Tuesday Topic, with Christine Rutter

AT the age of 18, the world was Andrew Lawman's oyster.

He was a bright, popular student, due to take his A-levels and had a place at Lancaster University.

But at 22 he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and his parents, Tom and Frances, grieved for him as though he had died.

"When we were told the diagnosis, it was almost like a bereavement," said Tom. "All the hopes and dreams we had for him vanished. He had a promising start in life just for it all to crumble."

The family found the diagnosis hard to swallow. Here was a popular, outgoing young man, surrounded by friends. He was as keen on the football pitch as the classroom and had been dreaming of university life.

On the brink of a promising future, his life was cruelly cut down.

"Gradually his life just started to fall apart," said Tom.

The symptoms of Andrew's decline at first mirrored those of any other normal teenager coping with puberty and hormones and feeling the need to rebel against everything.

"He stopped in bed all day. Some days he wouldn't come out of his room. He wasn't eating properly. He thought everyone was getting at him," said Tom. But as the symptoms persisted his parents noticed a darker side to his behaviour.

Andrew believed another person or force was controlling his thoughts and actions. He heard voices in his head. He thought the television was speaking to him.

Tom said: "He heard voices when no-one was there. He stopped speaking, withdrew completely from society. Andrew said nothing about his bizarre behaviour. I think he felt scared because he didn't know what was happening to him."

The family sought help from their GP but the wait between seeing a psychiatrist and getting a diagnosis was agonising.

"We were left in the dark, not knowing what was wrong and going through hell," said Tom. "It was scary and it can rip families apart."

Relatives and friends stopped calling round and the family were left isolated, unable to cope and with no-one to listen to their fears and concerns.

That was until Making Space came along.

It is a registered charity, financed by the health authority and social services.

An independent organisation, it works alongside the health service to provide information about schizophrenia and other mental health problems. It helps families get benefits and services, gives them advice on medication and works on behalf of the carers.

The charity proved such a lifeline for Tom, 55, and Frances, 52, that both decided to become support workers for Making Space. "We had no-one to turn to until Making Space helped us," said Tom. "Now we want to help other families overcome the trauma.

"We know what they go through - the bad times, problems, worries, practical problems, coping with the stigma, coming to terms with the illness, needing someone to talk to," said Tom.

He added: "Schizophrenia is a frightening illness. We ensure families and sufferers are not forgotten and lost in the system."

Schizophrenia is a long-term mental illness but Andrew's condition is being controlled by high doses of medication.

Andrew, now 28, does voluntary work and has a flat of his own.

Tom said: "Sufferers can improve, depending on how they cope with the medication, and some can return to work. Andrew didn't have much of a life before. Now he is part of the family and society he rejected."

He added: "Hopefully, with the help of Making Space and the medical services, other sufferers will improve."

For help, call Tom (Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley) 01254 691411 Frances and David Penny (Pendle) 01282 871488 or Paul Grinrod (Rossendale) 01706 221200.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.