Schizophrenia is an unhealthy state of mind. This is a disease that can occur in childhood.
Schizophrenia. Characteristics
With this disease, a child may experience hallucinations, an abyss of emotionality, joy. Also, the baby can recover. There is still a weakening of mental activity. Physically, the patient may experience chaotic movements and other unhealthy manifestations.
In fact, schizophrenia has the same symptoms in both children and adults. But the difference is that the child has not yet received an education and his brain is developing. In children, it is more difficult to diagnose.
This disease requires constant monitoring throughout life. Therefore, an important point is the early diagnosis and adoption of the necessary treatment measures.
First signs
To determine that there is schizophrenia in a child, you need to pay attention to the first signs of the disease.
If the child is unwell, then first of all he will manifest developmental disorders. Namely, the delay in speech and walking. These signs can also be an indicator of other diseases of the baby, for example autism. Therefore, it is necessary to make a thorough diagnosis of the condition of the child and make an accurate diagnosis. It may be necessary to obtain the advice of several specialists.
Manifestation of the disease
How does schizophrenia manifest in children? In adolescence, the symptoms of the disease are much more difficult to detect. This is due to the fact that children in this period have an unstable hormonal background, and they already behave inappropriately. Therefore, a bad mood, depression can be attributed to the fact that the child has a transition period. It is worth saying that these symptoms of schizophrenia are also characteristic of an adult. If a teenager has noticed a deterioration in school, isolation from friends, then you should pay increased attention to the child and make an appointment with the doctor.
What are the signs of schizophrenia in children? What should I look for?
- First, schizophrenia in a child manifests itself through hallucinations. A person who is sick hears sounds that are not, and sees things that do not exist in reality.
- The second sign that schizophrenia is present in a child is any belief. For example, a patient may think that someone is chasing him. Or believes that he has any features that elevate him above all. Also, a person can decide that something is wrong with him physically. There can be a great many options, all of them relate to delirium.
- Speech impairment. In sick people, incoherent speech is observed. For example, if a patient is asked a question, then he will answer it partially or not completely.
- Impaired movement. Movements can be chaotic, directed in any direction. Or, for example, a person may take strange poses.
- There are also a number of symptoms that are problematic for the perception of others. For example, a person can stop monitoring himself or speak with one intonation, walk all the time with one expression and so on. Often, schizophrenia in a child is manifested by withdrawal.
The difficulty lies in the fact that at the initial stage of the disease, the above symptoms are weak. Therefore, it can be difficult for parents to notice them in their child. It is found that the character of the child in itself is restless. Therefore, it is very difficult to recognize the symptoms of schizophrenia. Further, the disease develops, and the symptoms intensify. At the stage when the child’s connection with reality is lost, he needs to be urgently hospitalized.
In which case you need to see a doctor?
Now it’s clear what schizophrenia is in children, we briefly described the symptoms. And now we will tell you in which case you need to see a doctor.
As a rule, it is difficult for parents to determine that their child is sick. In addition, you always want to believe in the best. Therefore, it is difficult for many parents to accept that a child suffers from a mental illness. However, it should be said that the sooner treatment begins, the greater the likelihood that a person’s condition will stabilize for a long time. Teachers at school can tell parents that they should contact a specialist. It is recommended not to neglect their opinions, but to heed the advice of the people around your child.
You should go to a specialist if the following symptoms are noticed in a child:
- Inhibition in development compared to peers.
- Inhibition in everyday activities, such as washing, cleaning things and other household activities.
- If the child has become less communicate with friends and relatives.
- Bad grades at school.
- Inadequate body movements or hand swings, for example, during lunch or dinner.
- Team behavior different from other children. For example, a child refuses to play along with everyone, is on the sidelines, shows an inadequate reaction to any things.
- A child diagnosed with schizophrenia has any fears or strange thoughts.
- Aggression, cruelty, anger towards others or some other things.
It should be noted that the above symptoms are not necessarily an indicator that the child has a disease such as schizophrenia. These symptoms can be associated with depression, poor mood, adaptation to a new environment, and even be a sign of an infectious or catarrhal disease. But in any case, do not delay and see a doctor as quickly as possible.
Causes of the disease
We talked about how schizophrenia manifests itself in children; we described the symptoms and signs of the disease in detail. Now consider the causes of the disease in children.
It should be said that the reasons are the same for both an adult and a child. It is not clear why in some people it begins to develop in adulthood, and in others in the childhood or adolescence. The disease is associated with the work of the brain. This disease is attributed to genetic heredity and the human environment. The disease has been diagnosed for many years, but the causes of the onset are not precisely defined.
Factors
However, there are several characteristics that can provoke this disease:
- Relatives who suffer from this disease.
- Bearing a child after 35 years. There is statistics, thanks to which it is known that children of women who have given birth after 35 years are more prone to schizophrenia. The older the mother, the greater the likelihood that her baby will fall ill with this ailment.
- Adverse Environment For example, any stresses, scandals of parents or other negative situation that may affect the psyche of the baby.
- If the father of the child is in old age, this can also become a development of the disease in the child.
- Taking psychotropic drugs and bad habits of a teenager. These factors contribute to the occurrence of mental illness.
Typically, signs of schizophrenia appear in adolescence and are aggravated by age 30. The disease in young children is extremely rare.
Complications
We examined all the signs of schizophrenia in children, the behavior of patients we described. Now you should consider the complications of the disease.
It happens that the diagnosis of schizophrenia was not carried out at an early stage. In this situation, the disease may have complications. They are the same in both children and adults. First, a child with schizophrenia cannot go to school. This is due to the inability to learn. Secondly, a person cannot carry out actions related to personal hygiene. Thirdly, a person becomes closed, he does not communicate with anyone. He has thoughts of suicide.
He can also harm himself, inflict some kind of injury. Further, the patient has various fears or experiences, it may seem to him that he is being pursued. During this period, he begins to drink alcohol, smoke, take increased doses of drugs. Against this background, aggression is manifested, conflicts begin at home and so on.
Diagnosis of schizophrenia
First of all, when contacting a medical institution, the doctor will conduct an examination and interview. Perhaps he will want to learn about school performance or see how the child studied before and what grades he has now.
The next stage of the examination is blood tests. This must be done to exclude other diseases due to which the child may be in this condition. For example, a blood test will show if it contains alcohol or drugs.
In addition, the diagnosis of the brain with the help of computer research is possible.
In addition to a physiological examination of the body, the doctor will definitely have a conversation with the child in order to find out if he has any phobias, strange thoughts and other signs of a mental illness. Also, the doctor assesses the appearance of the patient, his neatness.
It should be noted that the process of diagnosing a child takes a lot of time. In some cases, up to six months, since the doctor has a difficult task - to exclude other diseases with similar symptoms. But during the diagnosis, the psychiatrist can prescribe medications that will help stabilize the child's condition. For example, in those cases when he harms himself or shows aggression.
Treatment
The treatment process will occur continuously, throughout a person’s life. Schizophrenia is treated with special drugs. Also in the process should include family members, society. Hospitalization may be needed.
Children are prescribed the same medications as adults. These are antipsychotic drugs. These medications help eliminate symptoms such as delirium, hallucinations, and loss of emotion. The results from taking these drugs appear after a few weeks. The essence of therapy is to make the dosage of drugs lower and at the same time maintain the person in good condition.
These drugs have various side effects. It is especially necessary to carefully monitor the condition of the child who is taking these drugs. The situation is aggravated by the fact that a small child can not talk about his feelings when taking medication. Therefore, with any disorder of the body while taking these drugs, you should immediately consult a doctor. Perhaps he will change the dosage or prescribe another drug.
Psychotherapeutic treatment
This type of treatment is very important. And he must be included in complex therapy. A doctor should talk with the child and teach him how to cope with his condition. Such treatment will help to establish communication with friends and relatives, teach the child how to cope with fears and more. It is very important that parents of children with schizophrenia participate in the treatment. It is necessary to support him, to adjust communication, to analyze conflict situations. If family members themselves cannot do this, then they need to consult a doctor. Thanks to joint efforts, the patient's condition will improve.
Conclusion
Now you know what the disease is. We examined the causes of the disease, signs and treatment options.