#JamesDonaldson On #MentalHealth – #Childhood #Schizophrenia: What Are The First Signs?

Early onset is rare enough that symptoms are often confused with something else

#James Donaldson notes:
Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.
Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.
Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle
Find out more about the work I do on my 501c3 non-profit foundation
website www.yourgiftoflife.org Order your copy of James Donaldson’s latest book,
#CelebratingYourGiftofLife: From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy

www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com

Rochelle Caplan, MD, professor of #child psychiatry at the UCLA Semel Institute, is a leading expert on #childhood #schizophrenia. She discusses how the disorder appears, and why affected #children may actually hide what they’re experiencing from their #parents.

In most cases, the onset of #schizophrenia is in #adolescences and in young #adulthood. But childhood schizophrenia does occur. It is much more infrequent than the later onset schizophrenia.

In most cases, the onset in childhood is actually quite gradual. A child, or a young adolescent, might become more isolated. The child might appear to be having difficulties with attention because they’re actually paying attention to internal stimuli, such as the hallucinations or to their delusional thoughts.

In other cases, the children might appear very anxious because it is a very, very scary experience for a child to have a hallucination. Number one, because sometimes the content of the hallucination is very threatening, like, “I’m going to kill you,” or accusatory, “You terrible child. You have done the most terrible things.” And children at the beginning of the onset of the disorder understand that this is very unusual, because #kids from about age five plus know that one doesn’t hear voices when no one is talking or one doesn’t smell smells that nobody else can smell.

As a parent, what you might experience is your child is being either, on the one hand, very anxious or, because from their perspective you don’t understand what’s going on with them, they might actually act out and be very irritable and very angry.

Schoolwork might go downhill because the child is having a lot of difficulty paying attention and retaining what they are learning.

And another very important symptom of onset would be difficulties with sleep. The child might have difficulties falling asleep, which is part and parcel of the disorder, but it also might occur because in the evenings these hallucinations seem to be more apparent.  When the child is alone and no one is around to distract them from the experience, the child may be experiencing the hallucinations and getting very scared.

So again, you as a parent might think, “Oh, my child is being rebellious and not going to sleep.” And you might get angry at your child, but in fact, the child is being very anxious and wants to be together with the #parent to protect them.

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James Donaldson is a Washington State University graduate (’79). After an outstanding basketball career with WSU, he went on to play professional basketball in the NBA with the Seattle Supersonics, San Diego/L.A. Clippers, Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks, and Utah Jazz. He also played for several teams in the European Leagues in Spain, Italy, and Greece, and he toured with The Harlem Globetrotters to wrap up his career. James was an NBA All-Star in 1988 while playing center for the Dallas Mavericks. In 2006, James was inducted into the Pac-10 Sports Hall of Fame and also the Washington State University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2010, James was elected as a board member for the NBA Retired Players Association.

James frequently conducts speaking engagements (motivational, inspirational, educational) for organizations, schools, and youth groups.

In 2010, James was the recipient of the NBA Legends of Basketball ABC Award, awarded for outstanding contributions in Athletics–Business–Community.

He believes in being a role model for success and professionalism to the scores of young people to whom he devotes so much of his time. He currently serves on several boards and committees and is a member of many organizations.

James believes in developing relationships that create a “Win-Win” environment for everyone involved, and in being the best he can be!

For more information about James Donaldson or to request he speak at your event, contact him at:

www.StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
JamesD@StandingAboveTheCrowd.com
1-800-745-3161 (voicemail & fax)

James Donaldson is the author of “Standing Above The Crowd” and “Celebrating Your Gift of Life” and founder of the Your Gift of Life Foundation which focuses on mental health awareness and suicide prevention, especially pertaining to our school aged children and men.

If you’re interested in having James come and speak to your group of young adults, business entrepreneurs, aspiring political and community leaders, and athletic teams, please contact him at jamesd@yourgiftoflife.org and or leave a personal message for him at 1-800-745-3161. Keep up with him and read about how he is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of so many around the world at www.yourgiftoflife.org