Schizophrenia is a mental illness characterized by impaired mental function and behavior. This disease is characterized by a chronic course with impaired communication, decreased activity with various psychopathological signs. These signs include: inappropriate emotional reactions, hallucinations, delusions, thought disorder, etc.
The causes of childhood schizophrenia are not fully understood. One of the established reasons is a genetic predisposition. Such a child has relatives who are sick with this disease. There is also speculation about the viral nature of schizophrenia. According to this concept, the brain of the child is affected by the virus in utero. Stressful living conditions, for example, violence, divorce, parental scandals can also provoke the onset of the development of the disease.
At first, doctors tried to diagnose childhood schizophrenia, as a disease that differs from schizophrenia in adults. But empirically, we came to the decision that if we use the criteria that are used to diagnose schizophrenia in adults, then it is very accurately possible to establish this disease in children.
The development of the disease proceeds gradually, at the first stage there is a violation of sleep, concentration of attention, difficulty in learning and the child's unwillingness to communicate. Further, as the disease progresses, incoherent speech appears, the patient begins to have visions and auditory hallucinations. Such children may have delusions, hallucinations, and paranoia. It is very difficult to determine where a child is delusional, and where fantasies and manifestations of imagination.
In order for specialists to accurately diagnose schizophrenia, the symptoms of the disease must be observed in a child continuously for six months. In schizophrenia, there can be very high intelligence. Some children even show giftedness in certain areas of science and creativity.
Modern therapies, new drugs, special educational programs and family therapy are making it possible to achieve high results in the recovery and socialization of children with schizophrenia.
