Blog Post: Yelling From The Sideline

[MDV]

Oi folks! I wrote something on the blog: http://somnovastudios.blogspot.nl/2012/ ... lines.html

As I said, you can ask me anything and do it here .

[ILY]

I thought that you were a psychiatrist this whole time. I was also one of the people with sugar coated expectations.
Even though the sugar got brushed off, my expectations are higher than they were before.

Good luck with your part in the project!

[EvilDragon]

Awesome post, thanks for all the info. Yes, the expectations have just risen

[Wyges]

I used to be a person who thought that "Mentally ill people are fine and normal people like everyone else" until I actually met some mentally ill people. World is unfairly cruel to some people out there. It would be great if everyone could co-exist happily, but unfortunately world does not work that way. But we can at least hope, eh?

You said we can ask some questions if we want, so... You said that "Schools for mentally ill students aren’t paradises of tolerance, acceptance and understanding", but, in your opinion, where would it be harder for a mentally ill person - in a normal school or in a specialized school? :>



Best of luck to you, MDV. Be as strict as you can. :3

[Malkav]

Everything is going just as planned... excellent. Our minds approve of this doppelganger post.

[WolfHunner]

So that's what's what a medical consultant does. Alright then, good read.

[ILY]

Hmm
I’ve heard things that make the autism-bashing on 4chan seem nice."
What was one of the worst things that you saw or heard there?

[jarek56]

Hmm
I’ve heard things that make the autism-bashing on 4chan seem nice."
What was one of the worst things that you saw or heard there?

Knowing 4chan, it isn't very imaginative, and probably makes no sense to normal mankind.

Hmm...that is an amazingly revelant and informative post, MDV. Thanks for making it! More importantly, thank you for...pulling some of the wool from my eyes.

Though I suffered from ADHD, honest to goodness, it was never serious enough to require my being enrolled in anything approaching a "specialized" environment. I just...have so LITTLE interaction with this part of the universe. And while I am astonished at the realities of...schools for those suffering from mental disorders, I have to ask myself...am I wrong, in some horrible way, for not being terribly surprised?

I thank you for your posting, your honesty, your dedication, MDV, and now must sit very deeply in my chair and think very hard about this very fucked up world. I fear I no longer just wish to play this VN; I NEED to. My world view is...a bit rose-tinted.

[Mr Immortal]

I must admit, while not sugar coated, I had expected the story to follow a similar Aesop to KS. I'm going to have to stay here until the games done to find more out now.

Seeing as can ask a question, do special schoos attempt to distil the "you are normal" explanation to the students, or do they attempt to tell them about life in a blunter fashion?

[TheLastMelody]

Hmm
I’ve heard things that make the autism-bashing on 4chan seem nice."
What was one of the worst things that you saw or heard there?

I want to know too.

I must admit, while not sugar coated, I had expected the story to follow a similar Aesop to KS. I'm going to have to stay here until the games done to find more out now.

Seeing as can ask a question, do special schoos attempt to distil the "you are normal" explanation to the students, or do they attempt to tell them about life in a blunter fashion?

I second this question.

And also, if anyone ever thought this:

- Mentally ill people are fine and normal people like everyone else
- In a special school, all the students will be mentally ill, so they’ll respect each other’s differences and be understanding towards each other

Then they have not met a mentally ill person and neither have they studied/philosophed/thought much about human nature. (sorry if I sound rude as that was not my intent, I just don't know how to word it better ^_^)

[Gloom]

I must admit, while not sugar coated, I had expected the story to follow a similar Aesop to KS. I'm going to have to stay here until the games done to find more out now.

Seeing as can ask a question, do special schoos attempt to distil the "you are normal" explanation to the students, or do they attempt to tell them about life in a blunter fashion?

As I've said before on my own blog post, each character is their own unique person. Some would probably meet your earlier expectations to a certain degree, if you were counting on a "KS-like" experience. Others might nudge it a little.

[MDV]

where would it be harder for a mentally ill person - in a normal school or in a specialized school? :>

I think that depends strongly on how serious his problems are. If this person can function in a normal school, he/she should just stay there. All the bad behaviour at the special school will probably just be a bad influence and he/she will have a hard time building a social life from school.
But obviously, if he/she has trouble getting by in a normal school and needs special care for their issues, they shouldn't stay there and a special school would be better.

What was one of the worst things that you saw or heard there?

The worst thing I saw was probably some fight where one guy went nuts and raged so hard he started wrecking stuff around him and the police had to come to deal with the situation, I have no idea what caused it. I probably don't even remember the worst thing I heard, you get kind of numbed-down when you hear people yell 'cancer autist!!' at each other for no real reason all the time.

Seeing as can ask a question, do special schoos attempt to distil the "you are normal" explanation to the students, or do they attempt to tell them about life in a blunter fashion?

This depends on the student and the person treating it. A common course some therapist taught to students was the 'I am special' course, the idea was to get students to accept they weren't like others but that it's nothing to be ashamed about. This completely backfired and got called the 'I am insane' course and was considered pretty humiliating. Studens themselves constantly reminded others of how insane they were because it made them feel better about themselves.

As I've said before on my own blog post, each character is their own unique person. Some would probably meet your earlier expectations to a certain degree, if you were counting on a "KS-like" experience. Others might nudge it a little.

This is a good thing to remember. How dark the story is actually going to be depends on the writers. Some will probably write something more lighthearted than my blog post and comments in general seem to suggest.

[jarek56]

This depends on the student and the person treating it. A common course some therapist taught to students was the 'I am special' course, the idea was to get students to accept they weren't like others but that it's nothing to be ashamed about. This completely backfired and got called the 'I am insane' course and was considered pretty humiliating. Studens themselves constantly reminded others of how insane they were because it made them feel better about themselves.

...This leads to alarming implications for me, personally. I am currently in University for majoring in Psychology, specifically in the Clinical field. I've heard NOTHING about this sort of problem, though most unpleasantly, I've long feared this was the case. I have no real clue of what to expect from my intended field of work, and now I'm looking to people like you to shed some personal light on it.

If you don't mind my asking, what were some other treatments or courses that therapists at the school you were involved with tried? Did others, in your opinion, work better, and why? I can imagine that these are deeply personal questions for you, questions you might not be at all interested in talking about, which I completely understand, and accept. I just very badly wish to understand something I have NO experience with.

[dabriz]

Nice posting. And yeah, I thought you're a professional medical person all of these time

Doesn't matter though, it's great to know that we have a dev with specific task (terminator) like you riding on this project too, please be as strict as possible
J/k, I just have quite high expectation on this project

TBH, I put much more interests on psychology's theme rather than physical-disability. Thus make me have a ton of questions for you, MDV (and raising my expectation even higher than before)


Please keep up the good work and best of luck!



Also, as a question, what happens to a child who extremely cross the line (maybe rage, violence, or emotional unstable to extreme extent)? Will they be quarantined from other kids or even kicked out from the school?

[TheLastMelody]

Also, as a question, what happens to a child who extremely cross the line (maybe rage, violence, or emotional unstable to extreme extent)? Will they be quarantined from other kids or even kicked out from the school?

I once fitted in those criteria, but then I got sent to diverse anger-management theraphists. Meetings with some professional who was asking me question to determine how bad my case was, order some pills for me (the kinds that make you less aggressive and more slack, less energetic)... They hired extra personell to watch me at school, sending me off to some institution several days of the week after school where there worked people who had a degree in psychology... I did get suspended some days for making a teacher feel threatened... But I think if it was much more extreme than my case, you probably would be thrown into some kind of asylum... That really depends on wich country it is...

[MDV]

Also, as a question, what happens to a child who extremely cross the line (maybe rage, violence, or emotional unstable to extreme extent)? Will they be quarantined from other kids or even kicked out from the school?

This strongly depends on the individual and how often he or she crosses the line. Being quarantined from other kids was rare in my old school, but it happened every once in a while. Some students got kicked off, but never for doing something extreme only once. Sometime students weren't punished in any way for the things you named.

[dabriz]

I once fitted in those criteria, but then I got sent to diverse anger-management theraphists. Meetings with some professional who was asking me question to determine how bad my case was, order some pills for me (the kinds that make you less aggressive and more slack, less energetic)... They hired extra personell to watch me at school, sending me off to some institution several days of the week after school where there worked people who had a degree in psychology... I did get suspended some days for making a teacher feel threatened... But I think if it was much more extreme than my case, you probably would be thrown into some kind of asylum... That really depends on wich country it is...

This strongly depends on the individual and how often he or she crosses the line. Being quarantined from other kids was rare in my old school, but it happened every once in a while. Some students got kicked off, but never for doing something extreme only once. Sometime students weren't punished in any way for the things you named.

I see, thank you for the share, both of you

also in your place, did the kids always lives in dormitory? When they go out (shopping, playing at arcade station, etc) do they kept company by some kind of guardian?

I actually hope that MS will be able to grasp the most detailed aspects of this theme, which environment are not very familiar for me. Maybe how they view the world, how they think about their future regarding their condition, how they fight their loneliness, how their disabilities afraid them. Thus, I put a great trust on you, devs

[MDV]

also in your place, did the kids always lives in dormitory? When they go out (shopping, playing at arcade station, etc) do they kept company by some kind of guardian?

No to both. The students in MS do live in dorms though, that's a part where St. Dymphna's is different from my old school.

[TheLastMelody]

I see, thank you for the share, both of you :)

No problem ^_^