I didn’t love this video. He didn’t seem catatonic to me but that’s a good thing for him!!! He had a flat affect and was slow to respond but he did respond.
2022-05-16 12:19:31 +0000 UTC
Thank you so much for this
2022-04-21 23:16:57 +0000 UTC
Great video. I remember reading a comment from someone who said they were a relative of this guy and they loved him very much. They said he used to stand or sit for hours without saying anything, and that to the best of their knowledge he never had a piano.
2022-04-05 17:04:03 +0000 UTC
Thank you for bringing this video to our attention and for doing the important work of describing what this experience may be like for the person who is hospitalized. As a mom of a son hospitalized three times for SZ I find it unsettling that this is the video making the rounds on the internet. The stigma of SZ is front and center in this video - I think you described it well in your video and hope others will learn what may be going on.
I would like to share another perspective.
My family member experienced akinetic catatonia - it looks very different that what may have been implied in the video. There was no communication back and forth. What was communicated was a repeating of words I had said. And their body was frozen with eyes staring straight ahead.
What is triggering in this 1960s video is the sense of loss. Once a loved one is in the hospital your loved one becomes a patient number instead of a complete person who has a life story.
What is also evident to me about this interviewer (physician?): there’s a power dynamic at play; not clear if he is taking notes; his identity is kept confidential and finally and his body seems just as still as the patient.
The continued stigma, fear and disinformation this video may continue to cause those of us who love and care for neuro-divergent sons and daughters is disheartening. But you my dear, bring truth and experience to light. I am forever grateful for your work.
