A descriptive phenomenological study of symptoms of schizophrenia in deaf clients

Our clinical knowledge and understanding of the manifestation of schizophrenia in deaf patients is limited. Previous studies address specific symptomatolgy observed in deaf persons with schizophrenia. The purpose of this research was to conduct extensive interviews of clinicians working with deaf patients diagnosed with schizophrenia in order to understand how clinicians characterized each patient's presentation and defined the symptomatology observed. Supplemental interview data were gathered from client charts by clinicians. Eight clinicians with advanced sign language skills and extensive experience serving deaf clients with mental illness were recruited to discuss a total of 13 client cases.;A qualitative investigation was employed to identify themes and patterns present in each clinicians' concepts of symptoms manifested in deaf patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Symptomatology observed by clinicians was consistent with diagnostic criteria established for hearing clients with schizophrenia. However, some symptom modality differences were noted in phenomena such as sign language and lip-reading hallucinations and the language-related symptoms reported. The majority of "auditory hallucinations" in this sample were ambiguous in that clients were unable to describe acoustic features and/or the message content of the "voices." Delusional content mirrored hearing samples. The most common language-related phenomena observed were characterized as loose associations as well as circumstantial and tangential communication.;The theme of organization was encountered multiple times throughout the interviews with clinicians. Schizophrenia was characterized by clinicians as a disease that disrupts major cognitive processes and erodes the brain's ability to organize information, which impairs the individual's mental and social functioning. Such disorganization caused misinterpretations of stimuli or perceptual disturbance and impacted motivation and drive as these relate to negative symptoms. Primary deficits reported were often related to the clients' decline in social functioning declines. A major limitation of this study is that data are based solely on the judgments, accuracy, and thoroughness of the observations and interpretations of the mental health professionals serving these clients. The nuances of the presentation of schizophrenia in deaf patients and the richness of this qualitative data may benefit clinicians diagnosing schizophrenia in deaf patients and subsequently developing appropriate treatment and intervention programs designed for deaf individuals with schizophrenia.