Writing impairment in schizophasia: two case studies

Two case studies were conducted of patients suffering from paranoid schizophrenia with glossomanic schizophasia. Their dictation-taking performance was assessed via a comprehensive standardized neuropsychological test battery following a protocol specifically designed for the purpose (Lecours, 1996.). The patients' performance was compared with normative data from the general population. The results show that the patients committed graphemic paragraphias, that is, they replaced target graphemes with others representative of the corresponding phoneme (ph and f for/f/, in French) or with graphemes representative of a similar phoneme (v for/f/). These errors suggest that components of a cognitive model of writing are dysfunctional.