Read more about the article He’s still hearing voices he doesn’t recognize
Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia

He’s still hearing voices he doesn’t recognize

Despite everything that's currently causing me distress, I feel like I'm actually doing pretty good. All things considered, I'm in a decent mood and that's half the battle sometimes. ☺ Gavin is in a good mood this morning as well. Unfortunately, he's also continuing to struggle at the same time. He's very clearly hearing voices that he doesn't recognize because it seems like every 5 minutes, he's popping his head out of his bedroom and asking if we had just called him. I say it's a voice or voices he doesn't recognize because Gavin always hears voices. Aside from being Autistic, he's also Schizophrenic. He lives in this elaborate world where he's a super hero in charge of a group of superheros. They're always going on missions to save the…

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October 23, 2018
Read more about the article The big reason I’m really frustrated with Gavin right now
Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia

The big reason I’m really frustrated with Gavin right now

I'm going to make this quick because I need to go to bed. The big reason I'm really frustrated with Gavin right now is very simple but also extremely complicated, all at the same time. Ever since Gavin began going on missions as a result of his Schizophrenic hallucinations, there have only been a couple rules that really matter. The first rule is that his missions only take place on the other side of the portal. The portal is what he refers to his bedroom door as. This keeps them mostly contained to his bedroom and limits the chances of them spilling out everywhere else. This has been mostly successful at both keeping him physically safe and shielding the boys from his missions. The second rule was that he never…

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July 27, 2018
Read more about the article Talking with a #Schizophrenic Part 2
Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia / YouTube Video

Talking with a #Schizophrenic Part 2

In Part 2 of Talking with a Schizophrenic, Gavin details his latest mission to save the timeline from his evil self. It's very important to understand that this is not an issue of an overactive imagination. If you missed Part 1, you can find that here. In Gavin's mind, these things are actually happening and they are very real. He does his best to recount his actions but struggles with memory recall. He's very proud of these missions, wants to share them and truly believes he's saved the Universe. We don't feed the delusions but we don't challenge them either. Our job is to listen when he wants to talk because as long as he's comfortable telling us these things, we have a much better understanding of where he is…

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July 8, 2018
Read more about the article Talking with a #Schizophrenic Part 1
Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia / YouTube Video

Talking with a #Schizophrenic Part 1

In this video, I listen to my son with both Autism and Schizophrenia, tell me about a mission he must go on to save the universe. This is typically the nature of his Schizophrenic hallucinations. This is NOT his imagination. This is how Schizophrenia impacts his life. The purpose of this video is to educate, provide insight and destigmatize mental illness. It's important that I be supportive without playing into his hallucinations. It's a very fine balance. We never challenge his hallucinations because that could prove to be potentially dangerous to us and harmful to him. When you're done, Part 2 can be found here. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE for the latest updates and educational videos release on my YouTube Channel. https://youtu.be/OV6k-s0I71Y

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July 5, 2018
Read more about the article I’m worried Gavin’s becoming paronoid
Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia

I’m worried Gavin’s becoming paronoid

Something Gavin brought up during his visit with Dr. Moodley in Pediatric Neurology, had nothing to do with why he was there. Dr. Moodley was trying to involve Gavin in as much of his health care as was possible. Clearly it's not possible but I like that he tried anyway. When asked if there was anything bothering him, meaning anything Dr. Moodley deals with, not just anything, Gavin replied with an answer that has me worried. One of the things that we have to be very careful with in regards to Gavin being Schizophrenic, is watching for signs of paronoia. The only step beyond Schizophrenia is Paronoid Schizophrenia. That's not a good step at all for those keeping track. Gavin's never really shown signs of paronoia, at least consistently enough…

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May 24, 2018
Read more about the article This isn’t good
Clozapine / Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia

This isn’t good

I spoke previously about Gavin changing the way he takes his medication. I also shared how we suspect that the voices in his head are the ones telling him to do this because it wasn't us (see As if life wasn’t already hard enough, it seems the voices are back). We're seeing further evidence that the voices have returned. So far this afternoon, Gavin has come down from his room on the second floor because he swears we called him to come down. We haven't called him down and that leaves one of two possibilities. Either he just thinks he's hearing us and wants to double check or he's actually hearing us call him in his head, even though we aren't. Gavin is Schizophrenic and has been experiencing both audio…

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May 12, 2018
Read more about the article As if life wasn’t already hard enough, it seems the voices are back
Clozapine / Gavin / My thoughts / Schizophrenia

As if life wasn’t already hard enough, it seems the voices are back

Last night, Gavin came downstairs after being in bed for a couple of hours, mumbling something about a glass of water and claiming to be wheezing. He was heavily sedated and that's not necessarily normal for him. With no changes having been made to his meds, there shouldn't be any change to the way they impact him. This morning, I mentioned to Lizze that something wasn't right last night and I wonder if he's taking his medication, specifically his Clozapine, correctly. We were prepared to write if off as a one off event and move on. Right about that time, Gavin came downstairs and I asked him about last night. As I suspected, he didn't really remember what happened. I then took the opportunity to ask him about whether or…

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May 12, 2018