Is it just me or does this girl seem more AS or schizophreic

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hmmm... as I was saying, I'm surprised that...

One drug company got a massive fine for offering cash incentives for anti-psych to be administered to people with dementia (which is very controversial, because there's a lot of stuff about them being used just to sedate and calm people down for the benefit of the people looking after them and not the person being medicated.)

They've said the drugs get rid of the 'autistic' symptoms. But then they say, she's not autistic she's psychotic, but that the drugs don't fix that.

I also found this creepy.

(She is in the mental hospital here)-

http://www.januaryfirst.org/www.january ... es_F..html



I went back into Jani's room and tried to wake her up. I said "Hi, sweetie! Daddy's here" and gave her a kiss. Her eyes fluttered open and she sat up like someone had flipped a switch. She looked at me, eyes dull, mouth slack, and said...


"Who are you?"


For a second I thought I had misheard her. She was mumbling. Her mouth was dry and she had blood and hair encrusted across her lips. Her hair and clothes were a mess. This is another sign of psychosis, when she lets her personal hygiene go.


"Who am I?" I repeated, half expecting her to crack a sly smile to let me know she was joking.


But her face stayed slack.


"I'm your daddy," I told her, in an amazingly level voice.


"Oh," she said, then turned to look around the room. "Did you bring any food?"


I got up to retrieve her Burger King, fighting back terror. She hadn't recognized me. This was the first time. She looked like she was awake but still in a dream.


I gave her her food and she started to eat. As soon as she opened her mouth, I saw that her mouth was full of blood. Panic flashed for a minute and then crisis mode took over. I asked Miss Nigeria to open the bathroom (they look the bathroom to keep the kids from killing themselves in there) and called for the head nurse. Alfie and Diane came and told me about her chewing on the chairs, claiming her teeth hurt. They pointed out the blood stains on the chair Miss Nigeria had been sitting in. I told them to get her a Tylenol for her teeth and got the bathroom door unlocked. I wet a paper towel and wiped the dried blood and hair off Jani's face. Alfie came back with the Tylenol and put Jani's hair in a ponytail. She spilled water on herself. I waited, holding my breath, as she looked down at it. I wasn't sure if she would erupt screaming and try to tear her clothes off. But she let it go. She was too tired.


The TV was set to Animal Planet and was showing "Human Prey," a show about people who have survived wild animal attacks by sharks and lions (in this case sharks). Computer imaging showed what a Great White Shark does to a human body. Since Jani was barely registering my presence, I felt desperate and wanted to teach her, to try and engage her. I could feel her slipping away. I seized the sharks, explaining to her why large predators always violently shake their prey rather than trying to eat it alive. I explained that the shark was shaking the computer generated man because it wanted to break his spine, because living prey fights for its life, hitting, kicking, biting, and, in the case of humans with opposable thumbs, going for the eyes. This makes consuming living prey a bit dangerous. Better to kill it and be able to relax over the kill.


Jani suddenly tells me that it is now 200 degrees in Calalini. That was the last thing she said tonight. After she ate, she went to sleep. I stayed with her another hour or so, just holding her. I hope somewhere deep inside she felt it.


Susan had a great visit yesterday, except for one thing. Jani told her 400 the Cat was back. 400 is the worst of her delusions, a "command" delusion that tells her to hurt herself and others. Susan didn't think much of it at the time because Jani was calm yesterday.




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Okay so while Jani is in a drug stupor, not doing anything in the mental hospital he seizes the moment to "teach" her about how sharks go for their prey in a sadistic manner as if he's telling that to Jani for another reason than educational.

After reading through all this and some more of his blog, I'm starting to think that Dad has a bit of whatever Jani has. Maybe she inherited it from him but is more severly affected. I get an "unreliable narrator" sense from him. She has a very distorted sense of reality but his own sense of reality seems askew also. It is odd indeed that he seizes on this "how sharks kill" TV show as a way to connect with her. He explains in great detail why and how a shark mangles somebody? Okaaaayyyyyyy. This to a daughter whose mouth is full of blood because she has apparently been chewing furniture. So he chooses that time to tell her about sharks chewing on people. Being out of touch with reality seems to run in the family.

Yes...childhood onset schizophrenia is extremely rare! It also usually starts later in women than men in general.

Could she have just been insisting the imaginary friends were real, even though she knew they really weren't? Maybe she wanted to pretend they were real and wanted others to play along. I've heard many little kids say that their favourite stuffed animals/dolls are real, and get very upset if anyone questions that they are.

I see this thread is a couple years old; I have not watched the videos or read the blog; only what is here.
My impression is that the child has severe behavioral issues; that she is in survival mode; and from what I pick up on, it seems she may well have a few overlapping disorders (A.D.D., Autism, and what seems to be P.T.S.D.) I'm no expert; just a mom who has read up on such things. (I have an adult son with autism.)
The father is likely vexed by the behaviors; when he is told that this is Aspergers, he would, more than likely read up the wazoo on the subject. She fits the criteria, but there is more there; he does more reading; in his mind, becomes convinced that his daughter is presenting something more. After more reading, he decides probably with his mind AND "gut", that it seems more akin to schizophrenia. It is possible. The brain/neurology are complex; labels help, but the kid could have a lot going on. It is an overwhelming thing; my own experience with doctors was disheartening. (I once asked my neurologist how much training he had received in med school on autism. Less than a day, he said.) I do not know what to make of the imaginary characters; neurotypical kids often create bad/evil "playmates", particularly if they are bright and introspective. If there is abuse, or if her own body simply feels at war with itself, they can become quite real to a five-year-old. I think most parents would find it fairly disturbing; I do not know what to make of it, frankly. The meds are an issue unto themselves, obviously. What stood out to me like a firebrand was this: there is blood in her mouth; her teeth hurt; she does not focus, does not seem to know who her dad is? Has anyone ever experienced a grand mal epileptic seizure before? I have. If you bite the mouth hard enough while seizing to chew the tongue/insides of your cheeks bloody, your teeth are going to hurt from the full force of the jaw involuntarily clenching. Once you wake up, you are disoriented; may not know where you are, confused at a simple thing such as trying to button a shirt; may not recognize people who you know quite well. The meds could very well have caused a grand mal (which also leaves the body completely exhausted; people usually sleep for hours afterward.) If she was having nocturnal seizures, the staff may not realize this unless they witnessed it happening. Someone with autism might very well bite on something hard to relieve the pain (it actually does give quite temporary although inadequate relief.) I find it appalling that her medical providers would not have suggested this possibility, though. It seems a much more likely cause of what the father saw that day than does a self-inflicted wound caused from biting a chair leg! Lots of kids with autism also have issues with what is acceptable or palatable in terms of food; (heck, many young "neurotypical" kids do, too.) Might be a texture thing; might be a comfort thing, akin to a security blanket. The father may be a very concrete thinker himself; he is obviously eccentric to say the least (the shark story was just creepy.) I do not think this is Munchausen. He is not satisfied w/what the doctors are saying; has ruminated himself into certainty that this is schizophrenia, to the point that no other diagnosis will satisfy him, I think. So yes, he may well be "undiagnosed" himself; if so, the stress of Janis' behaviors would be all the higher. I do see narcissistic tendencies; conversely, people with NPD would not dare admit that there could be anything amiss within themselves. We are all narcissistic to one degree or another, for gods sake. If a parent is tilting at windmills, and feels he is on a quixotic quest, it could certainly enhance those tendencies.
The girl certainly was not done any justice here by her doctors. One would think that the mighty Oprah could have had "her people" find the best in the field. Hopefully Jani has been, by this time, with this much exposure, thoroughly evaluated by a team of experts -- including an allergist -- environmental and/or food allergies can wreak havoc with the nervous system/behaviors in sensitive individuals. (One would think that Oprah might have been able to access the best of the best for this family.) My personal feeling is that meds can help even young children; the dose should be the lowest possible combined with behavioral interventions, occupational therapy, and a peaceful, structured setting. Jani and every child like her deserves every possible support and the best of it. Most of the time the financial resources, availability of well-educated/intuitive professionals, and geographic constraints make this difficult to attain. I wish her the best.

I just joined so that I could make this point.

I have schizophrenia myself, and I have read all the stuff about Jani I could find, watched videos etc and all I see is Munchausen's by Proxy. It makes me furious.

The key point I want to make is that it is obviously the father's imagination and learned behaviour on the part of the kid because antipsychotics simply don't work in the way that was suggested. If the dose of thorazine was lowered, you WOULD NOT SEE A CHANGE WITHIN "MINUTES". That is clearly psychosomatic. Antipsychotics take weeks to clear out of your system - you wouldn't notice any difference for at least a couple of days, certainly NOT MINUTES.

The father also seems to have a very odd, and incorrect, idea of what "psychotic" means, in terms of behaviour. The "I can't swallow" thing just sounds like a kid playing up, although the meds do make you drool something horrid (could be that). Sounds like EVERY time the hospital tries to put a behavioural/learned interpretation on her behaviour the parents resist.

I certainly think they don't want her out of their hands for long in case she does get better.

And for schizophrenics everywhere I would like to point out that we are not, as a rule, violent. That is actually pretty rare (although it happens sometimes). Using "psychotic" to mean "violent" is just slang, not medically correct.

I saw the hand flapping too, and thought autism.

However, as someone with 2 psychology degrees I should also say it made me wince when I read about them reacting to a baby that didn't sleep much and screamed by giving her "constant stimulation". That alone could explain a lot. Plus that frankly disturbing video of them pathologising perfectly normal behaviour when she was a tiny baby staring into space.

She was OBVIOUSLY jealous of her baby brother getting attention, hence the violence. The parents just reacted by continuing their sick behaviour as far as I can see. Yes, she may have some underlying impairment, but she is more like their trick pony.