January First

DX'd - Other
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I’m reading this book and I just can’t put it down. It’s stressful just reading it. I don’t know if any of you know of Janni Schofield? The child with schizophrenia? She was on oprah once which is how I first learned about her a while back. I actually brought her up in a presentation I gave once. Anyways I noticed her dad wrote a book about her today and I decided to pick it up and read it.

Part of me feels like she doesn’t have sz but autism, as many of her behaviors I have seen in children or individuals with moderate to severe autism. She’s so young though who can really say. I feel so strongly for her parents. There are very few resources out there for children with severe mental illness, especially very young children, largely because severe mental illness in young children is almost nonexistent. (Conversely, autism manifests very early on though which is another thing that made me feel like she had that, though her dad strongly does not believe she has it)

Anyways if anyone else has read the book, what would you say? Do you think she has sz? If you haven’t read it I definitely recommend it. It also gives a great look into all the infuriating things about the mental health system and its inadequacies at dealing with children. Dear lord I wish the best for her parents.

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Azriel keeps telling me to stop reading it because it’s upsetting me. Hush.

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Awesome you do have way to tune out the brain atm. I’m so use to thoughts running rampaid while symptomatic to be able to concentrate.

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My thoughts are rushing right now because this is right up my field. It’s what I’m strongly passionate about. I so very much want to become the kind of professional that individuals can come to that have no idea what’s wrong with their loved one and then be able to give them an answer and hope. And where there are no answers I’ll do research and find them. It’s all driving me nuts.

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Would the book be triggering?

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Could possibly be. I mean it’s a very vivid portrayal of life with a very disturbed child. If you get triggered by reading other stories about people with mental illness this would likely also be triggering.

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