COS -- it is not just an algebraic term.

Childhood Onset Schizophrenia. 

The simplest thing to say would be schizophrenia in kids that comes on before age 13. 

What I knew about schizophrenia could be added together fit on the head of a pin and even then it was false. 

From intro psych I had a memory of it developing -- rarely -- mostly in men in their early 20s.  This is false.  Schizophrenia effects 1% of the population and effects men and women equally.  General Information can be found here.

From the fallout of deregulation in the 80s, I knew public mental hospitals/institutions closures had increased the number of homeless people who had schizophrenia.  I believe the fact lies somewhere between true and false.

And, I had learned some where is my research for uncovering what was wrong with Houlder back in 2011, that there were schizophrenic patients who had PANDAS -- not schizophrenia.  Read here.

Most of what I knew about schizophrenia was incorrect or foggy.

I have met a parent whose professor father developed it when she was a child.  I learned a bit more but her descriptions fit most of what I had assumed and learned were false.  Many homeless people need mental health support -- as would I -- if my home were the street.  And, if your child does not test positive for PANS or PANDAS -- maybe the psychosis is real.  Until this time, my life confirmed what I knew about schizophrenia.

I never knew there was schizophrenia that begins in childhood.  COS is rarer than schizophrenia.  1 in about 40,000.  It is not the same for every kid.  Every kid who has imaginary friends does not have schizophrenia.  Quirky individualism is not a path to the nut house.  And, COS may exist with many other labels.

It is not easy to define.  There is not a singular gene sequence.  Meds work with varying degrees of success.  Getting treatment after first psychotic break is best. 

If you want to know the most about COS, read this.

It seems easy to launch into a spiel about the importance of mental health advocacy and the need for more psychiatrists, psychologists, and LCSWs.  It seems easy to seek alternative diagnosis or even embrace the disorder as part of neuro-typical behavior.  The reality is that living with this disorder is case by case as much of health care is.

It may be normal for a person to feel powers that don't exist but if his/her life is in jeopardy because of these actions, should we respond?  I believe yes.

Do I want my child to take psychotropic drugs?  Not really.  No, but if he needs them to be safe, yes.

Do I want him hurt because what he sees as real and what is real is dangerous?  No. 

Do I want him to enjoy life and be allowed to have his own views?  Yes.

Where the safety versus viewpoint intersection lies is hopefully uncovered in time through genetic research.  But, it will not be in enough time to help Frazer now. 

Today.

Today, he finishes off five weeks in-patient.  He is one and half weeks without psychotropic drugs.  He will go on another 1.5 weeks before bigger assessments are done.  Wash the meds out.  Hopefully his expressive language will kick it up a few notches to explain what he sees and hears in better detail.

Do I want Frazer to have his own perspective on life?  Indeed. 

Is COS an easier to manage as a mental disorder than as math?  Definitely not. 

It is easy to go through the looking glass and down the rabbit hole, but that seems pointless.  A few shed tears, but not buckets. 

We are uncovering as much as we can with the minds of those who know more than most.  We  have him safe and frankly happy.  It is odd to know one's child is happy on a psych floor, but it could be worse.  If we need to medicate to ensure his safety, we will.  We have tried myriad of modalities, diets, and medical and non-western approaches since this child was born.

If nothing else, I hope you will consider a kid who is not like yours.  Be kinder, warmer and more open.  Don't be afraid.  Kindness should not take courage but compassion.

"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries.  Without them humanity cannot survive."  Dalai Lama