Russell Schizophrenia Case Study

Possible Etiologies Russell is a 16-year-old male who exhibits symptoms of Schizoaffective Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). There are possible causes for the different symptoms Russell is experiencing including genetics and environmental factors. It was observed that Russell’s biological mother suffers from “Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder” which is a common etiological factor for developing Schizophrenia. Kring & Johnson (2016) note that incidence of schizophrenia was higher for people with one parent admitted for schizophrenia and one parent admitted for bipolar disorder. (p. 261). There may be some genetic vulnerability between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder (Kring &

The positive symptoms of Schizophrenia include visual and auditory hallucinations (e.g. “white things, black spots, a red jacket, and people walking in his house and a female voice talks to him at times) and delusions (e.g. Russell would often read into words and find special meaning causing him to worry with significant paranoid ideation and being out of touch with reality) (p. 50). Russell additionally displays the negative symptom of schizophrenia with Asociality (e.g. Russell struggles to understand when he is being made fun of or why people dislike him). Russell appears to have been struggling for these symptoms for about possibly about a year even with a change in medication. Russell’s symptoms additionally showcase major depressive episodes shown in a Schizoaffective Disorder. Russell exhibits a sad mood with difficulty concentrating, recurrent thought of death or suicide, insomnia and psychomotor agitation (e.g. Russell exhibited repetitive hand, finger, tongue, and arm twitches during testing) (DSM-5, 2013,

Kring & Johnson (2013) note that treatment for schizophrenia most often includes a combination of short-term hospital stays, medication and psychosocial treatment (p. 275). Antipsychotics type of medication would be used for Russell for the Schizoaffective Disorder such as Zyprexa or Seroquel. Russell is currently on the medication Geodon which is used to treat schizophrenia. Preston et al. (2013) note that the antipsychotic medications tend to be effective in the treatment of the psychotic symptoms, regardless of the disorder (p. 233). The first-generation antipsychotics tended to be effective for positive symptoms but do little to improve negative symptoms whereas, the second-generation antipsychotics are more effective for negative symptoms (Preston et al., 2013, p. 233). Haldol might be another antipsychotic medication to try with Russell since research indicates that this medication can be used for Autism Spectrum Disorder to help with problem behaviors (Kring & Johnson, 2016, p. 426). ADHD is usually treated with medication. Russell is currently on Concerta for ADHD which is a commonly prescribed medication for