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
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)