People who have schizophrenia are often very concerned that they have passed the illness on to their children. Even when their children are very young, the thought of their child experiencing a psychotic episode fills many parents with fear and dread. As a child psychiatrist in training, I am often...
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Schizophrenia in children
Claudia Krizay
Thursday, September 17, 2009 at 06:14 PM
Schizophrenia runs rampant in my mother's sideof the family. My great uncle had it and my therapist said it sounds as if my maternal granmother might have had a mild undiagnosed case of it from what I have told her about it.
When I was 14 I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. I am now 53 and after four years of very hard work in therapy and trials of many different medications I have become auite highly functional for somebody with this diagnosis. I stillhave to go into the hospital periodically though when my symptoms become unmanegeable.
As a child I had very vivid visual and auditory hallucinations that I found terrifying. My parents didn't know what to do and just hoped I would outgrow it The symptoms went away for awhile and then returned. We were living in an underdeveloped country when I was a child and there was no help available. My father expressed concern that I had troulbe communicating in a normal way with other children. I have ECT every two weeks that seem to help wit the hallucinations and I take Abilify, Prolixin and get a weekly injection of Prolixin Decanoate My first hospitalization in early adolescence I was started on 300 MG's of Thorazine. I recieve Social Security benefits. As a child I was classified as an 'odd child" and was terrible teased by other kids which would cause me to become quite withdrawn. I belive there is hope for children with this illness because I got so much better. When I was 14 my speech was disorganized and sometimes incoherent and I missed half of my high school years being in the hospital and in day treatment. I t is amazing that I graduated with A's and B's with my graduating class. I was an underacheiver in grade shcool and junior high, probably because I was so ill and the teachers and my parents and even the school psychologist said I was a "late bloomer" and I would be fine in a year but instead I broke down.
I t has been a long battle but I get stronger every day. Sometimes I still break down but I come right back up andkeep up the fight. Ih ope this testimony gives others and families dealing with this illness some hope.
Claudia
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quesion..
jen
Friday, October 16, 2009 at 11:39 AM
I have a younger cousin, age 5, whom his parents believe he is autistic. When reading this article, I noticed had many simlimar symptoms as the ones listed. Is there any big deifferences between autism and schizophernia?
Schizophrenia runs rampant in my mother's sideof the family. My great uncle had it and my therapist said it sounds as if my maternal granmother might have had a mild undiagnosed case of it from what I have told her about it.
When I was 14 I was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. I am now 53 and after four years of very hard work in therapy and trials of many different medications I have become auite highly functional for somebody with this diagnosis. I stillhave to go into the hospital periodically though when my symptoms become unmanegeable.
As a child I had very vivid visual and auditory hallucinations that I found terrifying. My parents didn't know what to do and just hoped I would outgrow it The symptoms went away for awhile and then returned. We were living in an underdeveloped country when I was a child and there was no help available. My father expressed concern that I had troulbe communicating in a normal way with other children. I have ECT every two weeks that seem to help wit the hallucinations and I take Abilify, Prolixin and get a weekly injection of Prolixin Decanoate My first hospitalization in early adolescence I was started on 300 MG's of Thorazine. I recieve Social Security benefits. As a child I was classified as an 'odd child" and was terrible teased by other kids which would cause me to become quite withdrawn. I belive there is hope for children with this illness because I got so much better. When I was 14 my speech was disorganized and sometimes incoherent and I missed half of my high school years being in the hospital and in day treatment. I t is amazing that I graduated with A's and B's with my graduating class. I was an underacheiver in grade shcool and junior high, probably because I was so ill and the teachers and my parents and even the school psychologist said I was a "late bloomer" and I would be fine in a year but instead I broke down.
I t has been a long battle but I get stronger every day. Sometimes I still break down but I come right back up andkeep up the fight. Ih ope this testimony gives others and families dealing with this illness some hope.
Claudia