Schizophrenia is a devastating mental illness, and one of a larger class of psychotic disorders defined by the presence of delusions (false beliefs) and/or hallucinations (sensory perceptions without external sensory input). Schizophrenia may also be characterized by disorganized speech and behavior and negative symptoms such as social, cognitive, and emotional withdrawal. Moreover, Schizophrenia in children is a brain disorder that affects the way a child acts, thinks, and sees the world. Children with schizophrenia have an altered perception of reality, often a significant loss of contact with reality (Miller & Cohen, 1987).
Discussion
At the age 5, the differential diagnosis is clarifying the presence of psychotic symptoms (hallucinations, delusions) in schizophrenia. Nevertheless, you may notice some warning signs in children with schizophrenia. The behavior of a child with schizophrenia may change slowly over time. For example, children who enjoy relationships with others may begin showing shy and withdrawn, as living in their own world. Sometimes, they start talking about strange fears and ideas. They may start to cling to parents or say things that do not make much sense. Teachers can be the first to notice these problems.
Symptoms of Schizophrenia
The symptoms of the schizophrenia characterized in delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech and disorderly behavior. These symptoms termed as negative symptoms. This sign and symptoms differ considerably from person to person. The newest procedure of classifying symptoms is by splitting up the symptoms into two clusters called "positive symptoms" and "negative symptoms". Positive symptoms" discovered in persons with schizophrenia but not in any individual else. "These symptoms considered disorders, bizarre or disorganized demeanour, delusions, and/or hallucinations.
Negative symptoms of Schizophrenia and mentally challenged assume the "loss of normal functions", or functions that seem to be missing from behavior and are hard to recognize because they are so subtle. Negative symptoms carry a poorer prognosis than positive symptoms. A few examples would be social withdrawal, lack of emotional responses, slower movements, or they may lose touch with basic drives such as thirst and lose the normal pleasure that comes with satisfying it. A common symptom of Schizophrenia and mentally challenged includes a deadening of the person's non-verbal emotional responses and refers to the lack of outward expression. This called blunted affect or affective flattening. Blunted people have expressionless and emotionless faces (Schiffman J., 2006).
Many children generally reserved and cannot maintain interpersonal or social relationships. This is because of the cognitive and emotional problems they have been experiencing. There loneliness normally occurs prior to the beginning of symptoms that comprises of hallucinations. Social withdrawal accompanied by abolition, which is a lack of will.
Alogia termed which is a form of language disturbance. In order words, speechlessness situation which is experienced by the child. Children become speechless while he or she is speaking with friends or teachers or any other person. Another form called 'thought blocking' in which a child conversation ability stopped before an idea completed. Psychotic indications are present in many children who by no means become 'ill' in the logic of ...