Ridding the Silence

Ridding
the Silence

Do you know someone
who seems so shy that they take a very long time to warm up socially,
if at all? Does it seem out of the normal range of shyness that you
observe in other people? If so, you may know somebody with something
called "selective mutism".

Selective mutism is a
social anxiety disorder in which a person who is normally capable of
speech is unable to speak in given situations or to specific people.
In the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders",
selective mutism is defined as "a rare psychological disorder in
children".

Children suffering
from the disorder are fully capable of speech and they understand
language, but fail to speak in certain social situations, especially
when it is expected of them, such as in school. They function
normally in areas such as learning and behavior but are severely
withdrawn when it comes to communicating. Children may be completely
silent at school but at home, they speak freely and most commonly
excessively.

Selective mutism is
sometimes confused with autism, especially if the child is young and
is withdrawn around the professional making the diagnosis. This can
lead to an incorrect diagnosis and in turn, incorrect treatment that
doesn't help the child.

To tell a selectively
mute child from an autistic child, diagnosticians must evaluate if
the child:

• Has a consistent
  failure to speak in specific social situations where they are
  expected to speak such as school, despite speaking in other
  situations, like at home,

  
  

• Is hindered by it
  in terms of educational achievement or with social communication,

  
  

• Continues to
  suffer from social anxiety for at least one month, not including the
  first month of school,

  
  

• Has knowledge of
  the spoken language required in the social situation yet still fails
  to communicate,

  
  

• Does not suffer
  from another communication disorder, such as stuttering, and does
  not suffer from pervasive developmental disorder, schizophrenia, or
  another psychotic disorder.

  
  

Unfortunately,
these children are exposed to many discriminations due to lack of
understanding on other people's parts. Some believe that the child
has a choice as to whether they can speak or not even though this is
not true. They are forced by their extreme anxiety to remain silent,
despite their will to speak, they just can't find their voice. ABC
News even broadcasted a false report on May 26, 2005 that said that
selective mutism was tied to trauma and described it as willful which
is untrue.

Because
of the misunderstandings, the affected children are sometimes
percieved as "rude" because they have:

• A difficulty in
  maintaining eye contact,
  

  
  

• A reluctance to
  smile and a tendancy to have a blank facial expression,

  
  

• Stiff, awkward
  body movements,

  
  

• Paticular anxiety
  in situations where speech is normally expected, such as answering
  questions in class, saying hello, goodbye, thank you, etc.

  
  

• Difficulty with
  verbal and non-verbal expression

  
  

But
these children also have:

• A tendency to
  worry about things more than other people,

  
  

• A sensitivity to
  noise and crowds,

  
  

• Frequent temper
  tantrums at home

  
  

• A fear of using
  public restrooms

  
  

• Compulsive traits,
  maybe even obsessive compulsive disorder

  
  

• And clinging
  behavior.

  
  

Due to the
misunderstanding, most children with SM go undiagnosed. According to
"The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry" in 2002, only 7 in 1000 children were diagnosed with
SM.

Most people believe
that the child will just "grow out of" their condition, but
again, this is false. If not treated, SM may just get worse. People
around the SM child will just eventually expect them not to speak and
may start to speak for them or ignore them altogether which makes the
prospect of talking seem even more difficult for them. orceful
attempts at making the child talk also do not work. This tactic
usually only results in higher anxiety levels which reinforces the
condition. The child would normally just shut down because of the
stress.

Effective treatment is
necessary for a child to develop social skills properly. Without
treatment, SM can contribute to chronic depression and other social
and emotional problems.

An example, Seung-Hui
Cho, the killer in the Virginia Tech massacre. He was a sufferer of
selective mutism and it's believed that because of that, he suffered
from extreme rage and depression. It was never confirmed that his
condition was the cause of his behavior but, as a SM sufferer myself,
it makes sense to me that it played a huge role.

To get more
information on SM and to find out if maybe your classmate may suffer
from SM, go to selectivemutism.org.