Schizophrenia in a child: signs and symptoms. Methods of treatment and diagnostics

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Schizophrenia is an unhe althy mental state. This is a disease that can appear in childhood.

Schizophrenia. Features

With this disease, the child may experience hallucinations, loss of emotionality, joy. Also, the baby can withdraw into itself. There is also a weakening of mental activity. Physically, the patient may experience erratic movements and other unhe althy manifestations.

Basically, schizophrenia has the same symptoms in both children and adults. But the difference is that the child is not yet educated and his brain is developing. Children are more difficult to diagnose.

This disease requires constant monitoring throughout life. Therefore, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment measures are important.

First signs

To determine that a child has schizophrenia, you need to pay attention to the first signs of the disease.

If a child is not he althy, then first of all he will show developmental disorders. Namely, the delay in speech and walking. These signs can also be an indicator of other diseases of the baby, such as autism. Therefore, carefuldiagnosing the condition of the child and making an accurate diagnosis. It may be necessary to seek advice from several specialists.

Disease Manifestation

How does schizophrenia manifest itself in children? In adolescence, the symptoms of the disease are much more difficult to identify. This is due to the fact that children in this period have an unstable hormonal background, and so they behave inappropriately. Therefore, a bad mood, depression can be attributed to the fact that the child has entered a transitional period. It is worth saying that these symptoms of schizophrenia are also characteristic of an adult. If you notice a deterioration in school studies in a teenager, isolation from friends, then you should show increased attention to the child and make an appointment with a doctor.

What are the known signs of schizophrenia in children? What should I pay attention to?

1. Firstly, schizophrenia in a child manifests itself through hallucinations. A person who is sick hears sounds that are not there and sees things that do not exist in reality.
2. The second sign that a child has schizophrenia is some kind of belief. For example, the patient may think that someone is following him. Or he believes that he has some features that elevate him above everyone. Also, a person may decide that something is wrong with him physically. There can be a great variety of options, they are all delusional.
3. Speech disorder. Sick people have incoherent speech. For example, if you ask a patient a question, he will answer it partially or not completely.
4. Violation of movement. Movements canbe chaotic, directed in any direction. Or, for example, a person can take strange postures.
5. There are also a number of symptoms that are problematic for the perception of others. For example, a person may stop looking after himself or speaking with one intonation, walking all the time with one facial 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 signs are weak. Therefore, it can be difficult for parents to notice them in their child. It happens that the nature of the child itself is restless. Therefore, it is very difficult to recognize the signs of schizophrenia. Further, the disease develops, and the symptoms intensify. At the stage when the child loses touch with reality, he must be urgently hospitalized.

When should I see a doctor?

Now it is 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 more likely it is that a person's condition will stabilize for a long time. Teachers at school can tell parents that they should see a specialist. Recommended notdisregard their opinion, and heed the advice of the people around your child.

You should go to a specialist if the following signs are noticed in a child:

1. Inhibition in development compared to peers.
2. Slowness in daily activities such as washing, putting things away and other household activities.
3. If the child began to communicate less with friends and relatives.
4. Bad grades at school.
5. Inadequate body movements or arm swings occurred, for example, during lunch or dinner.
6. Behavior in a team different from other children. For example, a child refuses to play with everyone, is on the sidelines, shows inadequate reactions to any things.
7. A child diagnosed with schizophrenia has any fears or strange thoughts.
8. Aggression, cruelty, anger towards others or any things.

It should be noted that the above symptoms are not necessarily an indication that a child has a disease such as schizophrenia. These symptoms can be associated with depression, bad mood, adaptation to a new environment, and even be a sign of an infectious or cold disease. But in any case, do not delay and see a doctor as soon as possible.

Causes of disease

We talked about how schizophrenia manifests itself in children, the symptoms and signs of the disease are described in detail. Now consider the causes of the disease in children.

It should be said that the causes are the same in both an adult and a child. It is not clear why in some people it begins to develop in adulthood, and in others in childhood or adolescence. The disease is related to the functioning 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 have not been precisely determined.

Factors

However, there are several characteristics that can provoke this disease:

1. Relatives who suffer from this disease.
2. Carrying a child after 35 years. There are statistics thanks to which it is known that the children of women who have given birth after 35 years are more prone to schizophrenia. The older the mother, the more likely it is that her baby will get this disease.
3. Unfavorable environment. For example, any stress, parental scandals or other negative environment that can affect the baby's psyche.
4. If the father of the child is in old age, this can also become the development of the disease in the child.
5. Admission of psychotropic drugs and bad habits of a teenager. These factors contribute to the onset of mental illness.

Usually, the symptoms of schizophrenia appear in adolescence and worsen by the age of 30. Disease in young childrenextremely rare.

Complications

We examined all the signs of schizophrenia in children, we described the behavior of patients. Now we should consider the complications of the disease.

It happens that the diagnosis of schizophrenia was not carried out at an early stage. In such a situation, the disease may have complications. They are the same in both children and adults. First, a child with schizophrenia cannot go to school. It has to do with 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 suicidal thoughts.

He can also hurt himself, cause 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 a conversation. He may want to know about school performance or see how the child studied before and what grades he has now.

The next step in the examination is the delivery of 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, it is possible to diagnose the brain using computer research.

In addition to the physiological examination of the body, the doctor will definitely talk with the child in order to find out if he has any phobias, strange thoughts and other signs of mental illness. The doctor also assesses the appearance of the patient, his neatness.

It should be noted that the process of diagnosing a child takes a long time. In some cases, up to six months, since the doctor faces a difficult task - to exclude other diseases with similar symptoms. But during the diagnosis, a psychiatrist may prescribe medications that will help stabilize the child's condition. For example, in cases where he harms himself or shows aggression.

Treatment

The process of treatment will occur constantly, throughout a person's life. Schizophrenia is treated with special drugs. Family members and society should also participate in the process. Hospitalization may be needed. Children are prescribed the same medications as adults. These are antipsychotic drugs. These medicines help relieve symptoms such as delusions, hallucinations, and loss of emotions. 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 keep the person in a normal state.

These drugs have various side effects. especially carefullyit is necessary to monitor the condition of the child who takes these medications. The situation is aggravated by the fact that a small child cannot talk about his feelings when taking medication. Therefore, in case of any disorder of the body while taking these drugs, you should immediately consult a doctor. Perhaps he will change the dosage or prescribe a different drug.

Psychotherapeutic treatment

This type of treatment is very important. And it must be included in complex therapy. The doctor should talk to the child and teach him to cope with his condition. Such treatment will help to establish communication with friends and relatives, teach the child to cope with fears, and so on. It is important that parents of children with schizophrenia participate in treatment. It is necessary to provide him with support, set up communication, and resolve conflict situations. If family members themselves cannot do this, then they should consult a doctor. Through joint efforts, the patient's condition will improve.

Conclusion

Now you know what a disease is. We looked at the causes of the disease, the signs and treatment options.