What a terribly sad story. I've never heard of anyone that young with schizophrenia. Once upon a time, there was a phrase called "schizophrenegenic mother" which was a woman who, through neurotic behavior triggered schizophrenic episodes in their children (typically male) if they were prone. If it weren't already debunked, I would think a case like this would be clear cut evidenced of the neurochemistry involved.

maskedloser: /People like you seem to proliferate like maggots on this website.

You're such a courageous truth-teller!

I guarantee this girl is a genius. By the way she names her imaginary friends it sounds like she could already write a Chuck Palaniuk novel.

oh good grief. I can't believe you all buy this one. She saw numerous professionals who had different opinions before seeing a psychiatrist who thought it was schizophrenia. That doesn't mean it IS schizophrenia. It's a growing trend at the moment to diagnose very young kids with severe psych disorders like this and medicate them up to the eyeballs, but it doesn't make it true. In fact it's very worrying indeed. I remember an article a year or two ago which stated that ALL of the foster kids in the state of Texas are on pscyh meds. Don't any of you know how harmful these drugs are? OK one person who was a nurse commented on this and said it's awful.
And I seriously don't know how someone can take a BABY out to all those places for the first 18 months trying to tire them to sleep and claim it wasn't possible to "overstimulate" her. WTF do they think overstimulation means and what it does to a small baby / child? They probably entered into a downward spiral right there, like trying to put out a fire with petrol. My friend did this with her kid and 5 years on the girl was asked to leave a nursery, then had behavioural problems in school etc etc. Professionals determined that she was OVERSTIMULATED and that her mother was insensitive to her needs.

Gawdzila: Weird.
Schizophrenia is usually a late teens to twenties onset.

Chances are it isn't "schizophrenia." She's probably just (some just) completely psychotic and totally out of touch with reality. Given that there is severe mental illness on both sides of her family, my reaction based on no real research, just my own knowledge of the field, is that the poor thing caught a double dose of whatever recessive genes make for psychosis/schizophreniform disorder(s).

There's not likely to be much in the way of treatment for her, if that's the case. It's very sad.

Schizophrenia is a tragic, sad disease. Treating it is guesswork at best.

From my own wonderful experience I have to say that calling mental health treatment a suckfest is an insult to suckfests.

Sad story, wonder if they tried using weed, a lot of schizophrenics that used have found it seems to moderate their symptoms.

Feels like the author of the article was feeling bitter about missing some perceived calling to be a novelist or screenwriter. Seriously, what's with the overly dramatic ending? You're reporting news, not crafting the next Stephen King novel. And why do we need so many random, mundane details, like about the little brother "fussing" at various points? If I was the family reading over the article I'd probably feel rather embarrassed by the portrayal.

Mostly, I feel badly for the girl. My mother was diagnosed schizophrenic when I was 10, and you could say I had a rough childhood up until that point. However, almost 20 years later, my conversations with her are saner than those with any of the rest of my family. For all that they always liked to just write her off as crazy, I think she has perspectives on things that are a lot closer to the truth than people want to admit, when you take a moment to examine things, and I think it makes people more comfortable to simply write that off as paranoia or whatever else. So yeah, in response to the person who wondered whether the "crazy" people are the sane ones? I wonder that all the time, and sometimes I think it's entirely possible. Maybe that makes me crazy, too.

May be beneficial to try dietary intervention... The poor girl was eating little but bread/mac-and-cheese in the video. A 3% chance is worth a few days of testing.

Celiac Disease (wheat gluten allergy) may increase risk for schizophrenia; gluten-free diet may decrease schizophrenia symptoms for small number of people

JuicyJ: I guarantee this girl is a genius. By the way she names her imaginary friends it sounds like she could already write a Chuck Palaniuk novel.

because she named them after numbers and a day of the week? real imaginative... sounds like the kind of thing a dumb 6 year old would come up with.

So that's two six-year olds for the price of one? Sort of like getting a double-yolk.

I used to work in a crisis center for people with developmental disabilities - it was a lockdown unit for people who'd become dangerously violent or self-injurious. We had a girl who was about 12 years old, but with stunted growth that made her look more like 7, tops. She was the worst case of schizophrenia I'd ever seen. She was on freakishly high levels of medication, and on the nights we couldn't get her to take them, I swear she seemed possessed. She would literally climb walls - get a running start and get halfway up a wall before falling onto her back. She was obsessed with the idea of babies - we would warn new staff members *never* to talk about family, especially children, around her because she'd use their names later. "I'm gonna take your baby Lauren out of her crib and eat her." "If you ever have a baby in your belly I'm going to find you and rip it out and stomp on it."

'Twas a freakish thing. A lot of the people in that unit had problems that were managable - basically, we were a re-education unit because terrified and exhausted caretakers had basically taught these people that they could get whatever they wanted by attacking you, hurting themselves, trying to kill someone or destroy something, and our whole unit pretty much existed for the purpose of re-educating them in a structured environment. But every now and then we got people like this girl, and there was just no helping them. I don't think she'll ever get to live outside high-security lockdown units. It's really sad too, because when she's lucid, she's incredibly endearing and lovable. Schizophrenia is HELL.

My god, I'll never complain about the chicklets temper tantrums again. I can't imagine going through that every day.

tl;dr



Just kidding, that was a great article. I'm glad it showed up early this morning so I could read it at work. I showed a couple of nurses and they were fascinated with it. I can't even really wrap myself around this. My uncle has schizophrenia and it really is something terrible that has to be seen first hand to really grasp. He was a hot shot accountant and very smart and then one day -bam-. It's been a few years and he's difficult to be around. He goes through episodes where he'll go for a full Jesus look and then the following month he just shaves his head and other weird things.

Anyways, thanks Subby

RevMercutio: The things that strike me are that both parents also have (admittedly minor) mental health issues as well. If anything, this cements my desire that if I am to have children, I'd rather adopt than force the kid to bear my bloodline's iniquities.

Don't blame the parents. They didn't ask for this and they can't walk away from it either. Who wouldn't have problems themselves if they had to deal with that kid every day?

I blame the system. If they don't have a place to put the child, her city or county should build one. City after city has gotten rid of residential mental health facilities due to budget considerations. There are probably many other mentally ill kids in the community that could use the services. What the system is doing is the equivalent of giving a kid who's sick enough to be in the ICU to a family to take care of without any support. I'm outraged by this.

Accidentally crash your car into a tree.

Rat: so, when she looks in the mirror does the conversation go like this?

You STFU!

No, you STFU!!!

©

You talkin' to me?

when i was working child in-patient a long time ago, one of the youngest the psychiatrist diagnosed with schizophrenia was 4. if a clinician can make a case for any of the diagnostic criteria, and they add up, then that's the way it is. it's one of the problems with psych diagnosis: no objective, physical tests like blood sugar for diabetes, etc.

\the scientologists, unfortunately, are correct about the chemical imbalance thing, too. that doesn't mean their alternative is superior, let alone correct.

beoswulf: Sad story, wonder if they tried using weed, a lot of schizophrenics that used have found it seems to moderate their symptoms.

[citation needed]
.........¥o/...........

Bathia_Mapes: MissFeasance: That poor little girl. And her poor family.

Indeed. That article came extremely close to making me cry.

That article made me cry, I never cry.

I worked with a pharmacist who had schizophrenia - she was in her late twenties and it just got worse as time went on. The first year she was constantly paranoid that people didn't like her or were talking about her. Then she started accusing people of trying to hypnotize her - there were certain words that would make her snap because they were "hypnotizing words". They were random: stick, water melon, chicken nugget, purple, etc... It was like a landmine because nobody ever knew when they would accidentally say one of those words and send her into a rage. She would write the phrase "false witness" on note pads and on the white board - that was a pretty good indicator that she was having a bad day. She did pretty well when she took her medication, but would periodically refuse to take it and would have those violent episodes.

Her husband ended up divorcing her, she lost her pharmacy license, and last I've heard she is living in home for the mentally disabled. She would have 2-3 weeks of "good days" and then 2-3 days of hallucinogenic insanity. She would be about 35 now. schizophrenia is no joke - I can't think of much that would be worse.

What a 400 the Cat may look like:

What a sad and horrible situation. The suggestions that keep floating around my brain are ones listed earlier: dietary modification, sleep deprivation, parental training. I know we shouldn't blame the parents, but if both sides of a family have cystic fibrosis or sickle cell, isn't the conventional wisdom not to procreate? I'm not being a troll, truly. If my kid with brain damage doesn't get 10-12 hours of sleep, he get hallucinations also. So, yeah, we have a scrip for anytime he goes more than 24 hours without sleep. Fortunately, he was diagnosed early and we got training early about the need for routines and boundaries. Maybe this little girl's brain was damaged prior to birth, during birth, or immediately after birth. Are there any brain images, like CT or MRI, that could track her brain? Do they keep any kind of a food diary or restrictions on chemicals and dyes that she is ingesting? These parents need more help than just drugs and incarceration. Keep searching, don't give up, ever. One of my kids has cerebral palsy, which was missed for 4 years! Talk about frustrating, but very illuminating.

/sorry for the rambling.
//poor kid

lindseyp: beoswulf: Sad story, wonder if they tried using weed, a lot of schizophrenics that used have found it seems to moderate their symptoms.

[citation needed]
.........¥o/...........
I was going off purely anecdotal not-evidence, but google is your friend.


http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=90776


The surprising finding that THC might help at least a small percentage of schizophrenia patients for whom conventional treatments have failed was reported in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology.

One word - clozapine.

deanoooo812: One word - clozapine.

That shiat is vicious but I have met someone where that was their medication of last resort and they knew they needed it. Pharmacies won't can't dispense it without the hospital/prescribing doctor sending over the patient's bloodwork.

As a female who went undiagnosed bipolar/add (symptoms of both and meds for both seem to work, rolling with it) until the suicide attempt, I feel for this child. At least she was recognized as having symptoms in childhood rather than being deemed "dramatic".

With her dx, even if private insurers won't help (criminal, imo) this is the person our tax dollars go to help with state medicaid programs.

More than diet/vitamins/bullshiat woo like that, she needs routine and until she can do it herself, her caretakers/parents need to learn her triggers. Dealing with mental disorders on your own requires a huge amount of mental discipline which is something I can't really see a six year old possessing.

Genevieve Marie: Pmoon: My last "shrink" was an M.D. whose specialty was treating chemical imbalances with drugs, He was very good at diagnosing people and prescribing. There was not much talking except for him to get a feel for how the drugs were working. Very sharp guy, one of the best doctors that I ever had for "mental illness".

I had one of those too and he was ok, but in my experience a combination is best. The most success I've ever had was with a psychiatrist who also mandated a biweekly therapy session to deal with whatever my mood swings were making me feel. The therapist was also a part of her practice, so if my meds were off, the therapist would call the doctor in to consult and the three of us could determine how to alter my treatment plan. She was absolutely fantastic, and I wouldn't be healthy today without finding that doctor. I don't do therapy anymore, and am down to one drug and doctor visits every three months, but I got there because of a combo.

My very first doctor was of the "and how did that make you feel?" variety while accomplishing eff-all for my treatment. I remember making crap up near the end of my visits with her because I was so fed up with her new-age whisper voice and inability to say something worthwhile. The next doctor was like the one Pmoon described, except for some weird insistence on asking every visit if I was engaging in any sexual activity (sex or masturbation). I eventually complained to my parents about it and somehow we ended up at a small, specialized practice nearly identical to Genevieve Marie's experience. It was nothing short of amazing. Having the two doctors work in tandem helped me stabilize, even to the point now where I no longer have to be on medication to function "normally" (quotes because I'm still the weird one in my circle and I still have very bad days, though nothing like the ones I had before therapy). Granted, I'm officially diagnosed with the least-severe form of bipolarity, but I firmly believe that it was the combination of therapy and drugs (used as a starting point, not as a final solution) that essentially saved my life.

Hokay, I'm vacating the soapbox after I post the "tl;dr" version...

I sincerely believe in the two-pronged approach to treating mental illness: the combination of medications used as a starting point and effective therapy to lessen the dependence on said medications. I understand that most cases aren't like mine, but it really burns my butt to know that insurance companies won't pay for therapy sessions because they'd rather just medicate the crap out of you and call it done. That needs to change.

I wish the best for January and all people who are dealing with mental illnesses. Like people before me have said, I wouldn't wish a mental illness on my worst enemy.

/steps off the soapbox to go find something that will make her smile

mfaby: cretinbob 2009-07-02 10:02:41 PM
Not now subby, but for a long time. Usually it's overlooked as ADHD or ODD or just being a bad kid.

Did you ever bother to read the article?

This is rare. And no, there is NO history of this being misdiagnosed ADHA or ODD or just being a bad kid.

Yes, twice. And I'm going to print it out for work.


Maybe you should have read it all the way through.

FTA:

The Schofields consulted doctors and heard myriad opinions: bipolar disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, ineffective parenting. No one considered schizophrenia.


Even people who work with kids like this tend to think the kids can control their behaviors and do things for attention. Yes, they do group them in with the conduct disorder kids, since most cases are not at severe as this kid. They miss the disorganized speech patterns and behaviors.
It may be rare in your world, but not mine.


Ashelth: cretinbob: Not now subby, but for a long time. Usually it's overlooked as ADHD or ODD or just being a bad kid.

Mmm you are either a non-profit advocate for children or a Scientologist.

Taking bets, even odds!

I'm not a scientologist, and I can't tell you what I do because my wifes psychotic ex-husband is stalking us again. You think after 15 years he'd give up.
But I'm not a scientologist, and I'm not liberal enough to be a child advocate. They are like the clear cut logging, gun toting bastion of liberalism.

holy cheesecake: deanoooo812: One word - clozapine.

That shiat is vicious but I have met someone where that was their medication of last resort and they knew they needed it. Pharmacies won't can't dispense it without the hospital/prescribing doctor sending over the patient's bloodwork.

As a female who went undiagnosed bipolar/add (symptoms of both and meds for both seem to work, rolling with it) until the suicide attempt, I feel for this child. At least she was recognized as having symptoms in childhood rather than being deemed "dramatic".

With her dx, even if private insurers won't help (criminal, imo) this is the person our tax dollars go to help with state medicaid programs.

More than diet/vitamins/bullshiat woo like that, she needs routine and until she can do it herself, her caretakers/parents need to learn her triggers. Dealing with mental disorders on your own requires a huge amount of mental discipline which is something I can't really see a six year old possessing.

this

lindseyp: citation needed

Are you lost? This is Fark, not Wikipedia. You can get citations there.

I only briefly scanned the story. It reminded me too much of my brother when he was young. He was diagnosed with schizophrenaform when he was like 3 or 4. Nothing like waking up to hear him babble about the people in the walls telling him to eat us. Or that he was going to swallow the whole world and kill everyone. My mom's favorite is when he was five and told her he was going to eviscerate her in her sleep. He was also extremely violent and flew into rages at a moments notice. My mother had several broken bones from him. He also once threw everything in his room at my mom when he was six, including his dresser and bed. I spent many an evening with my back bracing my bedroom door shut to prevent him from getting me while my mom was calling to let the psych ward know she was bringing him in.
/He is better now and in a home.
//Some of the hardest eight years for my mom, he is 21 now.

nebjammer: How can she get AIDS at 6 years old?

I think you're confused. Schizophrenia is just the virus that *causes* AIDS. It's not actually AIDS. And the progression from schizophrenia to AIDS can be slowed considerably by medication.

chestylaruegal: I only briefly scanned the story. It reminded me too much of my brother when he was young. He was diagnosed with schizophrenaform when he was like 3 or 4. Nothing like waking up to hear him babble about the people in the walls telling him to eat us. Or that he was going to swallow the whole world and kill everyone. My mom's favorite is when he was five and told her he was going to eviscerate her in her sleep. He was also extremely violent and flew into rages at a moments notice. My mother had several broken bones from him. He also once threw everything in his room at my mom when he was six, including his dresser and bed. I spent many an evening with my back bracing my bedroom door shut to prevent him from getting me while my mom was calling to let the psych ward know she was bringing him in.
/He is better now and in a home.
//Some of the hardest eight years for my mom, he is 21 now.

He sounds like a smart kid, I had to look up what eviscerate means.

/why are the psychos always the gifted ones?

Oh man, I got something in my eye. Bipolar disorder runs in my family on my mother's side. So I know all too well how psychological disorders can royally fark up a family.

Rockstone: chestylaruegal: ... My mom's favorite is when he was five and told her he was going to eviscerate her in her sleep. He was also extremely violent and flew into rages at a moments notice. ...

He sounds like a smart kid, I had to look up what eviscerate means.

/why are the psychos always the gifted ones?

He is a very smart kid. The thing that pisses him off the most is that he can't read. It is the only thing he really wants in life. But between his brain damage and his age, it just won't happen.
I think the psychos are gifted because you have different parts of your brain going and also because you don't have to be a part of society and be a set cog. You can be different and brilliant, but there is a cost to everything.

/If I remember right my mom had to look up the word as well when he said it to her.

Genevieve Marie: I'm with you on that. My bipolar disorder is of the very mild variety (no psychosis, more depression than mania) but it still wasn't manageable until I found a mood stabilizer that worked for me. Also, it helps when I'm careful about my sleep patterns.

And as I'm posting at 3 am, I predict I will cry for no reason by some point next week.

I was diagnosed and treated for bipolar disorder for almost 15 years until I had some other issues and had a blood work up done from an endocrinologist. Turns out I had an adrenal dysfunction. Haven't been on psychotropic meds for about 4 years now, but I cannot forget to take my adrenal drung or all the symptoms come roaring right back. Interestingly, lamictal can have effects on the adrenal system. While there is good research going on about what causes mental illnesses, I think they are concentrating far too much on the brain and not enough on the other body systems that can affect brain chemistry. PMDD is a prime example.

My son, who is 13 now, was suffering from some pretty bizarre symptoms by second grade. We were lucky he didn't have any psychosis or violent behaviors. He was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He hit puberty and almost all of his symptoms abated. I can only hope this family has a similar experience.

Genevieve Marie: vitaexcolatur: but i truly think that levels of chemicals in the brain manifest into illnesses like schizophrenia and no amount of "training the mind" of a mentally ill person can at best, diminish the effects.

I'm with you on that. My bipolar disorder is of the very mild variety (no psychosis, more depression than mania) but it still wasn't manageable until I found a mood stabilizer that worked for me. Also, it helps when I'm careful about my sleep patterns.

And as I'm posting at 3 am, I predict I will cry for no reason by some point next week.

I am a bit late to this party (I was sleeping at 3 am), but I have a 17 year old with bipolar disorder. His sounds a bit more serious than yours - some psychosis, more mania, and the mania tends to be more violent than happy. He is a lot better now than he was. Still not great, but somewhat better. We had a period last fall where he was at Emerg 8 times in 2 months for attempted/ideated suicide. He had 5 admissions a year ago this spring.

He needs a lot of support right now. His meds are fairly helpful. He is on a couple of mood stabilizers. He needs to learn how to deal with adversity still, how to stick with something that is frustrating without getting all nuts, to learn that he CAN cope with things better than he could a year ago, and is stronger than he knows.

The start of it was the meds though, no question. We have been trying to deal with him for years without them, and nothing helped at all. He was finally diagnosed last fall, and that was the start of things actually improving.

One year of having fits, tantrums, hitting, cutting and burning (of self), voices in his head, people floating in his room, waving of knives, O/Ds was enough to make me nearly lose my own sanity. I can't imagine what these poor parents in the article are dealing with.

Oh. My. God.

There's a kid at my school who behaves JUST LIKE THIS. The teachers have been saying he's Schizophrenic for months, but obviously we're not mental health professionals and aren't qualified to diagnose it.

But OMG. He's in kindergarten and he's so incredibly violent, and then WHAM he's introspective and calm, and then WHAM he's talking to nobody, and then freaking out again...

And his parents swear that he's totally normal at home. Right.

Evil Canadian: The start of it was the meds though, no question. We have been trying to deal with him for years without them, and nothing helped at all. He was finally diagnosed last fall, and that was the start of things actually improving.

With my kiddo I found that the meds removed some of the irrationality so that talking to him actually worked and he was able to reason things out MUCH more easily. The meds also curbed some of the impulsive behaviors. He still had to go back and unlearn the unhealthy coping skills he'd come up with and relearn healthy ones. Meds are the end all be all answer, but they are certainly a great tool.

GRRR.. Meds are NOT the end all answer.

Rockstone: He sounds like a smart kid, I had to look up what eviscerate means.

chestylaruegal: He is a very smart kid. The thing that pisses him off the most is that he can't read.

Ugh. This is what I mean about thinking all mentally ill people are 'smart' just because they know a big word. How can one be very smart if you can't read.

Pmoon: My last "shrink" was an M.D. whose specialty was treating chemical imbalances with drugs, He was very good at diagnosing people and prescribing. There was not much talking except for him to get a feel for how the drugs were working. Very sharp guy, one of the best doctors that I ever had for "mental illness".

Wouldn't happen to have been in San Jose would it? I'm in need of someone like that.

Genevieve Marie: vitaexcolatur: but i truly think that levels of chemicals in the brain manifest into illnesses like schizophrenia and no amount of "training the mind" of a mentally ill person can at best, diminish the effects.

I'm with you on that. My bipolar disorder is of the very mild variety (no psychosis, more depression than mania) but it still wasn't manageable until I found a mood stabilizer that worked for me

I concur.

I did a research paper in an abnormal psych class on schizophrenia and its relation to a type of glutamate receptor in the brain called an NMDA receptor. There are a number of striking relationships between schizophrenia symptoms and glutamate deficiencies.

It is often related to other neurotransmitters (serotonin and dopamine) due to certain amphetamines producing schizoid-like effects, but treatments that affect those neurotransmitters are only about 20% effective, and often only help the positive symptoms, not negative ones; glutamate-based treatments can affect both. Clearly it isn't a settled issue, though, and research is still ongoing.

lstywnch: GRRR.. Meds are NOT the end all answer.

Neither is psychotherapy.

Sometimes brain chemistry and structure simply can not be affected enough by simply talking to your shrink about it. Mental disorders are just as much a "physical" illness as muscular dystrophy or an auto-immune disorder. It is a mistake to separate the two so cleanly; a mental disorder is just a physical disorder that is in the brain. And, like physical disorders, sometimes you can cure them with physical therapy (psychotherapy), and sometimes you need surgery (psychoactive drugs).

Bomb Mecca: Rockstone: He sounds like a smart kid, I had to look up what eviscerate means.

chestylaruegal: He is a very smart kid. The thing that pisses him off the most is that he can't read.

Ugh. This is what I mean about thinking all mentally ill people are 'smart' just because they know a big word. How can one be very smart if you can't read.

He survives by memorizing EVERYTHING. If he has seen it once, he knows it word for word. If it heard it once, he will remember it and ask you about it three years later. He once asked my mom who the lady with the bright curly red hair was, my mom finally figured out he was talking about someone who visited 5 years earlier. He is brilliant and can figure out anything, he just can't read. When he was three he asked where the thing that you measure the temperature of your feet with went. It took my mom and aunt a couple of minutes to realize he meant the bathroom scale. After that it became a joke that "My feet must be really hot today".
I know of several mentally ill people who are not smart at all and I know several normal people that aren't smart as well. Everyone is different and entitled to their opinion.

Tackboard: This just proves that her and her family are not praying enough.

Give them a break--the last time we had a problem like this, it took a charismatic rabbi and a herd of pigs to fix it.

kemidra: I used to work in a crisis center for people with developmental disabilities - it was a lockdown unit for people who'd become dangerously violent or self-injurious. We had a girl who was about 12 years old, but with stunted growth that made her look more like 7, tops. She was the worst case of schizophrenia I'd ever seen. She was on freakishly high levels of medication, and on the nights we couldn't get her to take them, I swear she seemed possessed. She would literally climb walls - get a running start and get halfway up a wall before falling onto her back. She was obsessed with the idea of babies - we would warn new staff members *never* to talk about family, especially children, around her because she'd use their names later. "I'm gonna take your baby Lauren out of her crib and eat her." "If you ever have a baby in your belly I'm going to find you and rip it out and stomp on it."

'Twas a freakish thing. A lot of the people in that unit had problems that were managable - basically, we were a re-education unit because terrified and exhausted caretakers had basically taught these people that they could get whatever they wanted by attacking you, hurting themselves, trying to kill someone or destroy something, and our whole unit pretty much existed for the purpose of re-educating them in a structured environment. But every now and then we got people like this girl, and there was just no helping them. I don't think she'll ever get to live outside high-security lockdown units. It's really sad too, because when she's lucid, she's incredibly endearing and lovable. Schizophrenia is HELL.

My sister's granddaughter, whom she has adopted because the child's bio-parents are druggies and criminals, is 12, but physically appears more like 10. She was born with drugs in her system, and has always showed signs of developmental problems (still sucks her thumb).

But recently she suddenly started having "Spells" where she begins to talk like a little girl (usually, she speaks normally, and has average intellegence), goes into rages/tantrums that can last for a couple of hours, has auditory hallucinations and claims that "things" will get her if she's left by herself. When the "spell" is over, she's back to being a regular girl, as if nothing had happened.

The children do have medical insurance and she's had a short stay at behavioral medicine hospital, but her doctors seem to think that she's just behaving badly. It's putting a terrible strain on her family.

No drugs have yet been prescribed.I brought-up the possibility of early on-set schiz., but was told that she didn't fit the profile. I pray that she's given some drugs soon, at least to calm her during these episodes.

I've read all the post, hoping to find something that might help, but mostly it seems that getting help is an up-hill crap-shoot.

I can see how people like her used to be viewed as "possessed"---she's like two different people in one body.

Gawdzila: Neither is psychotherapy.

Sometimes brain chemistry and structure simply can not be affected enough by simply talking to your shrink about it. Mental disorders are just as much a "physical" illness as muscular dystrophy or an auto-immune disorder. It is a mistake to separate the two so cleanly; a mental disorder is just a physical disorder that is in the brain. And, like physical disorders, sometimes you can cure them with physical therapy (psychotherapy), and sometimes you need surgery (psychoactive drugs).

That was the point of my post above this one where I corrected a word I omitted.

yaaaay! Another reason to give medicine to kids that the idiot parents claim to be unable to handle

Gyrfalcon: Gawdzila: Weird.
Schizophrenia is usually a late teens to twenties onset.

Chances are it isn't "schizophrenia." She's probably just (some just) completely psychotic and totally out of touch with reality. Given that there is severe mental illness on both sides of her family, my reaction based on no real research, just my own knowledge of the field, is that the poor thing caught a double dose of whatever recessive genes make for psychosis/schizophreniform disorder(s).

Where did it say that? Did I miss something?

/yes, I did RTFA