When I was a teenager I always dreamed that one day this wouldn’t affect me but boy was I wrong. Krohn DD, Weckstein SM, Wright HL. A study of the effectiveness of a specific treatment for elective mutism. Holmbeck GN, Lavigne JV. Combining self-modeling and stimulus fading https://datingrated.com/ in the treatment of an electively mute child. It does not deal with thoughts or past and it provides a step by step approach to help the person overcome his fears. You can talk to the therapist about every need as well as the anxiety from which the child is suffering.
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Pharmacotherapeutic interventions play a role in treating selective mutism given the association between selective mutism and social anxiety. In a large survey sent to child and adolescent psychiatrists, Carlson et al17 showed that antidepressants were used most commonly to treat selective mutism. After antidepressants, anti-anxiety medications and other psychotropic interventions are also employed depending on the child’s comorbidities.6 SSRIs , have yielded decreased selective mutism symptoms in selective case reports. This individual case report revealing decreased efficacy of the tricyclic antidepressant despiramine compared to a SSRI suggests that norepinephrine may play less of a role in the neurobiology of selective mutism. Staying in regular contact with the behavioral health professional of the individual with selective mutism is particularly important in optimizing outcomes and promoting generalization.
Differential Diagnosis
Cognitive and academic abilities are typically within normal limits in children with selective mutism (Dummit et al., 1997); however, it can be challenging to evaluate them reliably. Articulation, if it is able to be assessed, is typically normal in children with selective mutism. However, the presence of an articulation disorder may compound the anxiety of interacting with others . A comorbid phonological disorder was present in 42.6% of children in one study . Hereditary or genetic component with a significant overlap between selective mutism and social anxiety disorder (Black & Uhde, 1995; Cohan et al., 2006; Viana et al., 2009). If you try these strategies for a few months but your child’s selective mutism doesn’t improve or seems to get worse, you may want to reach out for support.
Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Aron Janssen, MD is board certified in child, adolescent, and adult psychiatry and is the vice chair of child and adolescent psychiatry Northwestern University. Successive approximations/shapingrefers to rewarding approximations of the desirable behavior until the desired behavior is achieved. An example would be to reward whispering until it is established, then move to one-word responses, and then later to normal speech.
Does your child need to see a health professional about selective mutism?
Tactics such as systemic desensitization, modeling, fading, and positive reinforcement enable individuals to develop social engagement skills and begin to progress communicatively in a step-by-step manner. There are many treatment plans that exist and it is recommended for families to do thorough research before deciding on their treatment approach. Selective mutism is an umbrella term for the condition of otherwise well-developed children or adults who cannot speak or communicate under certain settings.
Can selective mutism lead to mood disorders?
Then, they may mouth a word, which means saying it silently or whispering. Your child may be with someone they talk to easily at first. This will help your child get comfortable with new situations.
We link primary sources — including studies, scientific references, and statistics — within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. According to current diagnostic criteria, therefore, selective mutism and ASD cannot coexist. For example, a person may speak only when at home or with a select group of people.
Some kids who have autism may also have selective mutism, but the two are not related. Selective mutism frequently develops during early childhood, often between two and four years old, though it may go undiagnosed until the child enters school. Autism is lifelong and develops in utero, though it’s frequently recognized in early childhood or later. Stimming (often called «stereotyped or repetitive movements» on diagnostic criteria) is any type of behavior done to stimulate the senses. Stimming is very common in autistic people and often serves to self-regulate or help with concentration.
People with the condition are able to talk, but they find it difficult due to anxiety. For this reason, many doctors and advocacy groups define selective mutism as an anxiety disorder. Most children with selective mutism tend to grow out of the condition as they get older, but many people with social anxiety do not. Not all experts support the theory of selective mutism developing as an extreme version of social anxiety. In fact, in a small study from 2008, children with selective mutism scored lower on the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory than children with social anxiety.
These may include a speech-language pathologist , and a psychologist or psychiatrist. An SLP can assess your child’s ability to understand and use language. A psychologist can help find emotional issues that may cause the condition. If there is a way I feel able to use them, Iwillmake a point to do so; if I don’t, it means I really feel unable to do it.