Childhood Schizophrenia Case Summary

Thomas is a nine year old boy that suffers from schizophrenia. He is the youngest child in his family and has three older sisters. His single mother is very supportive and is constantly looking for resources to help him be successful. His father is not involved in Thomas’s life due to struggling with alcohol and drug addictions, as well as several short term sentences served in jail over the years. Despite being a single parent, Thomas’s mother provides a financially stable household and lifestyle that would be considered on the lower end of the middle class.
Prior to the Middle Ages, those with mental illnesses were considered to be filled with evil spirits. Since Thomas suffers from a condition that would be categorized as a mental illness,
Families were given the entire responsibility of taking proper care of their loved one without any resources being provided to assist them. Because of this, families often times could not handle taking care of those individuals, which would tend to result in the mistreatment of those suffering from mental illness. If Thomas’s family ended up not wanting to take on the responsibility for his care, he could have also ended up in an almshouse. There also was the possibility that Thomas could attend one of the few formal institutions that were devoted exclusively to the treatment of mental illnesses, which would allow him access to some proper attention and treatments. Unfortunately, it’s more likely that Thomas would have also never been medically diagnosed with schizophrenia by a medical professional because medical illness was viewed as a social problem rather than a medical
Two very important pieces of legislation, the National Mental Health Act of 1946 and the Mental Health Study Act of 1955, were passed and helped to further the proper treatment and provision of mental health services. During this time period, community health centers were established and more people began being trained to specifically evaluate, study, and treat those with mental illnesses. Rather than be viewed in a negative way for the schizophrenia he has, Thomas would now be able to spend time receiving resources, treatments, and seeing professionals that truly understood the aspects of the illness. Preventive health measures also became a key aspect of this time period, so Thomas may have received special attention and treatment due to his young age in order to prevent any further development of issues from the