I don’t know if it is hereditary nor what the warning signs are. If that happens when he’s older, I’ll cross that bridge when we come to it and do what I can to help him. He’d be my son first and a man with a mental illness second.

Mental illness should be discussed as easily as you would a broken ankle.

http://www.kudzu.com/categoryMain.jsp?N=1036

http://tiny.cc/Osq15

For now, try these:

http://www.pdf.org/pdf/Coping%20with%20Dementia.pdf

http://tiny.cc/zVZjZ

“Questionable behavior” is a rather broad term, but dangerous or disruptive behavior in the workplace need not be tolerated; that said, the presence of a diagnosis is not in itself reason enough to refuse employment to an applicant or to fire an employee, nor is a minor incident of forgetfulness or eccentricity adequate cause in most positions (airline pilots and brain surgeons, among others, might be exceptions). This distinction is paramount; refusing to employ a disabled person who can perform job duties with “reasonable accomodations” is, in the United States, illegal discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Many people with treated schizophrenia function so well in society that their illness goes undetected by all but their closest relations, or simply causes them to present as slightly odd, whereas those who do not receive proper treatment, or who are simply too symptomatic to work, are impossible to miss, making your question, “How do I know if I am dealing with Jekyll or Hyde at that moment?” easy to answer (though the Jekyll and Hyde presentation sounds more like a bipolar dynamic than schizophrenia).

Would you refuse to employ someone with diabetes because he might forget his insulin and have a seizure in front of customers? Would you fire a depressed employee to ensure she won’t commit suicide in your office? Would you terminate a person with cancer because she could negatively impact the morale of her colleagues when her hair falls out and her weight drops? How about firing a person with AIDS because other employees are irrationally afraid of contracting the illness?

I trust the answer is no, and I see no difference between these scenarios and one involving treated schizophrenia – except prejudice, including that of other employees (though I’m not sure how they would know a person’s diagnosis, since that’s protected health information). But the misconceptions and emotional reactions of colleagues cannot justify the termination of or refusal to employ a mentally ill person, any more than it can justify the firing of a person who is HIV+ or practices an unpopular religion.

At least not in America.