המהלך ההתפתחותי האקדמי המאפיין בוגרים צעירים עם סכיזופרניה טרם פריצת מחלתם

This study examined the academic functioning of young adults with schizophrenia prior to the onset of their illness. The study used documentation of learning difficulties and learning disabilities during the patients’ early development as a possible assessment ofneurocognitive deprivation in schizophrenia. This research is a case study that was part of a wider research project in Israel. Six cases in a research group and four cases in a matching control group were analyzed. The findings indicated that among patients with schizophrenia, many more instances of learning difficulties at school (before the onset of the illness) had been documented, in comparison to the control group. The findingsalso demonstrated that these differences had been evident throughout the patients’ school years, but were highly pronounced from the 9th grade on wards. Furthermore,the pre-schizophrenic longitudinal-developmental course of learning difficulties is characterized by instability (e.g., ups and downs) rather than by gradual decline.