Schizophrenia In Children - Symptoms, Causes And Treatment Of Childhood Schizophrenia

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Schizophrenia in children

Content:

• Symptoms of schizophrenia in children
• Causes of childhood schizophrenia
• Treatment of childhood schizophrenia

Childhood schizophrenia is a mental illness that belongs to the category of chronic. It is often accompanied by autism, low emotionality and activity, manifestations of psychopathological symptoms, including hallucinations and delusions.

According to statistics, the disease among 1000 children under the age of 14 will be diagnosed in 1.66% of cases. The disease can manifest itself in the first year of a child's life, however, most often it manifests itself by the age of 7.

Symptoms of schizophrenia in children

Among the symptoms of childhood schizophrenia are the following:

• Disorders in thinking and perception appear. The child begins to lose interest in everything: in games, in activities, in household chores.
• The desire to protect themselves from contacts with society is clearly manifested. The child becomes withdrawn.
• If the disease manifests itself at an early age (from one to three years), then catatonic disorders will prevail. At the same time, the baby performs monotonous actions, can walk in a circle for a long time, becomes extremely impulsive, often cries or laughs for no reason. Such children often run away from their parents, and the direction of their movement is not determined. The child's mood often changes, and this does not depend on external circumstances.

• Thought processes. If the disease first manifests itself in late preschool age (from 5 to 7 years), then you can notice certain disorders in the thought processes. Such children are prone to fantasies, and these fantasies are delusional in nature. Fictional ideas fill all of the child's thoughts. In addition, personality disorders are observed. The child becomes less emotional, often indifferent and helpless. Initiative does not come from him, he is inactive for more time.
• Hallucinations. When the disease begins to develop when the child reaches 12 years of age and older, then most often it manifests itself in hallucinations and delirium. The most unfavorable form of the course of the disease is considered to be catatonic childhood schizophrenia. It is accompanied by speech breakdown and movement disorders (from stupor to excessive motor excitement).
• The emotional sphere. Most of the children, despite their age, experience disturbances in the emotional sphere. Regardless of external factors or stimuli, their facial expressions change little, there is no fall or rise in vocalism. To those situations that make healthy children cry or laugh, children with schizophrenia react with absolutely indifference.

• An oligophrenic defect occurs when the disease manifests itself at an early age. In this case, pronounced violations of the intellectual sphere are associated with the fact that it is in the first years of life that the peak of the formation of cognitive abilities falls.
• Rave. The first hallucinations can occur at the age of 5 years. This applies to both visual and auditory perception disorders. But at the same time they are at the initial stage, delirium is also not systematized. However, a characteristic feature of childhood schizophrenia is that delusions are not verbalized. This is due to the regression of mental processes and the difficulty in expressing one's own thoughts.

Causes of childhood schizophrenia

Scientists have not yet been able to identify the exact causes that contribute to the development of the disease in both childhood and adulthood. The most probable theories of the origin of childhood schizophrenia are considered to be hereditary theory and neurotransmitter hypotheses.

The theory of inherited transmission of the disease boils down to the fact that the disease can be transmitted from close relatives to children. A family history of increased risk of schizophrenia in a child by 12%. However, it is still not known why the disease manifests itself at an early or later age, which is associated with the appearance of pronounced clinical symptoms closer to adolescence.

Neurotransmitter theories are based on the fact that certain chemical abnormalities occur in the brain, which becomes the basis for the development of the disease.

Treatment of childhood schizophrenia

Although the disease is chronic, most of its symptoms can be controlled. This can be done with the help of various drugs and psychotherapeutic techniques.

Antipsychotics can reduce the pathological manifestations of a mental disorder. It is important to take into account that those children who suffer from schizophrenia at an early age most often have a congenital nervous system failure. Therefore, the standard treatment regimens with neuroleptic drugs must necessarily be supplemented with nootropic drugs, including Phenibut, Nootropil and others. This will significantly reduce the severity of side effects from taking antipsychotics, in particular, reduce tremors of the extremities, the frequency and intensity of seizures, and inhibition of movements.

If the child has hallucinations and delusions, then most psychotherapists recommend using Haloperidol in the form of drops or Trifluoperazine. These drugs allow you to maximally save your baby from such serious symptoms of schizophrenia.

With increased anxiety, it is advisable to take Levomepromazine. When the clinical picture is blurred and the disease does not manifest itself acutely, then milder antipsychotic drugs are indicated for use. These include: Eglonil, Sonapax.

On the subject: A complete list of drugs used for schizophrenia

Children with schizophrenia can attend regular schools, with some individualization of the curriculum. This is possible when the child has persistent and long-term remissions.

If the disease proceeds with severe symptoms of autism, then homeschooling is indicated for such children. This decision is made at a meeting of the medical and pedagogical commission.

It is important for parents not to refuse the hospitalization offered by doctors, especially in the case when the child's condition deteriorates significantly. This is important so that timely assistance is provided so that the child does not harm himself and other people. In addition, in a hospital setting, it is possible to urgently adjust the dosage of drugs or replace them with stronger ones, which cannot be done promptly at home. In severe cases, hospitalization can take a long time.

Author of the article: Sokov Andrey Vladimirovich | Neurologist

Education: In 2005 completed an internship at the IM Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University and received a diploma in Neurology. In 2009, completed postgraduate studies in the specialty "Nervous diseases".