Which of the following clients with a communication deficit requires t

QUESTION

Which of the following clients with a communication deficit requires the use of touch during a therapeutic encounter?

a. Vision-impaired client
b. Client with a hearing loss
c. Mentally ill client
d. Client with schizophrenia

ANSWER:

ANS: A
The social isolation experienced by blind clients can be profound, and the need for human contact is important. Touching the client lightly as the nurse speaks alerts the client to the nurse’s presence. For vision-impaired clients, the nurse should let the person know when approaching by a simple touch, and always indicate when leaving. The nurse should use touch and close physical proximity while with the client, and give the client something substantial to touch when leaving the client. The nurse should tap on the floor or table to get the client’s attention via vibration. Other communication problems occur with different mental disorders. As an example, some clients with mental disorders can have intact sensory channels, but they cannot process and respond appropriately to what they hear, see, smell, or touch. In some forms of schizophrenia, there are alterations in the biochemical neurotransmitters in the brain that normally conduct messages between nerve cells and help orchestrate the person’s response to the external environment. Messages have distorted meanings.