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Hi everyone -
First time poster, long time lurker. My wife and I have learned a lot from these boards since becoming fps.
Our latest family additions to the family, B, age 11 and J, age 15 joined us in February. Over the course of the past few months, J has become more comfortable and trusting of us and as his feeling of being "safe" increases, he's opened up to us quite a bit. I'm glad he does, because he has trust issues; this openness confirms his trust in us.
However, with that trust, we are really beginning to get to the root of some severe psychological disorders. J was a victim in a sex crime a couple of years ago, bullied relentlessly in school after it and seems to have extreme paranoia (we call him, (privately, of course) the King of "What-if", since he always has a "what-if" for each situation).
J has been seeing a a counselor for awhile, and recently after disclosing to us he sees things that aren't there and hears voices, received a referral to a staff pyschologist. I'm really not impressed with the dr. He was quick to prescribe Prozac, but even in the followup visit has not given a diagnoses. My wife is leaning towards schizophrenia, but after doing some research, I think the voices and seeing things is a result of coping with the trauma that he has seen. It seems to be worse and manifest more when there is a court hearing or visit with CASA (mother has been filing motions for the boys to go live with grandma and CASA are just airheads). When he is allowed to be a normal teenager, he is completely different. Happy, social, compliant, etc.
I fear the we are being to quick too label him with Schizophrenia, push him into that diagnoses which will cause him to taking a medication he'll likely have to take for the rest of his life.
We are going to try and talk more with the counselor and psychiatrist, but I'm just not yet convinced it is schizo. Thoughts? Experiences?
Secondly, how do we get this through to CASA? So far, most everyone (judge, attorney, case worker, counselor) have pushed for the boys to remain with our family. But CASA doesn't seem to think there is anything wrong with them living with grandma and going back to a town where there lives are known, J is bullied, (not to mention issues with mom). CASA has made very few visits to meet with the boys, preferring instead to represent Grandma. It's been a challenge.
Thanks and God Bless all of your fellow foster parents.
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I know someone who was diagnosed as a teen with Schizo it is a really really hard diagnosis to get, they spent 6 mos in a residential therapy program prior to giving the diagnosis. Most Dr's do not like to diagnose Schizo for teens. More likely he will received the more generalized Psychosis as a Dx which really just means a loss of contact with reality
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