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does this sound like childhood schizophrenia?

Posted , 4 users are following.

tawnyowl
tawnyowl

my son is now 11 years old but we have noticed he is different to other boys his age since he was about 5,  he didnt do well in primary school struggling to concentrate on activities skipping from one thing to another,  unable to make friends or keep them,  as he got a little older he started lieing about everything making up whole stories sometimes, getting angry over the slightest little thing or crying when he gets stuck on homework, games,  if you tell him off he sometime smerks or will just stare pass you like your not even there,  we got a frs worker who thought he was autistic but the school refused to back us in the matter so we have tried to continue the best as possible with his behaviour getting steadily worse but the real concern is over the last 3 months he has started walking off from home and school each time brought back by police he has told us that he was going to see jasmine a girl he is obsessed with from primary school (she doesnt know he was meeting her) no matter how many times we told him she wouldnt be there he still wandered off to meet her,  then he started feeling someone tapping him but noone was there he started turning and shouting at the noone to stop it and getting really angry his dad sat him down and had a chat and my son told him he had seen green and red alien arms coming out of the wall and that he is scared of his reflection in windows at night cause he thinks that his reflection is something pretending to be him waiting to get him.  2 days after this conversation the school phoned telling me that my son had gone to them saying he was hearing a voice telling him miss lessons, leave the country, to just go kill himself, after 2 hrs he said he couldnt stand them anymore and went to teacher to try make them stop since then he has had voices telling him to shutup, leave the house.  there is a family history of schizophrenia (his aunt and grandad).  he has a appointment at camhs on thursday.  What can i expect from that initial appointment any advice would be appreciated as i am very worried about my son 

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • NickOliver
    NickOliver tawnyowl

    Posted

    I have no idea about these matters but I believe that as with an adult assessment that you are entitled to be represented by, say, an advocate or a friend. and you also have the right to uery the result.

    The assessment should be to help your son and I hope that it does this. I think that you have a right to queation anything you don't understand. I am sure that any questions or tests that they do will be done whilst you are there - or at least if not they will tell you what they are going to do.

    This is based on my knowledge of the adult system where I could bring along a social worker or an advocate to my meetings with my psychiatrist.

    Good luck

    Nick

  • jaxie42
    jaxie42 tawnyowl

    Posted

    I'm afraid I can't be much help, but read your post and wanted to wish you all the

    luck in the world. Please let us know how you get on xx

  • gingemac1977
    gingemac1977 tawnyowl

    Posted

    hi there,

    just reading your post makes my heart break for you, as i know exactly what you are going through. my nephew who is now 20 has suffered from severe schizophrenia since he was 17 years old, he's been in and out of rehab and secure mental units for most of these 3 years, he's been sectioned 3 times under the mental health act and we as a family are at our whits end what to do.  he is taking medication and after he's been in rehab for 3-4 months at a time, he comes home much better and looking well and you wouldn't think anything is wrong with him.  the doctors seem to think that this disorder is caused by a marujuana addiction, he started smoking this horrible stuff when he was 13 after his parents marriage broke down.  he started acting very odd after that and very withdrawn. we have always been a very close family but he distanced himself and withdrew from our family unit.  it wasn't until he came to us saying that he also could hear voices telling him to do things and this is where the nightmare began, he had a full blown psychotic episode, manic and then catatonic states where he would put himself into numerous really odd positions and stay there for hours at a time, not speaking or communicating in any way.  he's not that bad now, but when he comes out of rehab, feeling good and getting back into everyday life, he thinks he's better, no longer needs his medication, stops taking it and starts drinking/smoking cannabis again and within days, he's sectioned again, this has gone in a vicious circle like this for three years and we don't know what to do. i feel for you in your situation i really do, how are things now with your son ???

    take care :-)

    • tawnyowl
      tawnyowl gingemac1977

      Posted

      Hi gingermac,  I took my son to doc and they referred him to cahm and the woman we saw seems to think the hallucinations are related to autism rather than schizophrenia he will getting an assessment done in the next 6 weeks,  he is very irratible and gets angry very easily for no reason but the voices haven't been heard for last 3 days going to see what docs say at this assessment cause even if they wrong and it is schizophrenia they will be more willing to see that if he already diagnosed with autism 
    • gingemac1977
      gingemac1977 tawnyowl

      Posted

      will he talk to you about the voices he's heard and what they have been saying to him etc, my nephew has been constantly hearing voices every time he relapses, to the point where he is that consumed with them, he can't even hear or take in what we are saying to him.  i wasn't aware autism caused hallucinations but i can imagine what you've been going through.  we already have depression in our family, my father had it for many years and had to have ECT therapy to get rid of it.  my nephew has had it many times over the past 3 years, it works for a while and he's great but then he goes back to his old ways and relapses again, each time getting worse than the previous time.  this time he's been sectioned for 3 months, he's only just started eating again the past 2 weeks and he's still not back in the room with us yet.  i do hope you get things sorted with your son, i know it's easier said than done, and there is such a stigma around mental health issues and schizophrenia, especially with whats been happening with people in the news over the past few weeks, such a shame for them and the families involved. makes them out to be monsters and it's not that, these people are ill and need help. good luck and please keep in touch, i'd like to know how you and your boy are getting on with treatment/progress etc :-)

       

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