Disorganized Schizophrenia Case Study

Introduction

Disorganized Schizophrenia; “whose central features are confusion and incoherence, together with severe deterioration of adaptive behavior, such as personal hygiene, social skills and self-care” (Passer & Smith, 2011). Disorganized Schizophrenia is one of five subtypes of Schizophrenia. It is estimated that 3.2 million people alone in the United States are diagnosed with Disorganized Schizophrenia. 51 million people around the world have this disorder. It was formerly known as Hebephrenia, which is Greek for “adolescence.” Disorganized Schizophrenia typically develops between ages of 15 and 25. “Disorganized behavior/speech, and blunted or inappropriate emotional expression/responses” are the primary symptoms one would experience

At 18, she was admitted to the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Maribor Teaching Hospital, Maribor, Slovenia, for suspected Disorganized Schizophrenia. “When she was 17 years old, she began to laugh without any reason”. She had started behaving silly and disorganized. She was responding with inappropriate emotions. Grimacing had become present. There were no changes in her school performance, but withdrew socially and shut herself in her room. Although, she was already considerably below average in school. However, her school performance was plummeting three months before being admitted. That was when she had become unable to do any schoolwork. It was reported that she had auditory hallucinations, consisting of a running commentary on her behavior, which she found pleasant. She became disoriented and got lost several times. There had not been any diseases or needing any medical attention until now. Also, there is no family history of psychiatric disorders. When at admissions, the patient was disoriented regarding time, place, and identity. She had revealed a lack of initiative, had poor contact with reality, and had no insight on her illness. All of these symptoms had been present for about 9 months without any marked signs of cognitive impairment. The hospital took some tests which led them to prescribe a small dose of an antipsychotic, Risperidone. After one week of treatment, the patient stopped reporting her hallucinations. Four weeks later, the disorganized part of the patient diminished, and her cognitive impairment became increasingly obvious. The patient responded well to treatment with small doses of an antipsychotic, and showing no side effects. She will continue on antipsychotic medication till further notice (Kimperscak,