Selective Mutism
Selective Mutism is a complex childhood anxiety disorder characterized by a child’s inability to speak and communicate effectively in select social settings, such as school. These children are able to speak and communicate in settings where they are comfortable, secure, and relaxed.
Cluster Number:
Wiki Number: PW200
Diagnosis: Selective Mutism
US Patients:
World Patients: .71 of 1% in 2002
Sex Ratio:
Age Onset: early childhood
Brain Area: amygdalas may become over-excited and this is a fight-flight response;
Symptoms: anxiety where people cannot speak in specific situations or places or to specific persons along with a social anxiety disorder.
Progression: Gets worse with age, contributing to depression, further anxiety and other social and emotional problems
Causes: some have experienced trauma; others, not
Medications: An SSRI, fluoxetine, has helped some children.
Therapies: Only change schools if the new one will be more supportive. Different techniques are described in the Wikipedia article.
Youtube Video: Evidence-Based Treatment for Selective Mutism
Amazon or Library Book:
The Selective Mutism Treatment Guide
Amazon or Library Book:
Raising Voices
Click the book to link or order from Amazon.
Click the book to link or order from Amazon.
4 CURRENT ARTICLES
FROM PUBMED
The world-wide medical research
reports chosen for each diagnosis
Clicking each title opens the
PubMed article’s summary-abstract.
- Adult Neuropsychiatric Manifestation of Hartnup Disease With a Novel SLCA6A19 Variant: A Case Reportby Tobias Bachmann on November 29, 2024
OBJECTIVES: In adults, inborn metabolic diseases are often missed in routine diagnostic settings due to a low level of suspicion.
- Selective Mutism in the Context of Autism and Bilingualismby Bridgette Carroll on November 26, 2024
Juan is a 5-year-old boy who has been followed by a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and pediatric neuropsychologist since being diagnosed with language delay and autism spectrum disorder at age 2 years. He is otherwise healthy and was born at term after a healthy pregnancy. His primary language is Spanish, and he has minimal interactions in English. His first words were at 20 months; they were not functional but rather words related to his interests such as "train." He began using 2 to...
- Parental Issues and Support Needs in Selective Mutism in Japan: A Quantitative Content Analysisby Tomohisa Yamanaka on November 25, 2024
CONCLUSION: This study highlights that parents of children with SM are troubled by professionals' lack of knowledge and their children's symptoms, driving them to seek better understanding and more resources. The results also suggest that the support needs of these parents vary depending on whether their child is diagnosed with SM. Future research should globally identify parental issues and support needs, determine the core elements, and establish a more comprehensive support system.
- Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: A Rare Case of Rapid Progressive Cognitive Decline with Special Reference to Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopyby Karan Jaykrushna Pandya on November 20, 2024
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a rare degenerative disorder seen in the 6-8th decade of life. It manifests as a rapidly progressing cognitive deterioration, the etiopathogenesis of which is neuronal accumulation of aberrant prion protein [scrapie-associated prion protein (PrPSC)], resulting in mortality within 1 year of diagnosis. Clinical features such as dementia, myoclonus, cerebellar, and extrapyramidal symptoms are observed in CJD, which may be confused with other degenerative...