Schizophrenia in a child: symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

Schizophrenia is a fairly common disease. It is diagnosed not only in adults, but also in children. What is the essence of this ailment? Many parents do not know the answer to this question. Only specialists have an idea of the nature of the disease. So, schizophrenia in a child, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of ailment are topics in which one should understand.

Schizophrenia: the definition of the term and the prevalence of the disease

The above term denotes a disorder of the brain. When he appears signs of schizophrenia: human behavior and mental functions are violated. Earlier this illness was called mental illness, insanity, insanity. In 1896, E. Kraepelin began to apply the concept of "early dementia" to the disease. Only since 1911 began to use the term "schizophrenia" thanks to E. Bleuler.

Schizophrenia, according to statistics, affects at least 1% of the inhabitants of our planet. Approximately 10% of this number are children. They can develop the disease at different ages. For this reason, experts subdivide the ailment into groups:

• Schizophrenia of early and preschool age;
• Schizophrenia of school age;
• Schizophrenia of adolescence.

The causes of schizophrenia in children

The views of modern specialists on the causes of the onset of the disease are based on a model of predisposition and stress. In accordance with it, an enormous role is played by the interaction of predisposition with protective and stress factors in the development process. Predisposition in itself includes:

• Transfer of genes, because of which the child can develop a disease;
• Pathological processes occurring in the central nervous system;
• Lack of conditions necessary for training.

Stressful factors are events that increase the likelihood of developing a disease such as schizophrenia in a child. Symptoms often appear due to the death of a relative. Negative factors also include sources of chronic stress. An example is rough treatment of a child. It is worth noting that the genetic predisposition does not always develop schizophrenia. The disease occurs when there is a sufficiently strong effect of stress factors and provided that the person does not have sufficient resources to resist the disease.

Features of early and preschool schizophrenia

Statistics show that in about 69% of children of early and preschool age, the disease begins before the age of 3 years. Schizophrenia in a child of 2 years may well appear. In 26% of babies the disease develops between 3 and 5 years. In other children, the disease is diagnosed in 5-8 years. The most common is schizophrenia in boys. Girls are less likely to experience this disorder.

Schizophrenia of early and preschool age is divided into several forms:

• Maliciously flowing;
• Continuous-progredient;
• Sluggish.

Malignantly current form in early and preschool years

In the age of 1.5-2 years, such a schizophrenia in a child begins to develop. Symptoms include the extinction of mental activity, a decrease in interest in games, the disappearance of emotional attachment and the desire for communication. The patient ceases to entertain himself with toys. His games consist in a monotonous swing, tapping with non-game items (glands, chopsticks, ropes).

Somewhere in a year the malignancy of the flow becomes more noticeable. Children stop responding to questions, do not react to separation. Their games become even scarce. The children are disturbed by visual perception, fears appear. In a couple of years, the condition of sick children may improve slightly. The severity of all observed suspicious symptoms decreases, excitations and fears disappear, sleep improves. An exacerbation of schizophrenia usually occurs with a second age-related crisis, at 7-8 years.

Continuously progredient form in early and preschool years

This form of schizophrenia is characterized by the appearance of symptoms of the disease at the age of 5-9 years. Children have suspicion and distrust. They can refuse friendship with other kids, arguing that they will take away all the toys. In some cases, there is a delusional attitude toward parents.

With continuously-progredient form, children can involuntarily fantasize. When the disease appears, visual and auditory hallucinations. They are joined by the experiences that arise in a dream.

Sluggish form of schizophrenia in early and preschool years

How to recognize schizophrenia in a child that occurs in this form? The disease begins during a 3-4-year-old crisis. Its occurrence is provoked by such psychogenic factors as parting with mom and dad, changing the situation. The ailment of the child develops slowly. Gradually the circle of communication decreases. The child is in contact only with specific children. This is due to the reduced need for communication.

For the sluggish form of schizophrenia, the following manifestations are still characteristic:

• Decreased appetite;
• Violation of the rate of speech;
• Sleep disorders;
• Unmotivated fears associated with fairy tales, fantasies, which subsequently often provoke the emergence of ideas of persecution.

With the parents the child part easily. Some children do not let their mothers and dads go, but this behavior is observed only because of their fears. In some cases, children exhibit signs such as cruelty, maliciousness, aggression, sadism.

Features of schizophrenia in school-age children

Features of the psychological picture of schizophrenia in school-age children are that the disease is imperceptibly arising and slowly flowing. Some patients have different fears. Children are worried about their own lives and the health of their parents. At first, experiences can be justified. Then they lose meaning and are not associated with any events. Children lose interest in learning, playing games, there are delusions about the influence of otherworldly forces.

In other children, the disease is different. They come up with their own fantastic world, which is depicted in the drawings. The patients sink into their fantasies completely, whisper something, grimace, hardly switch to real events. Such children play alone, they demand from others that they be called fictitious names.

Features of schizophrenia of adolescence

In some cases precursors arise before the onset of the disease. They represent a ridiculous behavior, inexplicable deeds, depressive or manic attacks. A similar condition in children lasts from several days to several weeks.

After harbingers of schizophrenia in adolescents is provoked by serious conflicts with peers, scandals with parents, attempts of violence. The resulting disease occurs in different ways. In some, activity decreases, interests disappear and emotional-volitional disorders increase. Others have obsessive fears, thoughts, cravings.

Diagnosis of the disease according to the criteria of ICD-10

For the disease of "schizophrenia", a test that could be performed in the laboratory and which would indicate a disease has not been developed. The diagnosis is made by doctors taking into account the criteria of ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases 10 revision). According to them, the disease should have at least 2 symptoms (from the last 5 signs listed below) or 1 clear symptom (of the first 4 signs):

• Silent repetition of thoughts in the head;
• Delusional perception;
• Auditory hallucinations, the appearance in the head of other people's voices, which discuss or comment on the behavior of the patient;
• Delusional ideas;
• Constant hallucinations of any sphere, accompanied by unstable or incompletely formed delirious ideas without a clear emotional content, or persistent overvalued ideas;
• Torn speech that does not have a single meaning;
• The presence of such disorders as congealing, agitation, lack of answers to questions asked, stupor, negativism;
• Change of behavior, loss of interests in the world around him and communication with other people, isolation;
• Presence of such negative symptoms as apathy, inadequacy or poverty of emotions, social isolation and social unproductiveness.

Differential diagnostics

Schizophrenia in adolescents and young children is manifested by such symptoms that are inherent in a variety of other diseases, therefore differential diagnosis is necessary . The task of specialists is to exclude the presence of somatic, neurological and organic mental disorders, toxic substances in the body.

If a child has schizophrenia, what should parents do? They need to contact a specialist for the purpose of getting a referral for a full medical examination, which includes:

• inspection;
• General and biochemical blood tests;
• Analysis of urine;
• ECG;
• Screening for narcotic substances and other studies (if necessary).

Principles of treatment

The diagnosis of "schizophrenia" necessitates the use of a classical treatment regimen. It includes the following stages:

• Cupping therapy;
• Stabilizing (healing) therapy;
• Supporting therapy.

The goal of the curative therapy is the elimination of the symptoms of the disease (delusions, hallucinations, psychomotor disorders). The treatment uses neuroleptics - psychotropic drugs. With stabilizing therapy, a drug is prescribed, which was applied at the first stage and had a positive effect. A neuroleptic is used in a smaller dose until the symptoms are completely eliminated. Supportive treatment is performed by the same drugs that eliminated manifestations of the disease, but at much lower dosages to prevent recurrence.

The harm of therapy and the need to use psychosocial treatments

The diagnosis of "schizophrenia" is a chronic disorder. Long-term forecasts for most patients are pessimistic. However, thanks to antipsychotic drugs, it is possible to improve the condition of patients. In the treatment of schizophrenia , neuroleptics are widely used in children. At the same time, the effect of drugs on the children's body is not yet fully understood. The use of drugs sometimes causes serious side effects. Thus, treatment is not a safe process, but it can not be abandoned.

Harm from psychotropic drugs is one of the features of the treatment of the disease. The second feature is the need for psychosocial treatments. They include the training of social skills, intervention with the participation of the family, placement of patients in special schools.

In conclusion, it should be noted that schizophrenia in a child, the symptoms of which are diverse, is, as a rule, hereditary ailment. However, studies show that not in all cases at the birth of monozygotic twins, both children develop schizophrenia. This is confirmed by the fact that the probability of its occurrence is affected not only by genetic factors. When symptoms of schizophrenia appear, you should consult your doctor. The illness requires diagnosis (in the case of schizophrenia, a special test in the laboratory is not performed, the clinical picture, complaints, blood and urine tests are handed over, additional tests are prescribed). The disease also requires long-term treatment and the use of anti-relapse drugs after the elimination of the existing symptoms.