Childhood onset schizophrenia

Childhood onset schizophrenia is rare but can be mistaken for other childhood problems such as autism. The chances of a child being diagnosed with schizophrenia  are 1 in 40,000, that’s compared to 1 in 100 adults who have been diagnosed with this mental condition.  Children that are diagnosed with schizophrenia are done so before the age of 13 and childhood schizophrenia is a rare form of schizophrenia.

When diagnosing a child with schizophrenia their age has to be taken into consideration because a behavior that may be normal at one age might not be normal at another age. For example, hearing voices at a younger age might be considered normal because it can be seen as the child having an imaginary friend but as the child gets older they should grow out of this stage. If an older child is hearing voices then this is when the child’s health care provider needs to begin evaluating the child to see if there is something deeper going on. Parents may have a reason to be worried if a child over 7 years of age states they are hearing voices and they are saying bad things about his or herself, they here conversations in their head, if they begin talking to themselves, they stare at things that aren’t there that would normally scare a child of their age, and they have no interest in friendships.

Childhood schizophrenia is the same as adult schizophrenia except for the fact that it’s onset is typically before their teens. This mental condition can be debilitating to their lives and make it very difficult for them to function as other children would. Childhood schizophrenia has the same symptoms of adult schizophrenia which include delusions, hallucinations, irrational thoughts and behavior, and difficulties carrying out normal activities such as bathing.

I chose this topic because I think that schizophrenia is an interesting illness to learn about. There are so many issues that those who have this illness have to deal with on a daily basis. As an emergency room nurse I occasionally get to see patient’s who haven’t been taking their medications like they are supposed to and I witness them having hallucinations and the human mind fascinates me.

The sites I chose were either from the database at school or medical

MedicineNet.com

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=41427

This website discusses the chances of a child being diagnosed with schizophrenia as compared to an adult. It shows statistics and how many children vs how many adults are diagnosed with this condition. It also talks about how this condition is rare in children and how it can be confused with other conditions.

Schizophrenia.com

http://www.schizophrenia.com/family/childsz.htm

This website talks about how the childs age and development need to be taken into consideration when trying to make a diagnosis of schizophrenia. It talks about how an activity that is normal at one age may not be considered normal at another age.  This site emphasizes the need to assess the child and watch patterns throughout their development and growth.

MayoClinic.com

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/childhood-schizophrenia/DS00868

This site discusses how schizophrenia is a chronic mental illness and is the same as adult onset schizophrenia, only it occurs before the teen years. It talks about the symptoms that are seen with both childhood and adult onset schizophrenia.

NAMI  National Alliance on Mental Illness

http://www.nami.org/Content/ContentGroups/Helpline1/Early_Onset_Schizophrenia.htm

This site explains what schizophrenia is and signs and symptoms to look for when making a diagnosis. It also discusses the difficulties in diagnosing schizophrenia in children. It tells about the prognosis of early onset schizophrenia and treatment for it.

Family Therapy and Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia: Pursuing Clinical and Bio/Psycho/Social Competence

http://eagle.sbuniv.edu:2071/ehost/pdf?vid=4&hid=2&sid=6226c907-d61f-4508-8204-6921d5b30919%40sessionmgr14

This is an article found in our school database that discusses childhood schizophrenia and the role of the family. It talks about what therapists will look at and gives suggestions for how to deal and cope with the child with schizophrenia.

Safety concerns prompt changes to study of drugs for early-onset schizophrenia

http://eagle.sbuniv.edu:2071/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=2&sid=6226c907-d61f-4508-8204-6921d5b30919%40sessionmgr14&bdata=JkF1dGhUeXBlPWlwLHVybCxjb29raWUsdWlkJmxvZ2lucGFnZT1jdXN0bG9naW4uYXNwJnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=rzh&AN=2009682341#db=rzh&AN=2009682341

This paper that I found in the school library database discusses the medications used for treatment of childhood schizophrenia and their effectiveness. It discusses side effects of the medications and compares them with other medications that are being used to treat this condition.

The intended audience for this blog is for those who work with mental illness and those who work with children. Those who work with those people with mental illnesses needs to know what to look for in children when making a diagnosis of schizophrenia and those who work with children need to know what differences to look for so that a child isn’t misdiagnosed.

Who owns the Electronic Health Record?

The patient owns their electronic health record (EHR).  Everything that is included in the EHR is about the patient and their medical history.  This is personal information about yourself and it includes facts, not opinions. Each person has the right to know what is written about themselves. It’s not the right of the physician, the institution, or the company who holds the computer program for the EHR to keep information from the patient. The patient has the right to be well informed when it comes to their medical history. So many people nowadays know so little about themselves medically and this can turn out to be detrimental to them in the future.  I feel that my point is proven by HIPPA laws. They state that the patient has the right to view their medical record whenever they ask for it, all they have to do is sign a release stating it is them who is requesting a copy.

I now know the difference between a search engine, a data base, and an internet search directory

In our technological world it is good to know the differences between these three things so that we know what we are using and the credibility of the site. I have learned quite a bit in this class and we still have 4 weeks left. This is a little of what I have learned about each of these.

A search engine is something that is used to find information from websites and databases usually on the internet. Examples of search engines are yahoo.com, google.com, and bing.com, just to name a few. When you go to one of these sites you type in the search engine box what you are looking for and it will bring up several options of sites that you can choose from to find the information you need. You have to be careful when you choose a site to get your information off of. Look at the authors of the site and their credibility before using their information. Some sites are just people’s opinions and not facts so you need to remember this when choosing a site (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&defl=en&q=define:search+engine&ei=uFPNSuzeGIzj8Qa-mZ36Aw&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title).

A data base is a collection of logically related records or files consolidated into a common pool for us to use (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database). There are different ways to organize the information in a database. They can be in row, column, fields, or records.

An internet search directory is organized as a series of directories rather than a set of loosely coupled files. They look like search engines so it is good to know the difference between the two (http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O12-searchdirectory.html).

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