Question

A nurse is assessing a client who has bipolar disorder. Which of the following alterations in speech is the client using?

a) Tangentiality

b) Flight of ideas

c) Word salad

d) Perseveration

Answer 1

The speech alteration commonly observed in a client with bipolar disorder that involves rapid and continuous speech with abrupt changes in a topic is known as the flight of ideas.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking about the kind of speech alteration a nurse might observe in a client with bipolar disorder. Among the options provided, the alteration characterized by rapid and continuous speech, often with abrupt changes from topic to topic without clear transitions, is known as a flight of ideas. This pattern is commonly associated with the manic phase of bipolar disorder.

Tangentiality refers to a person going off on a tangent and never returning to the original topic. A word salad is a jumble of words that has no apparent meaning or connection. Perseveration is the repetition of a particular response, such as a word, phrase, or gesture, despite the absence or cessation of a stimulus.