Hi, maybe some people hallucinate every now and then, if you ask any neurologist or psychologist they will tell you the reality you percieve is a hallucination created by the mind to interact with what is actually their. Ask a physicist what reality is and they will tell you their is no reality, reality is created upon measurement. What matters from a mental health point of view is how is their life affected by what they are seeing and experiencing and how much does it diverge from the general concensus of what reality is. If someone is suffering or causing other to suffer due to their view of reality, and their reality is different enough to say they are detached from the general consensus then they need help to come back to what people call reality. From a psychiatric point of view they are interested in how well a person can function in life and society. I have suffered hallucinations in the past, but I knew they where not real, kind of like when you watch a film you know its not real but in that period you are still experiencing it. I was told I may have schizoaffective, I take a low dose anti depressant. The illness has minimal impact on my life, prob less then some people with straight forward depression. I only get more severe symptoms when under emotional stress, even then I can deal with them. Everyone has a different reality, some peoples is just alot different. Best wishes to you and your son. p.s When I was first diagnosed it was a very scarey time for me, not because of the illness but because of the diagnosis, you suddenly see yourself as all the stereotypes that society tells you about severe mental illness, your suddenly a crazy person. You doubt you identity and who you are. Stay strong their are lots of people out their with severe mental illness, you just can't see them the people in the shop, walking down the street etc. Its a hidden illness.