Born Schizophrenic Summary

Born Schizophrenic: Commentary
Upon watching “Jani’s Story”, a number of thoughts, questions, and issues were raised in my mind. Watching this young girl, one of only two children to be diagnosed with schizophrenia in preschool years, I wondered at the behaviors she was exhibiting and how reliable her descriptions could be, given her limited language abilities as such a small child. I questioned whether her parents and caregivers were digging deeply enough into the possible causes of her outbursts or whether they were applying adult diagnoses inappropriately because they lacked a framework for any other type of answers. While I understand the exceptionally challenging situation in which the Schofileds found themselves, Jani’s behaviors
and eventual diagnosis trouble me due to rarity of the situation. Reading “When the Body Attacks the Mind” also played into my doubt as to whether or not Jani had been appropriately treated and diagnosed.
Sasha Egger’s autoimmune encephalitis diagnosis immediately came to mind when considering Jani and her behaviors. While Sasha was older when he began exhibiting symptoms overnight, it is possible that Jani had some of the same types of inflammations and causes when she was an infant, resulting in damage that created her outbursts, hallucinations, and other maladies. She may have been too young to describe her symptoms to her doctors, and because the Schofileds were not trained in psychiatry or medicine, they may not have known to look for those original indicators of something biologically wrong. Instead, they only began noticing issues of behavioral emergence without physical symptoms, relating it immediately to a psychiatric issue rather than one that may have originated elsewhere.
As a means of determining whether or not Jani’s situation was caused by something other than an overt psychological or emotional disturbance, it would be important to run tests that determined whether the chemicals in her body were properly balanced, whether there was an over or under-abundance of antibodies in her system, and how her blood chemistry compared to other children of her same age, weight, and gender. These biological tests may point to the existence of medical issues that currently exist or perhaps show markers of previous conditions that, while resolved, may have resulted in permanent damage to Jani’s ability to emotionally regulate or tell fiction from reality.
Projective drawing could be used to evaluate Jani’s emotional and psychological state, potentially revealing her inner thoughts and emotions in a way she is not able to verbalize. Through use of project drawing, it may be possible to determine if Jani’s brain and emotional regulation are influenced by factors other than simple psychological issues. Neurological issues may uncover themselves as she attempts to draw her reality and explain the figures she creates.
Rorschach tests may also prove useful in informing Jani’s diagnosis of schizophrenia.
Through listening to her interpretations of inkblots, the examiner may begin to uncover a picture of what Jani processes and how consistent her thoughts and impressions are with others who share the same diagnosis. If Jani diverges significantly from the performance of others with the condition, it may point to undiagnosed neurological issues or other underlying psychological issues that may cause her treatment team to reconsider schizophrenia and look more deeply into how such a young person could be so heavily impacted by psychological problems. Given Jani’s age and limited language abilities, I am not certain it is even possible to accurately diagnose her and consider her descriptions of symptoms as reliable. Brain imaging may be useful in this instance to gain objective information as to how her brain is processing input and responding to stimuli. Brain scans can be useful when diagnosing mental illness, since they can help rule out other medical conditions that might be causing the symptoms. Scientists have observed abnormalities in the brains of people with schizophrenia when using computed topography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
scans.