Selective (selective) Mutism Or Give Me Back My Voice

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

Selective (selective) mutism, also known as psychogenic mutism, causes people to remain silent in particular in social and stressful situations. The cause of this condition is unknown, and although it can affect anyone, selective mutism is most common in young children.

What is Selective Mutism?

Mutism can be caused by a variety of conditions, including deafness, speech delay, and developmental disabilities.

But selective mutism occurs when someone - usually a child - who is able to speak stops doing it. Most adults have witnessed an intermittent example, selective mutism, in which a child who can speak does not seem to react to an unfamiliar adult. Typically, selective mutism is much more pervasive and interferes with daily activities. Some children with selective mutism do not speak in social situations, at school, or during times of tremendous stress.

There is a strong correlation between selective mutism and shyness, with parents whose children are selectively "turned off" sometimes interpret the child's behavior as rudeness and believe that he or she simply refuses to speak. In fact, the child is really unable to speak in these cases. Most children with selective mutism also experience some kind of phobias, such as social anxiety.

Selective Mutism symptoms

Children and adults with selective mutism may speak at home or in other familiar places, they may be shy in everyday situations and show fear and anxiety when around. To be diagnosed, the behavior must continue for one month, and it must not be due to cultural issues. Selective mutism can also be accompanied by a characteristically blank expression.

What Causes Selective Mutism?

Selective mutism has no known cause, although those who have experienced it often have a history of anxiety, anxiety, extreme shyness, social phobia, and / or inhibiting temperament believed to be due to decreased levels of excitability in amygdala. This condition is almost always accompanied by some degree of shyness or inhibition.

Selective mutism is different from traumatic mutism and mutism. People who experience selective mutism are able to speak but are unable to do so due to shyness, anxiety, or pressure. However, if left untreated, selective mutism can progress to mutism, resulting in a complete inability to speak in any setting.

How Is Selective Mutism Treated?

Selective mutism can affect a child's ability to study in school, as well as social status. Treatment of selective mutism, first of all, takes place in therapy, reducing the level of anxiety in a person, sometimes in conjunction with a psychiatrist (medication). Trying to force someone with selective mutism to talk can actually make the condition worse.

The key to treating selective mutism lies in behavioral change. Parents of children with selective mutism can help their children by making lifestyle changes, gradually introducing them to new people, choosing small schools, helping children work on developing social skills, praising the child for their efforts rather than trying to convince them to speak forcibly or simply not accepting them. condition. Anti-anxiety medications can be helpful for people with this condition, especially those with very severe anxiety.

When selective mutism accompanies another condition, such as generalized anxiety or social anxiety, treatment begins by focusing on the underlying anxiety.

Selective Mutism in Popular Culture

In popular culture, traumatic mutism is often confused with selective mutism, as the two conditions can lead to similar results. The traumatic mutism that can result from a traumatic event is often portrayed in books and films such as Maya Angelou - I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings and Laurie Hulse Anderson - Speak. The main characters in these books became mute after being raped.

The portrayal of selective mutism in popular culture of society can be seen in such a famous sitcom as The Big Bang Theory. One of the characters, Rajesh Koothrappali, plays an adult scientist who just has selective mutism with anxiety (it occurs selectively, namely when talking with women). Silent Bob, a character who appears in many of Kevin Smith's films, also seems to experience selective mutism.

The most striking illustration of childhood selective mutism is presented in the song by Paul McCartney - “She refused to speak,”. It just tells about a girl who is constantly silent at school, experiencing anxiety and loneliness, but when she comes home, her voice returns and the words move freely.

Dear parents, if your child shows what is described in this article, then try to consult a specialist, and not try to forcefully adapt the child to the social environment.

After all, your child is the miracle that makes your life happy, and you are the miracle that will always come in children's eyes and protect you from any misfortune.