M. Schofield (Jani's father) has made his blog ungooglable

[Burnt Hill]

Production is a little over the top, but.

[AhabsOtherLeg]

Anyway, why is everyone in such a hurry to be such an expert? What is this, a lottery or what? Since when did these dumb-ass labels become explanations? And why and how has all this junk-psychiatric terminology become part of common speech?

When you're going to have a kid nowadays it seems the standard operating procedure is to get yourself a book of baby names and a copy of the DSM IV. Then you can go through them choosing what the kid will be called and what disorders it will have. Don't ask me why, or when this change occurred - I'm not a parent so it's hard for me to judge others. Very hard not to a lot of the time.

But the forums are out there, very well-populated, full of proud new parents trying to decide whether their baby fits the diagnostic criteria to be classed as a sociopath. I'm sure you're already aware of this, but I wasn't till the first Jani thread came up. They have their own internal language (GFG = Gift From God = a child with a mental illness of some description, often only diagnosed by the parent) and they put their children's often mind-boggling medication levels in their signature lines. They are competing with each other. It's a subculture.

There are real mental illnesses, of course, and children can suffer from them, and drugs are sometimes needed to treat them, but... no, what is going on in these forums, the levels of self-delusion, entitlement, and mutual reinforcement of their shared belief system (because it is a belief system) is not healthy, and is not really about what's best for the children involved, and does more harm than good.

Nobody seems to have much concern about bodily diseases unless they are already apparent in the child, for some reason. Where are all the parents reading diagnostic manuals on lung disorders or bowel complaints in advance of any symptomn appearing in the child, since these are far, far more likely to effect a youngster than esoteric dysfunctions of the sort lumped together under the term schizophrenia?

Shaken baby syndrome is different, it at least has a reasonably well-understood etiology (unlike schizophrenia, ODD, RAD, etc) - maybe it shouldn't have the word syndrome in it's title, and anyone tried for causing it should just be charged with assaulting a minor to their permanent injury or death, but that's just an argument over language and law which doesn't help the kids any. I agree with the guy who pioneered the diagnosis that all the symptomns of shaken baby syndrome can be created without someone having intentionally shaken the child, so the presence of the shaken baby syndrome in a child shouldn't necessarily mean a crime has been committed.

I'm quite a long way out of my depth on all this, though, and should probably stay out of it altogether.

[Hammer of Los]

...

F**k psychiatrists.

The system they operate within is there for the benefit of big pharma's profit streams.

A pill for everything.

Bear that in mind.

Not that I am anti-drug per se.

Except all vehicles must be left behind in the end.

N'est ce pas?

...

[DrEvil]

Psychiatry is the study of something we don't understand, so naturally there will be a lot of hit and miss, but that doesn't invalidate the entire field. I agree that the medication of children is way out of hand, but for some people it actually works. Psychiatry is essentially a sloppy placeholder for neuroscience. We're poking people's brains with a stick and hoping it will fix the problem.
That said - personally I have nothing but good experiences with both my psychiatrist, and with medication. They both help.

[Burnt Hill]

Psychiatry is the study of something we don't understand, so naturally there will be a lot of hit and miss, but that doesn't invalidate the entire field. I agree that the medication of children is way out of hand, but for some people it actually works. Psychiatry is essentially a sloppy placeholder for neuroscience. We're poking people's brains with a stick and hoping it will fix the problem.
That said - personally I have nothing but good experiences with both my psychiatrist, and with medication. They both help.

Thank you for that DrEvil.
I work with an excellent Child Psychiatrist who does not routinely prescribe psych meds to children, its always therapy first,
so I know first hand that they are not all bad, or incumbent to big pharma.

[Project Willow]

Therapy with the right psychologists and social workers, both PhD's and MA's, saved my life. Some of the most outspoken, and effective, champions of MC survivors are psychiatrists whereas, well, we know that a number were also perps.

Baby, bath water, broad brushes, and all of that.

[Hammer of Los]

...

I guess you are right.

My problem is that any should presume to teach me about Mind.

It annoys the hell out of me.

...

[MacCruiskeen]

Just to be clear: I don't doubt that psychologists, social workers and even psychiatrists have sometimes helped people.

My point is that there is absolutely nothing wrong with the child January Schofield that hasn't been induced by her crazy parents and then exacerbated by legally-inflicted drugs and legally-inflicted mass media.

I'm not saying that her "mental illness" has been misdiagnosed or counter-productively "treated"; I'm saying that there is no "mental illness" there. None whatsoever. And I challenge anyone to find even the tiniest smidgeon of evidence of it in Michael Schofield's awful blog.

She's guilty of being a child, that's all.

Certainly she's unhappy, at times, and angry too. Who wouldn't be, under the circumstances? Unhappiness and anger under awful circumstances are not necessarily, in themselves, evidence of any "mental illness" whatsoever. Least of all of -- the sheer obscenity of it! -- are they evidence of "child-onset schizophrenia". Sic. (You couldn't make this shit up, but somebody did.)

[AhabsOtherLeg]

Therapy with the right psychologists and social workers, both PhD's and MA's, saved my life. Some of the most outspoken, and effective, champions of MC survivors are psychiatrists whereas, well, we know that a number were also perps.

Baby, bath water, broad brushes, and all of that.

I don't really blame the psychiatric community for this particular phenomenon, because most of these parents seem to have decided that their children are mentally ill and need treatment (specifically drugs) long before they ever get them to a professional of any kind. In fact, having decided what's wrong with the kid in advance from their skimming of the DSM, they then set about lobbying different psychiatrists to get the diagnosis they want, and reject doctors who tell them the kid is fine, or just unhappy.

In a way I don't blame the parents either, because something must be making them think that this is the correct thing to do for their child. They don't seem to actively hate their offspring, so it's not done out of malice, but something is making them afraid of (and for) their own children. Who's to blame for it? Dr. Phil? Maury, if he's still around? I don't know, really. The media definitely plays a part in promoting it all, and Michael Schofield now plays a part in that media. But big pharma is the most obvious beneficiary, so they're also the most obvious suspect.

Wasn't there an equivalent of Drapetomania used against the Suffragettes as well, not hysteria but another syndrome invented specifically to pathologise their resistance to arbitrary oppression? I should remember what it was called. Will try to. Maybe it's time to emancipate children?

[senspiral]

For those of you who aren't aware, Michael Schofield has once again edited his blog to the extent of deleting most of the entries from early 2009. He did this just month before his book was relelased.

A couple of you say on this thread that nobody is doing anything to help her. I know that some of you had some history with Schofield in 2009. Jani is still living this hell every day. And where it is true that those who could help her the most (social workers, therapists, teachers) are doing nothing to help her it doesn't mean that no one should.

Speak up to these monsters and the cult following they have. They are still very active on FB and doing their very best to keep their abuse of Jani quiet on amazon where his book is selling.

So say there what you are all saying here. This will help Jani. If enough people wake TFU and realize that this is not some freak of nature child who was born schizophrenic and realize her PARENTS HARMED HER she will get the real help she needs.

[Hammer of Los]

...

I feel your pain.

I send the poor girl and everyone involved my best wishes.

The psych pharma fraternity is guilty of appalling crimes.

They haven't the faintest clue of the extent of their ignorance.

And many parents collude in these crimes.

They refuse to acknowledge thier own inadequate parenting.

Parenting is difficult. It requires immense patience and understanding and self reflection to avoid passing on the sins of the fathers.

I wish I could help more, but I am so very busy.

I'm with Mac on this one.

...

[parel]