Catatonia, because it's so fascinating.

Of all of the disorders that we've studied in class, by far the most fascinating to me is catatonic schizophrenia, or Catatonia. Although we reviewed the symptoms in class, I was still confused as to the actual extent of the disorder.

Here's a quick review of what we learned in class: Schizophrenia is a a disorder characterized by a split from reality that shows itself in disorganized thinking, disturbed perceptions, and inappropriate emotions and actions. Catatonic Schizophrenia is characterized by negative symptoms, or the absence of symptoms. Patients with this disorder have a flat affect and are physically stuck. If you move their arm into one position, it will stay there until you move it somewhere else. They literally cannot and will not move unless you move them.

I did a little research about this disorder and it turns out that there's much more to it than what we learned in class. Let's start with the diagnosis: According to the DSM-IV, a person with Catatonic must have at least two of the following: motor immobility, excessive motor activity (what?),  extreme negativism, oddities in voluntary movement including grimacing, and echolalia and echopraxia, or involuntary repetition of another's words or actions.

Let's go back to the part where catatonic schizophrenia can be characterized by excessive movement. There are actually three subtypes within the broad heading of Catatonia. The first type is stupor, which is the type we learned about in class. It is also known as Kahlbaum Syndrome. There is no movement and no response to external stimuli. These patients generally don't make eye contact and are mute. The second type is catatonic excitement, or a constant state of purposeless agitation and excitation. These people are extremely hyperactive, but the activity lacks purpose. To quote Wikipedia, "It is commonly cited as one of the most dangerous mental states in psychiatry." The third type is malignant catatonia, which is characterized by the acute onset of excitement, fever, autonomic instability, and delirium. This type of catatonia may be fatal. Most frighteningly, symptoms of Catatonia, especially catatonic excitement, have been recognized in people with autism spectrum disorders.

Here's a video about this disorder. BE WARNED: the hallucination part of the video is pretty frightening. Also, forgive the colloquialisms. I'm pretty sure this was a school project.

I stand by my answer to Mrs. Perl's question. What is the worst disorder to have? 

Catatonic Schizophrenia. 

Do you agree of disagree? Does the fact that some of these symptoms may appear in those with autism make this disorder even more frightening? Why or why not?