Schizophrenia

Definition

Schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. The people who have schizophrenia live in their own world and it feels very real to them. Symptoms of schizophrenia usually start between ages 16 and 30 years old. In rare cases, some children have schizophrenia as well. Men are most likely to develop schizophrenia than women, as well as, more severely(Naset). People with schizophrenia often suffer terrifying symptoms such as hearing internal voices not heard by others, or believing that other people are reading their minds, controlling their thoughts, or plotting to harm them. The symptoms of Schizophrenia fall into 3 categories: positive, negative, and cognitive. Positive symptoms include: Hallucinations, Delusions, agitated body movements, and unusual or dysfunctional ways of thinking. Negative symptoms can be: “Flat affect” (reduced expression of emotions via facial expression or voice tone), reduced feelings of pleasure in everyday life, difficulty beginning and sustaining activities, and reduced speaking. Cognitive symptoms are: Poor “executive functioning” (the ability to understand information and use it to make decisions), trouble focusing or paying attention, and problems with “working memory” (the ability to use information immediately after learning it). Aside from the symptoms, there are several factors that contribute to the development of schizophrenia. Most of the time, schizophrenia can be passed down genetically. However, there is no one gene that scientists know for sure that causes schizophrenia. In that case, it can be hard to know who can develop schizophrenia because there are some cases where schizophrenia develops in people who don’t have a family history of schizophrenia. On the other hand, the environment has a play in the development of schizophrenia. For example, exposure to viruses, malnutrition before birth, problems during birth, and psychosocial factors are all risk factors to help schizophrenia develop in that individual. Also, schizophrenia can develop if there are problems during the development of the brain in the baby. Once the baby goes through birth, there may be faulty connections in the brain that helps develop schizophrenia.

Instructional Strategies

First and foremost, it is important for teachers to be well educated about schizophrenia including the symptoms, treatments, and causes in order to converse intelligently with parents or student issues concerning education. In order to make accommodations, it is also important to know that Addressing accommodations and modifications for individuals with schizophrenia is as individual as each person(Simmons).
- Reduce stress in the room as much as possible.
- Work with the student with schizophrenia to help them set realistic academic and social goals.
- Establish regular meetings with the family or student to discuss issues, problems, or successes.
- As much as possible, encourage participation and interaction between the student with the illness and other students. (Simmons)
- Allowing the student to have a quiet secluded place to complete assignments and tests is one way to provide the student with a stress free environment(Simmons).
- Priority registration is another accommodation because the students who have that accommodation can choose which teachers and times that best fit their needs and flow into their routine
- IEPs are another way to know how to incorporate their needs into the classroom
  - Some examples to change could be: graphic organizers, a new book, or mnemonic devices
  - Modifications would include the student taking a different, easier standardized test

Useful Websites

http://www.naminys.org/UJC.pdf This website helps with family education, advocacy, and peer-to-peer support
http://clubhouse-intl.org/ This website focuses on people with disabilities help find friendship, employment, housing, education and access to medical and psychiatric services in a single caring and safe environment – so they can recover and fully participate as valued and respected members of society.
http://www.bazelon.org/ This website is a national legal advocate for people with mental disabilities. Probably one of the most valuable resources out there if you or an ill family member is dealing with the legal system.

Research

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29106788?report=abstract This article shows that early-onset inguinal hernia is associated with increased risk of developing schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, especially in men.
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2017/patient-derived-support-cells-stunt-mouse-brain-development.shtml This article explains how scientists generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from skin cells of patients who had experienced onset of psychosis before puberty. They then induced those stem cells to develop into glial cells, which play a pivotal supporting role in brain development. The scientists used those glial cells and planted them into the developing mouse brain. The schizophrenia-affected brains didn’t mature sufficiently and failed to create a proper network to support neurons. Another glial type, oligodendrocytes, failed to adequately sheath neurons with signal-conducting myelin – a deficiency also commonly seen in individuals with schizophrenia.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29106693 This article explains how cognitive insight training can improve meaning-making in patients and help them come to terms with their diagnosis.

Other

Children over the age of five can develop schizophrenia, but it is very rare before adolescence. Although some people who later develop schizophrenia may have seemed different from other children at an early age, the psychotic symptoms of schizophrenia—hallucinations and delusions—are extremely uncommon before adolescence.
News and entertainment media tend to link mental illness and criminal violence; however, studies indicate that except for those persons with a record of criminal violence before becoming ill, and those with substance abuse or alcohol problems, people with Schizophrenia are not especially prone to violence.
- They are more likely to prefer to be left alone