Language abnormality in deaf people with schizophrenia: a problem with classifiers

Abstract

The findings suggest that schizophrenia affects language production in deaf patients with schizophrenia in a unique way not seen in hearing patients.

Language deficits in schizophrenia

“…Unfortunately, the evaluation of non-verbal communication modalities (through extralinguistic and paralinguistic means) in patients with schizophrenia tends to be overlooked in the literature (11). A study on the characteristics of language impairment among patients with schizophrenia who are also completely deaf (25) revealed (based on a small group however) the presence of language production deficits in sign language use, by disrupting the use of semantic classifiers, with predominant impairment of production compared to understanding. This pattern of impairment is different from that reported in patients with schizophrenia without hearing impairments, a study assessing receptive language processing (26) having described significant syntactic impairment of language receptivity, with intact lexical processing, as well as the presence of correlation between language comprehension and speech production.…”

Clinical communication and the ‘triangle of care’ in mental health and deafness: Sign language interpreters’ perspectives

“…SL interpreters, also, need to feel confident that they possess the skills to interpret mental health consultations and to be knowledgeable of the nuances that are particularly relevant to the area. They also need to be capable of interpreting language that could be symptomatic of the presence of mental health issues; for example, severe language dysfluency [34] or formal thought disorder in schizophrenia [35]. In such cases, interpreters should communicate that the deaf patient's language is atypical or unintelligible, to trigger further clinical exploration.…”

The challenges and facilitators to successful translation and adaptation of written self-report psychological measures into sign languages: A systematic review.

“…Evidence suggests that, overall, deaf people experience a greater number of mental health problems (du Feu & Chovaz, 2014;Horne & Pennington, 2010) and have a poorer quality of life relative to the hearing population (Cieśla et al, 2016). Research has consistently demonstrated that the incidence of mental health problems in deaf people, such as depression, is higher than that of the hearing population (Sign Health, 2014) and that certain characteristics of specific severe and enduring mental health problems, such as schizophrenia, manifest themselves differently in deaf people than in hearing people (Chatzidamianos et al, 2018).…”