Selective Mutism?
- Thread starter shimple
- Start date
Bexi
Well-known member
Is a rare condition occurring in childhood. Selective Mutism is characterized by a consistent failure to speak in specific social situations in which there is an expectation for speaking. Children with this disorder have the ability to both speak and understand language, but fail to use this ability. Most children who experience selective mutism function normally in other areas of their lives- this is a quote from a website.
upyourspeed
Member
Just rediscovered this post. That story is a moving one almost brought me to tears 
www.selectivemutism.org is a good place to learn more.
There's a fine line between selective mutism and shyness don't you think? I find it difficult to get my head around - researchers say that the way to resolve SM is to build the child's self esteem but are they quiet because they are shy or is it selective mutism...
is shyness just a mild case of selective mutism?
www.selectivemutism.org is a good place to learn more.There's a fine line between selective mutism and shyness don't you think? I find it difficult to get my head around - researchers say that the way to resolve SM is to build the child's self esteem but are they quiet because they are shy or is it selective mutism...
is shyness just a mild case of selective mutism?
missquiet
Well-known member
upyourspeed said:
I think for young children who are raised in a normal environment (no trauma, abuse etc) i'm guessing SM is probably a severe case of social anxiety or a way of coping with their anxiety. It could be a result of having social anxiety at a very young age and not being able to deal with it so you just decide not to speak at all. So when you're 3 or 4 years old feeling anxiety symptoms and you don't understand what's going on with yourself i guess thats what happens.
Johnie
Well-known member
I had selective mutism when I was a child. When I first started school as 5 I was very withdrawn, but I would speak if spoken to.
I got worse when I was 11 y.o. when I moved up to another school. I just stopped speaking with the other kids. In class I would respond to the teachers, but that was it. I never spoke a word with other childen until the time I left the school as 16.
The other children gave me the nickname "speechless" but they just accepted me as I was and did not pick on me or bully me over the issue. The adults - that is the teachers and my parents - did not do anything to try to help me of course. They must have realised I had a problem (or they SHOULD have realised this). The name 'selective mutism' had not even been invented then.
Johnie.
I got worse when I was 11 y.o. when I moved up to another school. I just stopped speaking with the other kids. In class I would respond to the teachers, but that was it. I never spoke a word with other childen until the time I left the school as 16.
The other children gave me the nickname "speechless" but they just accepted me as I was and did not pick on me or bully me over the issue. The adults - that is the teachers and my parents - did not do anything to try to help me of course. They must have realised I had a problem (or they SHOULD have realised this). The name 'selective mutism' had not even been invented then.
Johnie.
crazydiamond
Member
I still have selective mutism. I have had it my entire life. I just finished 12 years of school and I barely spoke at all. Even in high school I would go through whole days without saying one word. My parents still seem to be completely oblivious to it. They never once tried to get me help. I couldn’t even defend myself in the 10th grade when I was ruthlessly picked on all the time in one class by 2 or 3 others. I can still remember the feeling of my heart palpitating uncontrollably. No matter how badly I wanted to say something, I just couldn’t do it. I would start sweating, my throat would tighten up (so even if I did say something it wouldn’t sound like me), and my heart felt like it was coming out of my chest. And to top it off, I would be paranoid about what the other people in the class of 25+ would think.
That’s how intense it was. I admit that I’ve definitely improved since then (I am postin on this site), but i’ve still got ways to go. And I’ve been doing it pretty much by myself. I’ve opened up to my mom two times in the past year and every time I do she seems to forget about it by the next day. It takes so much strength for me to talk to her about it that I don’t even wanna bother tryin anymore. I’m making progress on my own, but I could always use some help.
The worst part about it all is that I never really had a childhood. I wish I could do it all over again without SA.
That’s how intense it was. I admit that I’ve definitely improved since then (I am postin on this site), but i’ve still got ways to go. And I’ve been doing it pretty much by myself. I’ve opened up to my mom two times in the past year and every time I do she seems to forget about it by the next day. It takes so much strength for me to talk to her about it that I don’t even wanna bother tryin anymore. I’m making progress on my own, but I could always use some help.
The worst part about it all is that I never really had a childhood. I wish I could do it all over again without SA.
upyourspeed
Member
I also had SM as a child and only recently discovered it existed! It's comforting to know that others have experienced this too!
There has been minimal research done into the area but findings have indicated a genetic link - i.e. over activity in the amygdala in the brain which is said to increase anxiety? But I don't think anything conclusive has yet been found.
It was particularly difficult for us as children of that generation because of the lack of awareness, in those days you couldn't really type in your 'symptoms' into the internet and have it tell you your disorder! Noone knew about SM - Like you say, it didn't exist, and nor did understanding, treatment or awareness. I would have thought things would have moved on since then but not a lot is really 8O
By age 11 I began to speak to everyone, even if in a shy way and think I overcame it to an extent.
Then there is the other side of me that thinks that SM can't really be cured as there are times even now where I feel like that child again and cant communicate with people and even though I am older and should be able to articulate my emotions I can't seem to explain the link of not being able to speak and the environmental settings?
It makes me think perhaps, if we can't understand ourselves how will researchers be able to 'crack' our SM?
Just a thought :?:
There has been minimal research done into the area but findings have indicated a genetic link - i.e. over activity in the amygdala in the brain which is said to increase anxiety? But I don't think anything conclusive has yet been found.
It was particularly difficult for us as children of that generation because of the lack of awareness, in those days you couldn't really type in your 'symptoms' into the internet and have it tell you your disorder! Noone knew about SM - Like you say, it didn't exist, and nor did understanding, treatment or awareness. I would have thought things would have moved on since then but not a lot is really 8O
By age 11 I began to speak to everyone, even if in a shy way and think I overcame it to an extent.
Then there is the other side of me that thinks that SM can't really be cured as there are times even now where I feel like that child again and cant communicate with people and even though I am older and should be able to articulate my emotions I can't seem to explain the link of not being able to speak and the environmental settings?
It makes me think perhaps, if we can't understand ourselves how will researchers be able to 'crack' our SM?
Just a thought :?:
upyourspeed
Member
Just doing some research and came across this: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Selective-Mut...yZ106113QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
behindcloseddoors
Member
wow another possible condition I may have suffered or indeed do suffer from, Why not just lable myself as a complete and utter f*** up.
I remember a period of my life at school, mother had abbandonded me farther was a drunk and would leave for work before I got up and come home so drunk he would go straight to his room to sleep when he came home at all, I would make the effort to go to school (I had been scared sensless by my farther that they would put me in foster care if I didn't) noone would speak to me at school and I said nothing, I think the longest period where noone actually spoke to me was around 6 days, I mean nothing not even Hi or a put down. When someone actually said hello to me my heart stopped and I blushed and sweated like a proper panic attack. But I was so happy that someone actually noticed I was there.
Sorry for the negative post but I'm going through a patch of moderate to severe depression and I'm very angry at everything right now.
I remember a period of my life at school, mother had abbandonded me farther was a drunk and would leave for work before I got up and come home so drunk he would go straight to his room to sleep when he came home at all, I would make the effort to go to school (I had been scared sensless by my farther that they would put me in foster care if I didn't) noone would speak to me at school and I said nothing, I think the longest period where noone actually spoke to me was around 6 days, I mean nothing not even Hi or a put down. When someone actually said hello to me my heart stopped and I blushed and sweated like a proper panic attack. But I was so happy that someone actually noticed I was there.
Sorry for the negative post but I'm going through a patch of moderate to severe depression and I'm very angry at everything right now.