User:MadeleineMarieC/Childhood schizophrenia

The lead to the article seems to be well-sourced and provides a good overview of the topics that will be covered later in the article. The signs and symptoms section is well-written, but more sources may be needed since a lot of information seems to draw on just one source. More information could also be used under the "age of first episode of psychosis," such as including percentages of people with schizophrenia diagnosed by a certain age. More information and sources on Prevention could be added, such as information about the relationship between ACEs and the onset of schizophrenia. The history section is really well done.

Article body
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that is expressed in abnormal mental functions, a loss of one's sense of identity and self, a compromised perception of reality, and disturbed behavior.

The signs and symptoms of childhood schizophrenia are similar to those of adult-onset schizophrenia. Some of the earliest signs that a young child may develop schizophrenia are lags in language and motor development. Some children engage in activities such as flapping the arms or rocking, and may appear anxious, confused, or disruptive on a regular basis. Children may experience hallucinations, but these are often difficult to differentiate from just normal imagination or child play. Visual hallucinations are more commonly found in children than in adults. It is often difficult for children to describe their hallucinations or delusions, making very early-onset schizophrenia especially difficult to diagnose in the earliest stages. The cognitive abilities of children with schizophrenia may also often be lacking, with 20% of patients showing borderline or full intellectual disability.

Negative symptoms include apathy, avolition, alogia, anhedonia, asociality, and blunted emotional affect.

- Apathy is an overall lack of interest or enjoyment, which relates to the negative symptom of blunted emotional affect.

'''- Blunted emotional affect includes a lack of facial expressions, lack of intonation while speaking, and little eye contact. If you are speaking to someone who has blunted emotional affect, it would be difficult to determine their feelings using their facial expressions and tone.'''

- Avolition is experienced when they child shows few goal-focused behaviors and choices, and a lack of interest in goal-related activities, including personal hygiene .

- Alogia can be seen when people use few words and lack fluency while speaking.

- Anhedonia relates to an inability to find pleasure in activities that one previously found enjoyable, as well as the inability to remember previous enjoyable memories .

- Asociality is a symptom seen when a person has no interest in socializing with others .

These negative symptoms can severely impact children's and adolescents' abilities to function in school and in other public settings.