This morning, my eight-year-old son, Ty, met me coming from the shower with a hot cup of perfectly prepared coffee. He had a dollar bill taped to the outside of the cup. He handed it to me with pride in his voice and said, “Happy birthday, Mom.” He watches me make my coffee sometimes, and he got it just right, a splash of milk, and a tablespoon of French vanilla creamer. He is one of those really neat kids, who always knows the right thing to say and do. If any of us are looking for a lost article, we need only to ask Ty. He always knows where things are. This is quite an accomplishment in a house with 10 full time residents and occasionally more.

As I came down the stairs, his big brother, Buck, met me with a bear hug and an “I love you, Mom, happy birthday.” He is the sentimental one in the family. He gives hugs, kisses, and says, “I love you” to both of his parents several times a day. This started several months ago and doesn’t seem to be diminishing. I wondered if it began from an insecurity brought on by puberty and the “I’m almost a teenager,” thing. I think it is neat that he still wants to show affection to his parents when he’ll be an official teenager in two months.

We had some concerns about what the future would bring when we adopted the boys. Of course, we never considered not adopting them, but their family history is a little scary. Buck was placed with us through foster care directly from the hospital. He was a beautiful happy baby. Five years later, Ty was born to the same mother, and placed with us directly from the hospital through foster care.

Unfortunately, their birth mother was never given the option to parent. Her schizophrenia has never responded well to medication and she resides in adult foster care. As you know, schizophrenia can be hereditary, so we have always watched for indicators. I suppose as the teen years are beginning we should be more vigilant. Schizophrenia usually begins to show symptoms during the teen years or young adult years.

Their birth fathers have similar histories, which increases the risk of inheriting the disorder. We were concerned about Ty when he was younger. He had tactile issues, swallowing issues, food texture issues, and paranoia problems as an infant and toddler. However, he seemed to outgrow all of them and currently has no problems. He is physically adept, excelling in most sports, on target learning, and very social.

I know there is documentation that schizophrenia is hereditary. However, I wonder how much of that is environmental. Children learn social skills from their parents and copy many of their behaviors. I wonder if the children studied who developed the condition, were all actually raised by their schizophrenic parents or biological family members. I would be interested in knowing how many children of schizophrenic parents, who were removed at birth and raised in families without mental issues, developed schizophrenia. If you know of a study, or if you are interested in beginning such a study, please let me know.

Photo Credit Julia Fuller 2006