Being a school psychologist in a public school has taken me
on journeys of discovery that I never dreamt when I began decades ago. One destination was learning about Selective
Mutism. It is a fairly rare disorder,
about 1 in one thousand, characterized by speaking freely and comfortably in
some situations, but remaining mute (sometimes looking frozen) in other
situations and with certain people. It
has many aspects of a phobia, but you can’t do flooding therapy; you can’t make someone talk until their
anxiety subsides. Sometimes children
also have generalized social anxiety, sometimes not. While helping those children and the time comes
that a child finally talks to a teacher—it feels wonderful, a magical moment! It has led me to become a state coordinator
for the Selective Mutism Group of the Child Anxiety Network. (a non-profit: information at http://www.selectivemutism.org/
)
Through my work with many families, I have developed tools
that help teachers reach out to students and help therapists treat children in
the school setting. I am offering them
here
If you know a teacher or family struggling with behavior
that looks something like Selective Mutism, please direct them to both the
above URLs. For just a few dollars they
can have some of the materials that have assisted me in my work with these
amazing kids. One of my favorite moments
was with a teacher who was asking about a child that we were treating together,
who was now talking in class. She asked
me, “Now he’s calling out his answers
without raising his hand. Do I say
something to him?” My answer is , “Yes,
treat him like any other student in your class!” That was our goal and his mother’s dream.
