Dystopic Mental Reprogramming Filter?
December 30, 2010 1:58 PM Subscribe
Dystopic Mental Reprogramming Filter?: When I was about 10 years old (1987) in Los Angeles, my mother sent me to some kind of "therapy" which involved me laying in a small, completely dark room, on strange tables (one rotated, one moved in sort of elliptical motions, I think one clanged back and forth--I was on one kind of table during each visit), with one ear plug in, and listening to discordant sounds like clanging scraping silverware. I don't know how long this went on, but I think it was over the course of some months.
I know this sounds kind of ridiculous, but this is an accurate account. What the heck were they doing? There was another room that had brightly colored balls and equipment that seemed focused on improving balance, and I have a sense that there might have been autistic children being treated there as well.
As for myself, I was a highly gifted child, outgoing, highly social, independent, verbally advanced, etc. The only real explanation I could imagine for this "therapy" was that I was very belligerent with my mentally- and occasionally physically-abusive mother, and fought back consistently. I know she sought external explanations for my behavior that did not stem from her own actions.
So, any ideas about what they were doing to me, and what the theory behind it might have been? It was absolutely terrifying, but I guess interesting enough to my inquisitive mind that I didn't question what was happening, and why (also, any time spent away from my mother was a cause for celebration, even for something this crazy.) Is there actually a pretty benign explanation for this? Because it sounds, and certainly felt, horrific.
I know this sounds kind of ridiculous, but this is an accurate account. What the heck were they doing? There was another room that had brightly colored balls and equipment that seemed focused on improving balance, and I have a sense that there might have been autistic children being treated there as well.
As for myself, I was a highly gifted child, outgoing, highly social, independent, verbally advanced, etc. The only real explanation I could imagine for this "therapy" was that I was very belligerent with my mentally- and occasionally physically-abusive mother, and fought back consistently. I know she sought external explanations for my behavior that did not stem from her own actions.
So, any ideas about what they were doing to me, and what the theory behind it might have been? It was absolutely terrifying, but I guess interesting enough to my inquisitive mind that I didn't question what was happening, and why (also, any time spent away from my mother was a cause for celebration, even for something this crazy.) Is there actually a pretty benign explanation for this? Because it sounds, and certainly felt, horrific.
It might have been not what you needed, but there are a number of people out there with sensory processing problems, for whom things like this can help their brains start to properly process stuff like vestibular data and discordant noise, so I wouldn't call it completely woo-y.
The bit about the balls and stuff sounds like this was an occupational therapist's office. Personal experience, here. As a child, I thought that this must be the coolest thing ever to do because your office was like a freaking amusement park. There was a ball pit, and some giant swings hanging from the ceiling, etc. I was smart, high-functioning, independent, didn't get along with my mother, but was also frequently cranky due to sensory processing issues. It's possible that someone besides your mother thought that perhaps you were having problems with this sort of thing and referred you to an OT. Or maybe it was your mom, but yeah, OT isn't really the kind of therapy that's meant to help kids behave better for their parents, it's more to help them function in day-to-day tasks. Autistic kids often get OT, but they aren't the only ones.
So, yeah. It's not really mental reprogramming in the way you think. It might have helped you, it might not have, but it doesn't sound like you were scarred by it or anything. There are obviously some ways of practicing this that are more woo-woo than others. Most of them aren't, I don't think, horrific. I'm sorry yours was!
posted by gracedissolved at 3:32 PM on December 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
The bit about the balls and stuff sounds like this was an occupational therapist's office. Personal experience, here. As a child, I thought that this must be the coolest thing ever to do because your office was like a freaking amusement park. There was a ball pit, and some giant swings hanging from the ceiling, etc. I was smart, high-functioning, independent, didn't get along with my mother, but was also frequently cranky due to sensory processing issues. It's possible that someone besides your mother thought that perhaps you were having problems with this sort of thing and referred you to an OT. Or maybe it was your mom, but yeah, OT isn't really the kind of therapy that's meant to help kids behave better for their parents, it's more to help them function in day-to-day tasks. Autistic kids often get OT, but they aren't the only ones.
So, yeah. It's not really mental reprogramming in the way you think. It might have helped you, it might not have, but it doesn't sound like you were scarred by it or anything. There are obviously some ways of practicing this that are more woo-woo than others. Most of them aren't, I don't think, horrific. I'm sorry yours was!
posted by gracedissolved at 3:32 PM on December 30, 2010 [1 favorite]
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posted by ulotrichous at 2:24 PM on December 30, 2010