[Childhood onset schizophrenia: current data and therapeutic approach]

Abstract

Childhood schizophrenia is a rare but serious developmental disorder affecting most of the fields involved in the child's adaptive functioning: motor, emotional, cognitive, and social. The clinical expression of the disorder mainly depends on the child's age and the IQ level at the time the first clinical symptoms appear. The progression of childhood schizophrenia is generally poor, with different outcome studies suggesting a continuity of the process between childhood and adulthood. This stresses the importance of diagnosing the disorder early and initiating the adapted therapeutic measures as quickly as possible, including cognitive remediation (a new therapeutic tool to correct or anticipate cognitive disorders), which can prevent pejorative development.