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Childhood schizophrenia: symptoms, causes and treatment

Childhood schizophrenia: symptoms, causes and treatment

February 28, 2024

Schizophrenia is a disabling, chronic and very complex disorder. Rarely, this disorder appears during childhood.

Childhood schizophrenia Although it is part of the spectrum of schizophrenia, it receives a specific name because children who suffer from it show a very homogeneous picture with an unfavorable prognosis that must be diagnosed when before to stop the clinical worsening of the patient.

These children, who like adults suffer hallucinations and delusions, also show brain abnormalities and genetic risk factors that explain the early development of the disease.

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Clinic of childhood schizophrenia

Most cases of childhood schizophrenia are diagnosed through the presence of hallucinations , a very striking symptom.


But nevertheless, It is not the only symptom that these children exhibit . As happens with schizophrenia in adulthood, the psychotic picture of schizophrenics is very diverse and includes different symptoms, both psychotic and disorganized.

1. Psychotic symptoms

The main cause of alert for parents is the presence of hallucinations. The most common are auditory hallucinations such as unpleasant and negative voices that speak to the patient or call him. Voices can be masculine or feminine, familiar or unfamiliar, critical or flattering. Sounds, sounds or music are considered less frequent and severe.


It is also possible to find visual hallucinations, see shapes, colors or people that are not present and that may even have religious characteristics, for example, seeing the devil or Christ.

Another psychotic manifestation is the presence of delusions. A delirium is an unfounded and rigid belief to which the patient holds on like a burning nail, whose content is implausible or very difficult to believe. For example, delusions of persecution where the patient believes he is the victim of a conspiracy, that someone spies on him, etc.

Children are very imaginative individuals, for this reason it is very easy to confuse delusions with fantasies that can be more or less extravagant according to the creativity of the child. Also, ideas such as "my parents can read my mind" may well be delusions, or the product of an innocent and credulous mind. The clinician's good judgment is fundamental at this point.


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2. Symptoms of disorganization

In childhood schizophrenia we find extravagant behaviors, for example unusual preferences with food , strange social behavior, strange speech or little logic. Again, we must separate the incoherence proper to children's speech from illogicality that does not correspond to the child's evolutionary level.

Of all the disorganized manifestations in childhood schizophrenia, the most visible are motor and social manifestations. Prior to diagnosis, it is common for parents to talk about gestures, grimaces or strange postures that anticipate the development of the disorder. In addition, these children are socially rare. It may be difficult for them to have a conversation with other children, express ideas, talk about extravagant topics and lose the thread of dialogue. In general they are described as "rare" by the rest of their peers.

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Causes of childhood schizophrenia

Although the direct cause of the development of childhood schizophrenia is unknown, we do know several risk factors that are associated with the disorder.

Having first-degree relatives with schizophrenia increases the likelihood of having this disorder, so that there is a genetic burden on its development. The presence of other comorbid disorders such as anxiety disorders, ADHD or conduct disorder usually accompanies childhood schizophrenia. It is also found that emotions are expressed more intensely in the families of children with this disorder.

There are several studies that describe how Complications during delivery can lead to abnormalities in neurological development and later to schizophrenia. Above all, complications that involve cutting the flow of oxygen to the brain and causing hypoxia with the subsequent development of the disorder have been related, although the exact mechanism is not at all clear.

In these children the lateral ventricles of the brain enlarge. In addition, they gradually lose gray matter in the frontal and temporal regions of the brain, in a way similar to that of adults. Thus, patients with childhood schizophrenia have lower brain volume than the normal population.

Prognosis and treatment

The age at which schizophrenia makes its debut is a very powerful predictor of its severity and prognosis. Those people who develop schizophrenia sooner will have a greater affectation and therefore a worse prognosis. They are expected to be more impaired at the level of thought, language, motor skills and social behavior than those who have debuted later.

Therefore, childhood schizophrenia predicts a poor prognosis for those who suffer from it unless it is diagnosed early. This makes the evaluation of a possible schizophrenia during childhood a race against the clock where the professional must be exhaustive, but not go too fast and mark a child for life.

Once it is determined that the child actually suffers from childhood-onset schizophrenia, pharmacological therapy with antipsychotics will be started immediately. cushion as much as possible the deterioration that the disorder causes . It will also be necessary to train parents in what kind of symptoms they can expect, how they are handled and what special needs the child may have later.

In parallel, delusions and hallucinations are addressed in a psychological way, teaching the child to recognize them as such. Frequently, psychotic symptoms are preceded by negative moods and it is possible to realize when one is in a vulnerable period. In addition, it is imperative teach these patients to make alternative interpretations of the facts to get out of the rigidity that characterizes delusions.

Finally, it is possible to address the social behavior of the child with schizophrenia through social skills training to teach him to relate in a normal way with others and be able to establish meaningful links with his classmates.

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How to Recognize Signs of Mental Illness in Children (February 2024).


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