I have an SM child in my life, what do I need to know?
Understanding and Managing Selective Mutism is a helpful video done by AnxietyBC explaining what Selective Mutism is and discusses strategies to use with SM children to help them become more comfortable with new people and new situations.
Selective Mutism is an anxiety disorder. This means that their mutism is exhibited when they are anxious. For example, if they are at home with their parents their anxiety level is low, so they are able to talk normally. However, if a relative comes over, the child may begin to feel anxious, causing them to become mute. Once the relative leaves, the child's anxiety level is lowered and they will begin speaking again. The child is not being defiant, rude, or choosing to not speak, they are simply in a "fight, flight, or freeze" mindset with "freezing" being the tactic used to keep them "safe from danger."
Selective mutism is different than shyness. When a child is shy they may not make eye contact, answer questions, or initiate conversation, just like a child with Selective Mutism. However, after a short amount of time, the shy child will begin to make eye contact, communicate, and show their personality. A child with Selective Mutism, will not be able to speak even after ample time. Generally, if a child in a new classroom is not speaking to peers or teachers within 4 weeks, they may need to be evaluated for Selective Mutism.
Selective Mutism is an anxiety disorder. This means that their mutism is exhibited when they are anxious. For example, if they are at home with their parents their anxiety level is low, so they are able to talk normally. However, if a relative comes over, the child may begin to feel anxious, causing them to become mute. Once the relative leaves, the child's anxiety level is lowered and they will begin speaking again. The child is not being defiant, rude, or choosing to not speak, they are simply in a "fight, flight, or freeze" mindset with "freezing" being the tactic used to keep them "safe from danger."
Selective mutism is different than shyness. When a child is shy they may not make eye contact, answer questions, or initiate conversation, just like a child with Selective Mutism. However, after a short amount of time, the shy child will begin to make eye contact, communicate, and show their personality. A child with Selective Mutism, will not be able to speak even after ample time. Generally, if a child in a new classroom is not speaking to peers or teachers within 4 weeks, they may need to be evaluated for Selective Mutism.
What are some basic strategies to start with?
Warm-up time is extremely beneficial for children with Selective Mutism. This is a time where a parent (or someone they are comfortable speaking to in all situations) and the child can be together to keep the child's anxiety low. For example, the child has difficulty speaking in their classroom, so warm-up time is done each morning before school starts. The parent and child arrive 10-15 minutes before school begins and engage in a game or other activity where the child's anxiety level can become lowered. The parent can use forced choice or open ended questions to elicit verbal answers from the child with the goal of maintaining speech as more people come into the classroom. Without warm-up time, the anxiety level of the child may never lower which will maintain their Selective Mutism.
Rapport building needs to be started right away. This does not mean to ask the child a bunch of questions to try to get to know them - this will not work as they will not be able to answer. Instead, this means to take away any pressure for the child to speak and simply observe and comment on what they are doing. For example, if it is art time and the child is drawing, their actions would be commented on - think about a sportscaster. "I see you are drawing a yellow circle on top of the paper. I wonder what color you will use next. Oh, now you are using a green crayon and coloring along the bottom of the page. Nice, you are using my favorite color, pink, and drawing some butterflies. You are doing such a great job!" Over time, forced choice questions could be introduced followed by open-ended questions to encourage the child to speak.
Handover/Takeover™ is the process of being able to hand something to someone and/or take something from someone; this can be very difficult for SM children to accomplish and may need to be a goal when first starting out. A "Handover" example would be giving the teacher a paper that indicates if they are having school lunch or if they brought a lunch from home. A "Takeover" example could be the child receiving a note from the teacher that says "Good morning, glad to see you today!" It could increase slowly to the child handing out assignments to the other students or collecting supplies from students after an activity. The goal is to increase their level of social interactions to continue their progression to speaking. Click here to read more about Handover/Takeover™.
Understand the various stages of communication. There are different stages a child with Selective Mutism may be at when it comes to how they are comfortably able to communicate. The Social Communication Bridge® from the SMart Center is a great tool to understand the different levels of communication. If a child is in Stage 0, you would need to start out with non-communicative ways for them to communicate to help get them to Stage 1. The goal is to progress through the stages at an appropriate pace for the child to maintain a decreased level of anxiety. The ultimate goal is to get to Stage 3 where the child is able to speak at a regular speaking voice while answering questions, initiating conversation, and having back and forth dialogue with familiar and unfamiliar people.
Rapport building needs to be started right away. This does not mean to ask the child a bunch of questions to try to get to know them - this will not work as they will not be able to answer. Instead, this means to take away any pressure for the child to speak and simply observe and comment on what they are doing. For example, if it is art time and the child is drawing, their actions would be commented on - think about a sportscaster. "I see you are drawing a yellow circle on top of the paper. I wonder what color you will use next. Oh, now you are using a green crayon and coloring along the bottom of the page. Nice, you are using my favorite color, pink, and drawing some butterflies. You are doing such a great job!" Over time, forced choice questions could be introduced followed by open-ended questions to encourage the child to speak.
Handover/Takeover™ is the process of being able to hand something to someone and/or take something from someone; this can be very difficult for SM children to accomplish and may need to be a goal when first starting out. A "Handover" example would be giving the teacher a paper that indicates if they are having school lunch or if they brought a lunch from home. A "Takeover" example could be the child receiving a note from the teacher that says "Good morning, glad to see you today!" It could increase slowly to the child handing out assignments to the other students or collecting supplies from students after an activity. The goal is to increase their level of social interactions to continue their progression to speaking. Click here to read more about Handover/Takeover™.
Understand the various stages of communication. There are different stages a child with Selective Mutism may be at when it comes to how they are comfortably able to communicate. The Social Communication Bridge® from the SMart Center is a great tool to understand the different levels of communication. If a child is in Stage 0, you would need to start out with non-communicative ways for them to communicate to help get them to Stage 1. The goal is to progress through the stages at an appropriate pace for the child to maintain a decreased level of anxiety. The ultimate goal is to get to Stage 3 where the child is able to speak at a regular speaking voice while answering questions, initiating conversation, and having back and forth dialogue with familiar and unfamiliar people.
Links with Detailed Information for Teachers
A Teacher's Guide to Selective Mutism by Child Mild Institute
Toolkit for Educators by the Selective Mutism Association
Ideal Classroom Setting (Book) from The SMart Center
What Teachers Need to Know About Selective Mutism by We Are Teachers
5 Examples of a Nurturing and Comfortable Classroom Environment by The SMart Center
Selective Mutism Core Training for Schools by Confident Children
Toolkit for Educators by the Selective Mutism Association
Ideal Classroom Setting (Book) from The SMart Center
What Teachers Need to Know About Selective Mutism by We Are Teachers
5 Examples of a Nurturing and Comfortable Classroom Environment by The SMart Center
Selective Mutism Core Training for Schools by Confident Children
