Download Action RSelective Mutisim and social anxiety

By Amanda Thompson
What is Selective Mutism?
• An inability to speak in social situations where speaking
is expected (ie school).
• Is able to speak freely in other situations (ie home or
with peers).
• Failure to speak is not due to knowledge or comfort
with the language.
• Lasts longer than a month (excluding the first month of
school).
• Not speaking has a negative impact
on academic or social achievements
What causes Selective Mutism?
• No one really understands
why this disorder begins
• Speech or language
disorders may contribute
• Many exhibit extreme social
anxiety
• Is not usually an effect of
abuse
Famous Selective
Mute:
Raj on Big Bang Theory
• He is not able to talk
to women or if a
woman is in the room.
Hypothesis:
Can Selective Mutism be alleviated when
social anxiety is reduced?
I felt like the extreme social anxiety was the main contributor
of her selective mutism. I focused on relieving this anxiety, by
personally relating to the child. I hoped by developing a warm
caring relationship with her she would feel less anxious and
feel more comfortable in the classroom. I hoped when she felt
more comfortable with me she could begin to
talk to me, and eventually feel comfortable
talking and participating in class.
Journal Article Review
Sharp, W., Sherman, C., & Gross, A. (n.d.). Selective mutism
and anxiety: A review of the current
conceptualization of the disorder.
• SM is well documented, but not clearly understood.
• Historically viewed as an oppositional behavior.
• Recent investigation is considers SM would be better identified as an
anxiety-related disorder.
• Children with SM typically do not have behavior problems such as
aggression and defiance.
• Females experience more symptoms of anxiety.
• Usually not diagnosed until the child enters school, but may
start before that.
• May last a few months or several years
• Lack of SM in adults could be because the adult is able to
control environment and avoid situations that increase stress
Journal Article Review Continued:
• Children with SM have a higher rate of internalizing
problems when compared to control group.
• Anxiety disorders almost always occur with SM
• Some children have speech disorders in conjunction
with SM, these children may avoid speaking for fear of being teased.
• “Linking SM with other anxiety disorders would help guide and focus
future assessment, research, and treatment efforts.”
• Effective strategies for treating anxiety disorders have been adapted for
SM. Usually behavioral approaches; “such as reinforcement, stimulus
fading, systematic desensitization, and token procedures.”
How the research was collected
The student observed was a four year old girl.
I collected the information by observing and documenting the amount and
frequency of her communication (verbal and nonverbal). As well as signs of
anxiety, participation in classroom activities, and interactions with
classmates.
I observed and collected information each time she was in class (twice a
week). Observations began in August. Implementation of hypothesis began
the middle of January.
Research was limited to contact with the student at school, but
also included a few interactions with her parents. (She would
communicate freely with her parents, even though she was
still in the school environment.)
Steps taken
After doing research on selective mutism I found out that many
times students really wants to respond to teachers and peers, but
are unable to do so. (Prior to the research, the child would not
respond in any way with efforts to get to know her better.)
Starting in the middle of January, I began to make conscious efforts to relate to the
child. Instead of focusing on the child, and her responding to my questions, I began to
carefully observe the child and look for anything that interested her or was important
to her. I would then talk to the child about these things, without requiring her to
communicate back. I would tell her stories or even jokes, anything that I felt would
make her more comfortable. I paid careful attention to her body language, and when
she seemed to become uncomfortable, I would end the period of direct
communication. At first these times lasted only a few minutes.
After she seemed comfortable with these interactions, I lengthened the time of direct
communication and began to ask questions. She would
usually reply with either nonverbal gestures or a one word answer.
When she became comfortable with these communications, I asked more complicated
questions. She eventually began to respond with short sentences.
Anxiety and how it related to her verbal and nonverbal communication
nonverbal communication
verbal communication
anxiety level
high level
High Level
Mid Level
Low Level
Low level
August
September
October
November
December
January
Febuary
March
April
What these numbers mean
As her anxiety dropped, her levels of communication rose. As she
began to talk (level of verbal communication), she relied less on her
gestures and her levels of nonverbal communication also dropped.
Explain the results
By reducing her social anxiety, the student felt more comfortable and was
able to begin communicating with teachers and participating in class
activities. Although she has come a long way, her spontaneous speech is still
in a very low range. She still does not initiate conversation with peers.
Although I believe that the research had a positive effect on the child’s
anxiety and therefore her ability to participate in class. I believe that
normally these results would not be so profound. I think the immense
increase in communication was also due in part to her parents providing
more social experiences for the child. The parents accompanied the child to
the activities, probably making her feel more comfortable and able to
participate.
Summary and conclusion
Selective Mutism is the inability to speak in certain situations, while
freely speaking in others.
Although there has been quite a bit of research about Selective
Mutism, little is know about why the disorder occurs.
A child with Selective Mutism may not talk or participate in class,
although they may really want to.
Selective Mutism is no longer thought of as an oppositional disorder,
but more as an anxiety disorder. Successful interventions usually
focuses on relieving the anxiety, instead of producing speech.
As levels of anxiety decrease the levels
communication will probably increase.
How this information could be used in
an early childhood classroom
By creating a safe environment, and allowing for one on one interactions,
the child may be able to begin to communicate nonverbally and eventually
verbally.
By observing the child and noticing when and why certain anxieties arise,
you will better be able to eliminate them.
By focusing on the underlying issues, you might be able to ease the anxiety
and the selective mutism at the same time.