Schizophrenia is thought to affect about 1% of the population world wide. The risk factors include a family history of schizophrenia. It appears to occur in equal rates in men and women but women have a later onset. Childhood-onset schizophrenia begins after 5 years of age and in most cases after relatively normal development. Childhood schizophrenia is rare and can be difficult to differentiate from other pervasive developmental disorders of childhood such as autism. People with schizophrenia can have a variety of symptoms. Usually the illness develops slowly in months or even in years. At first the symptoms may not be noticed. For example people may feel tense, may have trouble sleeping or have trouble concentrating, they become isolated and withdrawn, and they do not make or keep friends. As the illness progresses, following psychotic symptoms develop by false beliefs or thoughts with no basis in reality, hearing, seeing, or feeling things that are not there, thoughts "jump" between