WHAT IS SELECTIVE MUTISM (SM)?
If you know an individual who can talk freely at home but freezes up in public settings or who seems excessively shy, you may know someone with selective mutism. Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder characterized by a person’s inability to speak in certain social settings such as at school, work, or in the community. People with SM are typically able to speak comfortably and communicate well in other settings, such as at home with family. SM typically initiates in childhood and may continue into adulthood.
MEET STEPHANIE
My name is Stephanie Munoz, and I am a college senior. I am currently majoring in human services with a minor in criminal justice. I was born and raised in the Chicagoland area. A little bit about myself is that I am a huge music lover and I enjoy anything related to traditional arts such as painting, drawing, and printmaking. I am very vocal with activism and serving my local community. On my college campus, I am heavily involved with clubs including being the president of Spectrum which is a LGBTQ+ group. In addition to being an active member of the Latin American Student Organization, as well as being a fellow sister of the Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc.
INTERVIEW
Q: Describe how selective mutism affected your childhood.
A: It impacted my speech skills and confidence when it came to interacting with others. Since English is my second language my selective mutism made it much more difficult when it came to learning during my first few years of early education. It put me behind in my academics and social development. Since I was very anxious and always shut down when it came to speaking it made it difficult to connect with other children. I was perceived as “slow” or autistic by my peers due to misconceptions about selective mutism.
Q: How did you overcome your selective mutism as a child?
A: After I was assigned a social worker who accommodated my IEP (Individualized Education Plan) for my learning disability, she recommended to my parents for me to go into speech therapy. After seeing a speech therapist and a counselor for social anxiety for a few years, I was able to build skills and confidence to overcome my selective mutism. My parents received the education to learn how to support me with positive reinforcement and verbal practices which helped with my journey to overcome selective mutism.
Q: Did your family/sibling notice anything different from your normal demeanor?
A: My parents did not have knowledge about selective mutism, so they assumed I was too shy, lazy or acting like a brat when I was around others. I was only comfortable speaking around them. My teachers and school counselor were the ones who approached my family about me being possibly mute due to my refusal to speak and lack of participation in the classroom. They connected the dots when they only saw me speak to one peer whom I was comfortable with.
Q: Did certain events/situations trigger your selective mutism as a child?
A: Growing up I had many issues with my family not knowing how to properly handle a child with learning disabilities, stuttering, and sensory overload episodes so they would project their frustration a lot on me and not understand how to accommodate my needs. Once I started attending school and met my teachers along with other faculty, I was afraid that I would be treated the same way so whenever I saw adults with authority it would trigger a form of anxiety and fear.
Q: From your personal experience, how would you inspire children today to overcome their selective mutism?
A: I recommend individuals to encourage children to receive help and not force them into something. Sometimes being overly pushy, having high expectations or shaming the child for not speaking will cause more anxiety and discouragement to overcome their selective mutism. Receiving speech therapy was one of the biggest reasons I was able to overcome it.
WRITTEN BY:
-MIA ESHOO, Millikin University, Senior Research and Marketing Intern
-NICOLE BUTLER, M.A., CCC-SLP/L (ASHA Certified and licensed Speech-Language Pathologist, Founder and Executive Director of Speech Within Reach.)
SPEECH WITHIN REACH provides in person and virtual telehealth speech therapy for children and adults. We are happy to support your speech therapy needs. Please feel free to reach out to us.
Thank you to the (SMA) Selective Mutism Association’s resource information. www.selectivemutism.org/what-is-sm/
This Post Has 2 Comments
Excellent work, very informative
Thank you very much!
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