teacher
procedure
​The child picks a topic they are interested in, such as animals or outer space, and they set up a mock “classroom environment.” The professional is one of the “students” and the child’s imaginary friends are also acknowledged as present. When the child is running the lesson, they should be directed to call on both the professional and the imaginary characters to answer questions. The professional should also take note on whether the child insists the imaginary character is unable to be present in class. When the imaginary character is called on to answer a question, the professional takes note of whether or not the child repeats the character’s answer before saying it is either correct or incorrect. When the child is finished, the parents are called in so the professional can explain the results.
Reasoning
The topic the child chooses in hardly relevant because unique interests are a normal characteristic of childhood. However, if the topic chosen is morbid or disturbing, they might have underlying psychological issues that may or may not be related to Schizophrenia. If the child does insist that the imaginary character is unable to be present, they could be truly hallucinating the character’s own separate willpower and consciousness, hinting at Schizophrenia. When the child calls on the imaginary characters to answer questions, if they repeat the character’s answer aloud, they are likely not hallucinating and are expressing empathy by understanding the difference in knowledge between themself and the others in the room. If they are silent after the character answers, they may be demonstrating hallucinations because they truly believe the character can respond and be heard, or they may just not be mature enough to understand the difference in knowledge between themself and bystanders. When the parents are called in, as with the other activities, the professional explains the child’s results so that the parents can determine whether or not their behavior is consistent with that displayed at home and in other settings.