Did you catch this last Friday's 20/20 re: Juvenile Schizophrenia

[TheMightyFavog]

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/MindMoodNews/schizophrenia-children-resources/story?id=10084227

Last spring, 7-year-old Jani Schofield was diagnosed with schizophrenia, in part because of her incessant hallucinations that she says command her to hit and bite people. Nine-year-old Rebecca Stancil was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia after she tried to kill herself to stop the voices inside her head. Brenna Wohlenberg, 14, has not yet been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but she says sinister spirits instruct her to become a serial killer. Her 12-year-old sister Ailish also struggles with hallucinations and violent inclinations.

One part really got to me. The 14 year old schizophrenic was prematurely discharged from the psych hospital because the health insurance ran out. Minutes after returning home, she broke down. It's a scene that really makes you feel good about the USA, home of the "Greatest Health Care System in the World" (TM)

[etherealtruth]

1. The treatment of the mentally ill in this country is disgraceful

[Wizard777]

2. Psych wards are a scam. The second the checks stop you're well enough to leave.

But not until the checks stop. As long there is a check to be had they will even go to court to hold you against your will to preserve their income. But the second the checks stop they will toss you out on your ear regardless of your mental health.

[zbdent]

4. not only that, it takes you the exact amount of time that your insurance covers

to become "well" ... no more, no less ... the EXACT amount of time covered.

[hlthe2b]

3. Not too late to do a little edit...

Juvenile Schizophrenia ;)

Thanks for posting. This is an important, if depressing story.

[BlueIris]

5. I feel really horrible for anyone living with schizophrenia (or a friend/relative who does).

...egh. There are still so few good treatment options for this complex, misunderstood condition. And that's for those with insurance and access to care.

[drm604]

6. I had no idea that children could have schizophrenia.

I've always been under the impression that it was something that began in adolescence or early adulthood.

We had a family acquaintance (an adult) who suffered from the condition. It was possibly the most tragic and frightening thing I've ever seen. When you know someone like this you become very aware that our very thoughts and personalities are largely a result of biology and that something could happen at any time that could take away our control of them.

The thought that a child could suffer from it is... well, it's unthinkably tragic.

[Odin2005]

7. Back in the day high-functioning autistics were diagnosed with "Childhood Schizophrenia".

So I am suspicious.

There are many stories of older autistic individuals that have been mentally damaged by being thrown in institutions by "experts" that thought they were schizophrenic. it doesn't help that an autistic kid will often answer "yes" to the question "do you hear voices" because of literal thinking.

[Starry Messenger]

8. Jani's dad Michael has a blog that documents what has been going on in their lives

http://www.januaryfirst.org/www.januaryfirst.org/Janis_Journey.html