Early-onset schizophrenia, sometimes called infantile schizophrenia, refers to a rare psychiatric pathology that is as intriguing as it is worrying. It has a serious impact on patients, upsets those around them and poses significant challenges for healthcare professionals. What symptoms should alert you? How to diagnose it with certainty? And what measures should be put in place to best support the children concerned and their family? We take stock with Dr Arnaud Fernandez, pediatrician, child psychiatrist and co-coordinator of the PsyRare reference center in Nice.
Definition: what is childhood schizophrenia?
Schizophrenia typically occurs between the late teens and early 30s, with peak onset around the 20s. But it is sometimes declared before the majority: this is what we call early schizophreniaformerly called infantile schizophrenia. “This mental disorder profoundly affects the way young people perceive, think and interact with the world. It is distinguished by its early onset and is characterized by symptoms similar to those observed in adults,” says Dr. Fernandez.
However, its impact is very different… Early schizophrenia can in fact disrupt:
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language development,
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the development of social relationships,
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learning,
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the construction of thought…
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