Schizophrenia

Sydney Luttrell

Department of Graduate Education, Vanguard University

EDUG 524

Dr. Jeff Hittenberg

October 23, 2022

 Our world is made up of diverse people, all people have abilities and disabilities, and

they look different from person to person. Individuals with special needs are typically put on

blast since their disabilities are more on display for all to see and know. In addition, there are

genetic and environmental conditions that contribute to special needs. One special need that I

will discover and unpack is schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is a mental disorder where individuals will distort realities. Schizophrenia

can and will vary between all individuals through behavior changes, delusions, hallucinations,

and daily function. For individuals, inappropriate behaviors and feelings will take place. The

individual's mood will shift through moments of unhappiness or depression. Schizophrenia can

be detected within the first psychotic experience that the individual undergoes. It is essential that

once it is seen, there are steps taken to provide help for the individual. Although, after the first

episode, it is difficult to determine if the individual has schizophrenia, the assessment will be

ongoing as someone is learning from the individual in order to understand and relate to where

they are coming from. Once the first episode has occurred, we can make strides for the student.

(Marder, Ch 1)

There is no cure for schizophrenia. However, there are resources that we have access to

that can limit the psychosis episodes and assist the person. Individuals will go through

psychotherapy for the rest of their lives, having a set time to meet and talk with someone.

Medication is also able to subdue psychotic breakouts and behavioral issues. Nevertheless, there

is no cure for schizophrenia; this will be a lifelong journey for individuals. So we need to take

steps to assist the individual with schizophrenia to live a happy and whole life. (Marder, Ch 1)
History

The book, “History of Special Education,” dives into a plethora of special needs and the

history that follows each. We are to see the development in the knowledge and resources through

this book. The development of schizophrenia has had many contributors wanting a better life for

those with mental illness. Individuals with mental illness were a terror to society. However,

emotional disorders and schizophrenia were not known or recorded prior to the 18th century.

During this time, we did not know children's developmental stages, so it does not come as a

surprise that we did not acknowledge schizophrenia.

At first, there was such a negative connotation towards people with special needs,

especially those with mental illness. People look different and act differently, making them

uneasy and uncomfortable when they are people in the special needs community. There were

severe responses to people with schizophrenia and incarceration. The act of putting someone

behind bars or in isolation since they were considered "crazy" or a "detriment" to society. There

became this idea that people were associated with being possessed; it was one of the things

people would say. Looking at someone stating that there were demons inside of them controlling

and affecting who they are. People would steer away from the mentally ill in fear of who they are

and what they could do to them.

In the mid-18th century, Philippe Pine started the message of spreading kindness.

Kindness to all, including people with special needs. This did leave some people wanting to join

Philippe Pine and what he stood for, kindness. In “History of Pennsylvania Hospital” we get

introduced to Benjamin Rush, who became an advocate for no haram treatment to people in the

classroom. Benjamin Rush is known as the "Father of American Psychiatry." He recognized the

mental illness in this world. He did not want others to see schizophrenia as possession of demons
but just a mental illness that was affecting the individual's mind. Rush wanted all to have access

to education, including the mentally ill. He did not believe that harsh punishment should be held

in the school setting. Rush believed he could help those with mental illness by creating the chair.

The chair would strap the individual in and affect the brain's blood flow. Unfortunately, the

contraption did not show the results that Rush desired for mental illness patients.

Mental illness was still on the rise. During the 19th century, the Asylum movement was

created and took its form. It was created for good, to help people with mental illness. Create a

space where they would be able to receive treatment and rehabilitation. Unfortunately, that is not

what occurred in those spaces, and there was mistreatment of the individuals. Pain and suffering

would take over, being locked up and beaten if their behavior was incorrect. They went back to

being seen as criminals, criminals that would be walking the streets, criminals that needed to be

beaten in order for them to get better. They were not seen as a human needing help; they were

seen as less than others, so how they were disciplined was not a problem to the world during this

time. Someone had to assume the role, and it was taken. A woman named Dorethea Dix worked

in prisons and shared the "vivid accounts of horrible conditions experienced" (page 156). She

had encountered prisoners in the cells. She did not expect to see that the mentally ill were also

housed in the cells. Although the asylums were packed with prisoners and the mentally ill, there

were insufficient resources and staff members to care for the building and the people adequately.

Once we arrived in the 1900s, we started to see the shift and desire to take care of our

children suffering from mental illness. The development of child psychiatry allowed children to

be in a space where someone could work with them. As the desire to add more resources for our

students continued, we saw the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1966, where funds

were being added to the school to support students with disabilities. The RICE Method has
established "interventions based on psychodynamic theory" (Rotatori, 158). There is a focus on

the child, "the child is encouraged to resolve his or her intrapsychic conflicts and thereby attain

more optimal functioning" (Rotatori, 158). However, this approach is not used often in schools

due to its demand on the child and the school.

Interview

For the interview, I connected with a family I have known for many years. They have a

daughter that has early-onset schizophrenia. Ellory was adopted from Russia and came to

America at four years old. Her parents were informed that she had been diagnosed with Autism

and ADHD. Her parents had had extensive experience and exposure to children with special

needs and knew when they met her they knew she had been misdiagnosed. They then found out

that she had Early Onset Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia looks different for all individuals and

typically shows up in the early 20s; Ellory showed signs of it at the age of four when she came to

America and was tested.

As I spoke with Brandy, her mother, she shared what that journey had looked like for

them as a family. Ellory knows that she is a 13-year-old girl. She has 17 other people and voices

within her. She can distinguish between all of them. I have spent time with Ellory before, and she

would take on the identity of some of the personalities. When she did not want to do something,

she would assume another personality's identity and cast her fears onto someone else. In

conversations, she would disassociate from who she was and assume the role of one of her other

personalities. She would refer to Ellory as not being there and being in another state or country.

The family has a large backyard that Ellory is able to wander around in, she does have a service
dog that is essentially her best friend. She is only able to go outside if her dog is accompanying

her.

Our relationship with the parents and families of our students will make a difference.

Brandy shared the peace she has been able to have since Ellory can have aids that spend one-on-

one time with her in the classroom and out of it. Her aids come to her with excitement but a

mission they want to achieve as they do the work.

Ellory has been to many schools to find the one that was her best fit and would allow her

to excel in the classroom setting. She is currently at a smaller charter school that is

approximately 20 minutes away from her house. The program consists of students with a wide

range of special needs, and the class she spends her time in is moderate to severe. There are

multiple aides in the classroom working with the students. She has aids she works with within

the classroom, one of which is her behavioral aid. In addition, she works with her in and outside

of school. Although she does share about some of the peers in her classroom, they struggle to

constantly be that number one support and cheerleader for the student. She is given the

reassurance she needs. She has the most success working with a one-to-one device in the

classroom, and she loves her iPad. She is an auditory and visual learner. The use of her iPad

allows for freedom for her to learn in ways that are exciting and interesting for her. She has a

phenomenal memory; everything she hears and learns is forever with her.

Case Study

Abnormal Psychology web shares the story of Elyn is a woman with schizophrenia. She

defined schizophrenia as a “brain disease” and “false sensory experiences.” She was sharing her

life journey with schizophrenia and had a full-time job. She’s willing to share the story and
journey she has been having with her chronic schizophrenia. She shared the many days over

triple digits she had spent in psychiatric hospitals. While in Yale Law school, she started to have

different hallucinations and episodes. She shared how she went from having this episode with a

couple of her friends to them looking at her and seeing her, this idea that she was psychotic. She

was interacting with her professors and saying things of nonsense. She refused to take any

medication. And that’s when many effects started to arise. She would say out-of-pocket things to

her professors, which led to them sharing with her the importance of seeking help, seeking

someone that can talk with her, seeking someone that has answers and seeking medication. She

then got sent to a hospital. She discussed the restraints in place for her to feel safe. After many

months she slowly started to take some medication. She shared the stigma that was attached to

mental illness. Her fears when she was identified as schizophrenic identified as mentally ill. She

didn’t want to share this with people, and the judgment would destroy her. She said it took her

many years to open up and share this with others. Finally, she realized that the only way we can

provide more treatment is to talk about mental illnesses and schizophrenia.

Education

We must maintain connections and conversations with the parents of our students. When

it comes to the psychosis events that will take place, everyone must agree on how to handle each

given situation. While reading, “Supporting Students Experiencing Early Psychosis in Middle

School and High School” states, "Whatever intervention is selected, the goals of school

personnel should be to help the student maintain healthy coping strategies and provide a

supportive educational environment that meets the student's needs." Stubbornness has

tremendous power over some of the students I am in the classroom. We need to be equipped with
ideas and tools to be implemented in the classroom for our students. The school and parents are

the students' harmonies, and when there is a strong relationship between the two wanting to

support and work for the student, there will be a success.

As an educator, the classroom environment is one of my priorities and is one area where I

will dedicate time to the space for my students. Since behavior is an overarching topic that

comes up for this, it is important that we can model behavior for our students. We are to set rules

and expectations of what behaviors are to look like and how to self-reflect on the behaviors that

are taking place. In order to prevent the behavior from escalating, we can create flexible working

opportunities for our students that will be able to lead to their success academically. We can

receive the instructions and follow and apply them in the classroom. Behavior shifts can occur

due to feeling overwhelmed or fear starting to build up in the classroom for the student. We can

provide our students with a schedule and an outline of the day so they can visually see what we

will be doing.

With technology increasing and impacting our society, we must integrate it into our

classroom setting, especially if the students are showing growth and understanding through their

notes. For Ellory, using her iPad gives her independence and freedom to watch videos and

complete assignments fun and engagingly. However, some rules need to be established for her

and the use of technology for students. She can be given assignments that check her

comprehension, as she can then type and submit videos to the teacher to show how she is

learning from the work she is doing. The handing over of the iPad is an excellent tool for her

comprehension, but it is also essential that there is no dependence on the videos or images with

the work.
 Education is a crucial part of the lives of our students. We are responsible for getting to

know our students and identifying what needs may need to be met by the teacher for their

success. When creating the classroom environment for our students with schizophrenia, we can

allow for preferred seating in the classroom. Some of the peers in the classroom may produce too

much noise or become distractions for the student. When we aluminate the noise factor, that will

be able to help our student focus. Our students may also benefit from being mobile in the

classroom. They should be given a choice to walk outside if that is what they need at that

moment. The movement can be very beneficial for our students.

Another area that may affect individuals with schizophrenia is the ability to socialize and

make friends. There can be a lot of self-inflicted ideas for the individual with schizophrenia that

can create a barrier for them to be able to create friendships. In the classroom, we have the power

to put students in groups that can lead to building relationships with one another. We will be vital

to helping our students socialize correctly and build relationships. We are giving them life skills.

We can also partner with behaviorists and different aids to help our students learn different skills

that can help them in social settings. For example, creating cards with a visual aid of different

facial expressions that individuals may make can allow the student to practice identifying how

someone may be feeling and then give them sentences that they can recite to that person. We can

create opportunities for our students to practice their social skills in the classroom setting. We are

helping them by assisting them with skills that they are able to use not only in the classroom, but

also outside of the classroom.

Overall, as educators it is important that we look at each student in our classroom with

love and acceptance for who they are. We are called to create a classroom that is warm and

welcoming for them to come as who they are and be able to receive an education. This will be
extra special for our students with special needs. If we take the time to know each student and

their needs we will be able to have a classroom that encourages students in their education and

life.
 References:

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History of Pennsylvania Hospital . Uphs.upenn.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2022, from

https://www.uphs.upenn.edu/paharc/features/brush.html

Marder, S. (2014). Schizophrenia. Oxford University Press, Incorporated.

Supporting students experiencing early psychosis in middle ... - NASMHPD. (n.d.). Retrieved

October 25, 2022, from

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Rotatori, A. F., Obiakor, F., & Bakken, J. P. (2011). History of special education (Ser. Advances

in special education, 21). Emerald Group Pub. Retrieved October 24, 2022, from

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