In California you can find many programs to treat Schizophrenia at the first sight. These have been popping up in recent years and have been seeing positive results. From the late teens to the early twenties people begin to experience psychotic breaks, these breaks signal the formal onset of the disease. For a young girl whose father suffers from Schizophrenia this program changed her life, curing her from her early stage symptoms of Schizophrenia. There are also programs for the family as well for them to all help to patient and deal with Schizophrenia. Critics also voiced their opinions on the programs, Dr. Allen Frances does not think these programs are a good idea at all. Stating "No one is harder to diagnose than a child or a teenager" studies show that if three kids all experience the same early symptoms, only one will develop Schizophrenia. For him these programs are just fads and children will be diagnosed incorrectly, which could lead to serious development problems. He hopes that this process won't last long and they will be more careful in diagnosing a younger patient.
I listened to this on the radio this morning and I
decided to look further into this subject. Schizophrenia is a chronic illness
so children of parents who suffer from the disease often live in fear of ending
up the same way. It was quite remarkable to listen to this girl talk about her
fear of losing her mind, and the joy she felt when she was able to take control
and beat the risk. I think it is wonderful that we are now able to prevent this
horrible disease right when it is starting out. With its positive results I do
think that it should continue, but they should proceed with caution. I do agree
with Dr. Allen Frances, it is very easy to diagnose a patient incorrectly. The
stress and developments that teens experience is overwhelming and could easily
bring symptoms that are similar to Schizophrenia.
There is always the risk, so we can't get caught up in this fad. I
believe that this will help many people and give them back their life.
Even if the kids aren't dealing with Schizophrenia ( and aren't
diagnosed incorrectly) the programs will still help them lead a healthier life.
This article was written/recorded for NPR.
To read the full article click the link below
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/10/20/356640026/halting-schizophrenia-before-it-starts
I agree that caution should be taken with this subject, a cure for a mental illness is almost never a sure thing and shouldn't be falsely guaranteed.
ReplyDeleteLauren Kuehmeier
Per. 2
With children it's so hard to handle mental disorders because many doctors will put a child on medication after the first visit. That doesn't mean I discredit this in any way because I understand from a first hand basis how hard it can be growing up with something like this.
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