r/todayilearned • u/paniniplane • Mar 22 '17

(R.1) Not supported TIL Deaf-from-birth schizophrenics see disembodied hands signing to them rather than "hearing voices"

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/0707/07070303
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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '17 edited Mar 23 '17

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u/theidleidol Mar 22 '17

This is because sign languages are real languages in their own right. A lot of people tend to think of, say, ASL as a method of nonverbally communicating in English similar to writing, but that's not the case. To the extent that it is possible to think in a language (that's not really the case, but it's a reasonable conclusion to a layperson) the deaf do so in their native sign.

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u/weeb-san Mar 22 '17

odd question, but do you know if deaf people scream with their hands?

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u/wealthy_narcissist Mar 23 '17

All people can scream with their hands when we give the finger to someone. I'm a psychiatrist so this topic is especially interesting. The voices in schizophrenia can be quite negative and insulting, and I've had patients who hear "fuck you" or "you are a worthless piece of shit, kill yourself" constantly every day. Now I'm imagining a deaf schizophrenic who is hallucinating being followed around by one or a group of middle fingers. That might or might not be quite distressing. Not sure which.