Schizophrenia in children, what are the signs and characteristics

The term schizophrenia may be unfamiliar to your ears. People with schizophrenia are more often called "crazy people" because they often hallucinate, do whatever they want, and find it difficult to distinguish between what is real and what is mere fantasy. This condition is more often found in adults. However, schizophrenia in children is not impossible. Even the symptoms are often not realized by parents.

What causes schizophrenia in children?

Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that can affect a sufferer for life. People with schizophrenia often experience psychotic experiences, such as hearing intangible voices, hallucinations, delusions, and difficulty distinguishing between real and imaginary worlds.

Schizophrenia in children generally occurs between 7 and 13 years of age. Unfortunately, experts do not know for sure the cause. They suspect that there are two things that cause schizophrenia in children, namely:

1. Genetic factors

Genes passed from the family can be one of the causes of schizophrenia in children. The risk of schizophrenia in children can increase 5 to 20 times greater if the father or mother also has schizophrenia. In addition, if one of the twins is diagnosed with schizophrenia, then the other twin is more than 40 percent at risk of developing schizophrenia.

2. Environmental factors

The risk of schizophrenia in children can increase if the mother becomes infected during pregnancy or experiences complications during childbirth. Especially if it is accompanied by genetic or congenital influences from parents who also have schizophrenia. Again, experts still have not found the exact cause.

What are the symptoms of schizophrenia in children?

The symptoms of schizophrenia in children are not the same as in adults. This is because the child's brain is still developing throughout the growing period so the symptoms can vary depending on the type of schizophrenia the child is experiencing.

You should be aware of any changes in behavior in children that occur suddenly. For example, you know that your child tends to be active and easy to get along with peers. However, your child suddenly withdraws from his environment and chooses to be alone.

Not only at home, you also need to monitor children's attitudes and behavior at school. Since you may not directly monitor him, then you can ask the teacher to help see changes in the child's behavior. For example, your child experiences tremendous fear for no reason and speaks carelessly, aka digressively .

In addition, other symptoms of schizophrenia in children include:

• Hallucinations, such as seeing or hearing something that is not real
• Insomnia
• His attitude and manner of speaking were strange
• Cannot tell the difference between the real world and the imaginary
• Unstable emotion
• Excessive fear and think that other people will harm him
• Don't care about himself

It is natural for children to have an imagination and this is usually indicated by the feeling of having an imaginary friend. For example, your child often chats with dolls or talks to himself in front of a mirror.

This doesn't mean your child is hallucinating or experiencing any of the symptoms of schizophrenia. However, if the child's behavior occurs continuously and is accompanied by the above signs, then this can only be suspected as a symptom of schizophrenia.

When should a child be taken to the doctor when he has symptoms of schizophrenia?

Source: Full Thread Ahead

Many parents mistake schizophrenia in children as a symptom of bipolar disorder, depression, and autism. This is not entirely to blame as the symptoms of schizophrenia do resemble some of these mental illnesses.

What's more, the children still can't tell their parents about the symptoms of the disease they have been experiencing. So you can't ask, "Have you seen things that no one else has, son?" to diagnose schizophrenia symptoms in children.

It's easy like this. Always monitor any changes in attitudes and behavior in children. This is important because the symptoms of schizophrenia in children develop gradually and over time the symptoms can be very clear.

If your child has two or more of the following symptoms:

• Delusions
• Hallucinations
• Talk irregular and without expression
• Changes in behavior
• Be apathetic
• Limitations of speaking
• It's hard to make a decision

It could be that your child has schizophrenia. Immediately take your little one to the nearest doctor or child psychologist to confirm the diagnosis. Your child may be advised to undergo therapy, take antipsychotic medication, or practice skills to reduce symptoms of schizophrenia.

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