Families of children and teens with schizoaffective disorder lack the appropriate supportive tools

Our family friend Louis passed away after struggling for 3 years with schizoaffective disorder / bipolar type 1. The onset of Louis’ psychosis occurred when he was 19, first hospitalized in October 2014. From childhood through high school, Louis was happy, athletic, musically gifted, made friends easily, and achieved outstanding academic success. He was subsequently hospitalized three more times for durations of several weeks to months.

In March of 2017, Louis once again rejected therapy due to medication side effects along with non-acceptance of his condition, making it nearly impossible to manage. Two months later, in the throes of psychosis, he did not understand the danger posed by the nearby river. It is presumed that he perished on June 4, 2017.

Schizoaffective disorder is a chronic mental health condition characterized primarily by symptoms of schizophrenia, such as hallucinations and delusions, and symptoms of mood disorder, either major depressive or bipolar types. It is estimated that schizoaffective disorder is present in about one million people throughout the United States, equally among men and women. So much more needs to be known about the cause(s) of schizoaffective disorder.