest. Loved that woman. Lots of video recordings and one of my reasons to leave the Ivory Tower was how casually and conveniently aids and teachers interpreted recordings, but I don't mean to suggest any were similar to the linked video in the least. And to be exact, those aids and teachers weren't evaluating (on paper), but sharing impressions and opinions that wouldn't alter their procedural instructions.

I wasn't there earning a PhD or anything, very low-level. But my lovely boss did grant me access to all intervention sites (not the controls, naturally) and I saw more than, well, anyone so low level.

I interpret the linked video as advocating there is no difference. Because ADHD is a crappy diagnosis, but there is plurality of parents (and some of them are teachers themselves) that will tell you Ritalin was the difference between night and day. And my experiences were not that--not to contradict theirs-- where no such delivery from night occurred. I saw it do very strange things to a very few kids and mildly strange to a many-- circles under the eyes and a dopey acquiescence, but in one instance-- A student was held in from recess [bullshit in the first place] and in the 30 minutes he had to sit in a chair, the teacher allowed the compromise of him slowly inching himself across a floor on his back as a means to manage his restlessness, through and under furniture, slow as molasses. Now anyone can argue (and should) an anecdote of one kid who might just be strange on their own is not a meaningful illustration, but I was two years on this project and I relate it because it didn't have much other explanation than ritalin.

My opinion? The procedure for diagnosis is too greatly comprised of observation and descriptions riddled (poor choice of words) with key words and self-reinforcing conclusion and that's when it's particularly lengthy and deliberately audited and cautious, which is paradoxical as hell. But then there are funding issues, when funding just opens up for populations deemed deprived and those protocols are accelerated. And to be real cynical about it, probably a form of corporate subsidy.

And maybe someone who's in the business long after I walked away will tell me how completely wrong I am to believe it's the same shit today (which I do want to hear), but please observe full disclosure. I mean...can it be so bad and remain an issue for so damn long? Are there just statistics I'm not finding that make a case, for a greater good, this enterprise is reasonable?
posted by lazycomputerkids at 12:07 PM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


I decided to try it at home. Unfortunately, my medicated sit wasn't captured because my phone stopped recording after a few minutes! 

It was helpful for me to experience the differences between sits occurring about an hour apart, and to observe visual changes in myself compared to those feelings. For me, the contrast was surprising.

While I'm not sure I understand the motivation behind the original video, I think the concept is a great way to monitor or demonstrate the effects of ADHD with and without medication.
posted by bindr at 12:16 PM on November 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


For those who have a hard time noticing the tiny differences, look at her posture. Look at how she is sitting in the chair.

This is how I see her.

I have severe ADHD. I did not find this video to be judgemental, nor an opinion about it, it was a statement about living with it. Perception, external and internal. Both the song and the video, in different ways that work well together to make a statment that is more effective than either one alone.

lazycomputerkids, I'm going to assume good faith on your part. That you are trying to bring something useful to the discussion. Otherwise that was a nasty bit of trolling or at least very rude. Either way, I found what you said underinformed, offensive, and insulting, and your anecdote is irrelevant when given with that context. Your opinion of the validity of ADHD as a diagnosis has no place here. It reeks of the kind of arrogance and prejudice that makes those of us who live with this disorder miserable and afraid to talk about it. Just because you personally can't see something or don't understand it, doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

ADHD is not a crappy diagnosis, unless you mean that it sucks to have to live with it. I'd be thrilled if it were common and easy to have functional brain imaging done so that the diagnosis would be science-tastic enough to satisfy you and all of the other people who've shared their opinions about it at me over the years.

The only reason that I can type this comment out, or drive a car safely, or leave my house, or have a conversation with another human is that I get symptomatic relief from the stimulant medication that I take.

Addressing the weirdest assertion you made, pertaining to medication:

If adulthood caused a magical chemical shift that made someone with ADHD react to meds like a neurotypical person does my house would be clean, I could type up a comment like this in a few minutes instead of the couple of hours it took me to write, I'd never sleep, and I'd be higher than a kite. Or maybe one of the other 20 psych medications I've tried, most of which are less physically damaging in the long term, would have worked.

The effect of ritalin (or adderall) does not change as you get older. If you have ADHD, stimulants will generally calm you down. They turn down the volume of the world. They slow down the eternal racing of thoughts and give you room to breathe. You may get more done, if only because you can actually pick something to do.
posted by monopas at 3:59 AM on November 30, 2017 [9 favorites]


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