Hallucinations in psychiatrically disordered children: preliminary communication.

In a retrospective study children with hallucinations and nonorganic psychiatric conditions were compared with matched controls. Hallucinations were found to be a rare symptom except in children with a diagnosis of psychosis of late onset where they were commonly present. Children with hallucinations were older than the majority of subjects seen in the Child Psychiatric Clinic. The perceptual symptoms were associated with precipitants of illness and mood changes. In the nonpsychotic subjects, they were also associated with symptoms suggestive of minor brain dysfunction. The results are discussed and ideas for future research suggested.