When they think of someone with schizophrenia, most people probably imagine someone suffering from delusions and/or hallucinations. This can often be the case, but there are several diagnostic criteria to consider when evaluating schizophrenia. First, as most people imagine a person to be schizophrenic, a person with schizophrenia will either experience delusions, hallucinations, or disorganized speech. They may in fact be faced with more than one or all of these criteria. Delusions are a false belief in something that is contraindicated. For example, a delusion of grandeur might be that a person believes that he is the president of the United States, despite the fact that he sees the president on news broadcasts and despite the fact that no one calls him the president. A delusion of persecution could involve believing that a law enforcement agency is going after the person when there is no evidence or reason why a law enforcement agency is stalking the person. individual. A person might experience an illusion of reference, for example when they believe that a person on television is speaking directly to them. A final illusion that could be an experience would be that of control. An illusion of control would involve the person believing that an outside force (such as aliens) is controlling or stealing their thoughts. Hallucinations are perceptions that appear and seem real to the person, but in reality do not exist at all. Most hallucinations related to schizophrenia are auditory, although visual hallucinations also occur frequently. An example of a hallucination would be seeing a demon or hearing God speaking to it. Disorganized speech involves losing your train of thought or responding with information that is irrelevant to the conversation. Pe...... middle of paper ......ility.Catalepsy – rigidity with loss of sensation.Waxy flexibility – decreased response to stimuli and immobile posture. Additionally, they are likely to stay in the position someone else put them in. Mutism – refusal or inability to speak. Negativism – opposition or lack of response to stimuli. Posture – posture against gravity that is maintained. Mannerism – strange version of normal actions. Stereotypy – repetition of an act without purpose. Agitation – has no legitimate stimuli. Grimaces – a facial expression of disgust or pain. Echolalia – repeating another person's speech. Echopraxia – repeating the movements of another person. Whether treatment for schizophrenia began before the onset of a catatonic state. symptoms, side effects of medications should be excluded. Finally, the severity of schizophrenia can be clarified by assessing the severity of active symptoms..