Schizophrenia in Children - OmniMedicalSearch.com

Schizophrenia is very rare in children, affecting only 1 in 40,000 children. Although, in most cases, some of the first signs of schizophrenia become noticeable after adolescence, children as young as five can be affected by this disorder. Due to the fact that such a disorder is so rare among children, it is very difficult to recognize and diagnose in its early stages. When a disabling mental illness like schizophrenia is considered as a possible diagnosis, specialists pay great attention to the child developmental stage (some behaviors can be normal among a certain age group and be abnormal for another), and look for a persistent pattern of abnormal behaviors such as a lack of interest in friends, hearing voices that either talk condescending about the child, or converse with one another, staring at objects or a creature that does not exist.

The behavior of a child or teen that suffers from schizophrenia can differ from the one displayed by an adult suffering from the same disorder. However, some of the symptoms displayed by children are similar to the adult symptom, such as hallucinations, delusions, social withdrawal, flattened emotions, loss of social and personal care skills, and even an increased risk of suicide. Certain symptoms such as delays in language, motor, and social development, or behaviors such as rocking, posturing, and arm flapping, are similar with some of the symptoms displayed by children with autism or pervasive developmental disorder.

Seeing and hearing things or sounds that are not real.
Displaying an eccentric,odd, or improper behavior for their age.
Having unusual, odd, bizarre, or strange ideas and thoughts.
Extreme moodiness.
Confused thinking.
Severe anxiety and fearfulness.
Difficulties relating to peers and having friends.
Confusing television and dreams from reality.
Decline in personal hygiene.
Withdrawn and increased isolation.
Impaired memory and reasoning.
Problems paying attention.
Ideas that people are "out to get them" or "talk bad about them."

In most cases, these symptoms infiltrate slowly into the behavior of a child and the disorder lacks the sudden psychotic episode usually experienced in most types of schizophrenia cases that develops in adolescence and young adult years. For example, a child that enjoys having a friend and spending time in the company of their peers, becomes more withdrawn and shy and are drawn into their own world. Some children start talking about strange ideas and fears inadequate for their age and that in most cases don't make sense. If the child attends school, usually the teachers tend to notice the behavioral changes and cognitive impairments.

Although, schizophrenia in children tends to be harder to treat and has a worse prognosis than adult-onset schizophrenia, clinicians try to help the young patients with antipsychotic medication, individual therapy, family therapy, and specialised programs. An early diagnosis and medication can cause significant improvements in children with schizophrenia, however an earlier onset is associated with poor outcomes.

The data revealing the efficiency of medication in treating children with schizophrenia is not sufficient due to the lack of controlled trials, and the existing information comes form case reports and small and uncontrolled trials lacking scientific validity. Based on the existing data, schizophrenia in children seems to be resistant to typical antipsychotics. Approximately, 15 to 45 percent of the children medicated with typical antipsychotic agents show little or no improvement. However, some of the atypical psychotic medication such as clozapine and risperidone showed marginal success in children with schizophrenia. Unfortunately, children are more vulnerable than adults to the medication side effects (weight gain and associated metabolic abnormalities).

Conditions & Diseases: Psychological & Mental Health

Schizophrenia