Does your child often remain confused and face difficulty in paying attention to vital tasks? Does your child easily forget things and not remember anything? Your child is suffering from Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a common mental illness that can affect the mental stability of children. As a parent or caregiver, you should assist your child to overcome the symptoms of schizophrenia.
Before that, if you want to know more about what Schizophrenia is and what are the main symptoms, causes, and effective treatment options, then this article is the best guide for you.
Schizophrenia in Children
‘’Schizophrenia is a mental illness that can affect both children and adults. Although schizophrenia is uncommon in children, affected children experience both cognitive and behavioral issues. Moreover, they are unable to interpret reality effectively and remain lost in their thoughts. Different strange thoughts and ideas appear in their mind. In addition, hallucinations, delusions, as well as disorganized thinking patterns are the major and common symptoms of schizophrenia in children. Due to these symptoms, they face difficulty in both their personal and professional lives. Moreover, they also face difficulty in handling their relationships. Although schizophrenia is a lifelong condition with effective treatment, it can be treated. “
Schizophrenia in children is almost identical to schizophrenia in adults, but there are a few major differences. In children, the symptoms of schizophrenia appear in the early stages and psychotic symptoms mostly appear in the teenage years. Affected children or teenagers feel reduced motivation and they avoid contributing to productive life activities.
What are the symptoms of Schizophrenia?
The onset of the symptoms of schizophrenia usually occurs at the age of 13. Symptoms rarely appear before this age. Moreover, the severity and extent of symptoms are also different in each child. If schizophrenia in children is not treated on time, then it can persist to the adulthood stages. In early childhood stages, symptoms of schizophrenia are not evident, therefore they are mostly misdiagnosed as the symptoms of other mental health issues. However, with time, symptoms start becoming evident and also start affecting the functioning of life. As children get older, the following symptoms of schizophrenia are most common:
1. Hallucinations
Hallucinations involve hearing, seeing, tasting, smelling, as well as feeling those things that do not exist in reality. However, the affected individuals think that all the things are not imaginary but real.
2. Delusions
Delusions are most common in schizophrenia individuals. Individuals develop certain false or wrong beliefs in their minds that do not have any existence in reality. For example, they think that they are getting harassed by someone or will get hurt. They always interpret the gestures or comments of others negatively and therefore avoid meeting new people and start living alone. Moreover, they also think that someone likes or loves them and therefore they have a strong faith in their beliefs and live their life with them.
Other symptoms of schizophrenia are as follows:
- Disorganized thought patterns
- Extreme stress or anxiety
- Anger issues
- Emotional intensity
- Lack of passion
- Difficulty in expressing emotions
- Trouble in focus or concentration
- Difficulty in speech
- Trouble in eye contact
- Bizarre ideas in mind
- Delays in motor skills
- Preference of isolation
- Abnormal eating behaviors
- Difficulty on sleep
- Confused thinking
- Difficulty in explaining the dreams
- Intrusive thoughts
- Substance abuse
What are the causes of Schizophrenia in children?
Experts believe that schizophrenia in children occurs in the same way as in adults. There is not a single cause of schizophrenia as there are multiple factors that have a combined effect in the development of schizophrenia in children, including:
1. Genetics
Genes are the main inherited units and are also responsible for transferring the factors of schizophrenia. If you have a family history of schizophrenia, then it is more likely that your children will suffer from schizophrenia.
Different studies have reported the fact that if one of the parents has the genes of schizophrenia, then there are 10% to 15% chances of the children to suffer from schizophrenia. Likewise, the presence of genes in siblings also leads to a 7% to 8% chance of the onset of schizophrenia in children.
2. Pregnancy complications
Different stress factors during the pregnancy stages can also lead to the development of schizophrenia in children, which include:
- Hormonal fluctuations before birth
- Intake of contaminants
- Excessive use of alcohol or drugs
- Poor intake of nutrients
- Excessive stress
- Exposure to infectious agents
- Issues in brain growth and development
So any kind of complication during the pregnancy can result in schizophrenia in children.
3. Chemical imbalances
Neurotransmitters are the specific chemicals in the brain that control the functioning of different areas of the brain. If there is an imbalance in the level of dopamine and glutamate in the brain, then they can cause the development of schizophrenia in children.
What are the risk factors or triggers of Schizophrenia in children?
The most common risk factors that can trigger the development of schizophrenia in children are as follows:
- Previous family history of schizophrenia
- Issues in the immune system
- Older age of parents, especially the father
- Pregnancy complications
- Environmental stressors
What are the major complications of schizophrenia in children?
If the early intervention is not applied at an appropriate time, then the following complications occur:
Poor academic performance: Children suffering from schizophrenia do not listen and follow the instructions of teachers and fail to get good marks in exams.
Financial issues: Untreated schizophrenia at a later age can result in multiple financial issues for individuals.
Self-harm: Due to distorted thoughts, children with schizophrenia are at more risk of self-harm or getting some illnesses.
Social isolation: Affected children do not feel any comfort in their social exposure and therefore limit their social interaction with others.
Substance abuse: Most teenagers and adults suffering from schizophrenia also start excessive intake of alcohol or any other substance.
Mental health issues: Children also become more susceptible to other common mental issues, which include anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder, etc.
Physical issues: Other than mental issues, some physical issues also occur in children with schizophrenia.
How is Schizophrenia in Children Diagnosed?
If you think that your child is having the symptoms of schizophrenia, then you should immediately seek professional help. Professional mental health experts perform both physical and psychological evaluations. To determine the causes, they perform different tests, including brain imaging. Moreover, they also perform electroencephalography to determine brain activity.
For psychological evaluation, they ask multiple questions from the affected children or their parents to better evaluate the mental health of children and diagnose childhood schizophrenia.
What is the treatment of Schizophrenia in children?
The treatment of schizophrenia in children is based on the children and the severity of the symptoms. If the symptoms are less severe, then psychotherapy is only effective. However, if the psychotherapy alone does not provide the desired result, then the intake of medications is recommended along with the therapy.
1. Medications
Experts recommend medications to manage the symptoms of schizophrenia in children. The following psychiatric medications are recommended by the experts:
2. Antidepressants
Antidepressants are recommended to reduce symptoms of anxiety or depression. Some of the commonly recommended antidepressants include SSRIs such as citalopram, sertraline, and fluoxetine, etc.
3. Antipsychotics
The main role of antipsychotics is to overcome psychotic symptoms including hallucinations and delusions. Major antipsychotics are as follows:
- Zyprexa
- Abilify
- Seroquel
4. Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy is considered highly effective for the treatment of schizophrenia. Children with schizophrenia remain confused due to their altered and negative thought patterns and always negatively interpret their thoughts and emotions. Experts help them identify their psychotic thoughts and triggers. They guide them on how to overcome their hallucinations and delusions. Moreover, they teach them different coping strategies so they can prevent the symptoms of schizophrenia from affecting their later life.
There are different forms of psychotherapy, which include individual and group therapy sessions. Individual therapy sessions are ideal for those children who do not feel secure or comfortable in the presence of others. Therefore, in a separate setting, they feel protected and share all their thoughts and emotions.
Group therapy sessions are effective for those individuals who want to gain confidence and elevate their self-esteem. In group sessions, each shared their previous life experiences, and other group members learned from them. In this way, this also develops the social skills in them.
How can parents take care of their child suffering from schizophrenia?
Parenting a child with schizophrenia is quite challenging, but with the help of effective strategies, you can help your child to stay protected from schizophrenia.
1. Aware of your child
As a parent, you should also be aware of your child’s schizophrenia. Guide them about what schizophrenia is and what are the major symptoms that can affect their life. Moreover, teach them what they should do to prevent the symptoms of schizophrenia and avoid the occurrence of schizophrenic thoughts in their mind.
2. Set their medication schedule
Make an effective schedule for the intake of medications. However, if you face any difficulty, then you can also communicate with an expert to assist you in making an effective schedule of medication intake so your child recovers from schizophrenia.
3. Analyze the behavior of your child
If you are concerned with your child’s mental health, then you should never avoid any symptoms or any unexpected negative changes in their behavior. Carefully analyze the behavior of your children and provide early intervention or mental care.
4. Engage your child in productive activities
Make your child busy in different engaging or productive activities. Ask them to try new activities to learn multiple things, as well as divert their mind from psychotic thoughts.
What is the prognosis of Schizophrenia in Children?
The prognosis of schizophrenia in children depends on the following factors:
- Age of onset
- Symptoms
- Availability of treatment
How does Brainpower help in the treatment of Schizophrenia in children?
Brainpower Wellness Institute is the premier destination for those individuals who are looking for the finest mental health services. If your child or someone you are concerned with is suffering from any mental illness such as schizophrenia, then Brainpower is ideal. At Brainpower, you can find mental health solutions for all common mental issues such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and bipolar disorder, etc. We have skilled child and adolescent psychiatrists who are proficient in developing tailored treatment plans that work for each individual, including children, adolescents, as well as adults.
So, if you are concerned with your mental health and want mental resilience, then schedule a consultation with our experts. Share your all concerns with our mental health professionals and start your journey to empower your mental health.
