Selective Mutism
We assist with selective mutism in a number of ways
Selective Mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder where a child is unable to speak in certain social situations, despite being able to talk in others. There is a noticeable and significant shift in a child’s speech across settings, such that they may be completely silent at school even though they are described as a chatterbox at home.
What does selective mutism look like?
Difficulty speaking in certain situations
Trouble identifying mistakes
Frozen when asking for help
Cannot make decisions easily
Withdrawal from social situations
Defiant behavior in social settings
“My daughter surprises me everyday with her ambition to work on new things. She wanted to do tee ball, but the first day she got out there it was overwhelming for her to be in front of everyone. So she came off and cried. I put my ‘what would Dr. Carly do’ thinking cap on, and did all the things to help her. Eventually we made it closer to the field and she stopped crying. Then she started throwing and finally said she was ready to bat!”
— Parent of child with Selective Mutism
How We Can Help
Individual Family Treatment
We work with families to better understand the interactions that maintain Selective Mutism and provide live coaching to help parents become a “take home therapist” to facilitate speaking across settings. Treatment is guided by Parent-Child Interaction Therapy for Selective Mutism (PCIT-SM), which first focuses on building a positive, trusting relationship, then helping your child to face exposures related to talking. PCIT-SM works because we build from where your child feels most safe and is able to talk before challenging them to move beyond their comfort zone.
Early treatment typically includes a parent training session, followed by live coaching to help parents use skills effectively. Additional sessions can include live coaching of parents in additional situations or 1:1 help for your child in facing fears around verbalizing in certain places, with certain people, or in certain situations. Given that many children with SM can be “slow to warm up,” early treatment sessions are often presented in an intensive format, followed by weekly sessions to support additional treatment goals.
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Selective Mutism & Social Anxiety Conversation Group
Group intervention helps your child to practice interacting with adults and peers in situations that mirror both a school setting and a social setting. While the main area of focus of our group is maintaining appropriate, fluent conversations with peers, we also incorporate presenting to a group, responding to and asking questions, sharing personal information, making decisions, and playing games with peers. Current group offerings are for ages 3-6 and 7-10 and are capped at 6 children. Children are all required to respond verbally to a clinician prior to beginning group, with supports in place. Typically, families require some individual treatment prior to beginning a group, though previous treatment does not need to be provided by Growing Minds.
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School Consultation
The involvement of school staff is often essential in selective mutism treatment and a cooperative, connected treatment team can make all the difference for your family. We provide individualized school training to school staff as well as consultation to support your child in their education journey. This can be done live, at the school, or through telehealth. We deliver live coaching to teachers and can join your child during the school day to help them be successful speaking with teachers and peers. We are also available to advocate on your behalf for school accommodations and special education services if your child requires additional supports in school.
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Neuropsych Testing
Children with Selective Mutism (SM) can experience learning difficulties in addition to their significant challenges with speaking. Providing a comprehensive evaluation of a child with SM can be difficult due to their struggles with speaking with certain people and in certain settings. At Growing Minds Psychology, our neuropsychological team has expertise and years of experience in conducting comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations in children with SM. In addition, Dr. Matt has presented his research on evaluating children with SM to both parents and professionals at the annual conferences of the Selective Mutism Association (SMA) and American Academy of Pediatric Neuropsychology (AAPdN).
Frequently Asked Questions about Selective Mutism
+ How do you treat selective mutism?
The early stages of treatment typically involve intensive interventions to teach caregivers and school staff effective skills to manage symptoms of SM, while giving children a significant boost of behavioral medicine. Once your child has gained momentum in facing their SM, weekly individual and group services can be added to focus on specific therapeutic goals.
+ What does intensive treatment mean?
Intensive treatment typically means longer sessions that are scheduled close together. It could mean multiple sessions in one day and/or in one week. Since children with SM tend to be slower to warm, intensive treatment allows them to make gains more quickly. By continuing with treatment consistently, it gives less time for your child to freeze between sessions and provides the opportunity to face additional goals once they have warmed up within sessions.
+ Do I need to attend sessions with my child?
In the beginning, definitely! You will attend sessions with and without your child to teach you skills to implement at home and in sessions. Once your child has made significant gains and is ready for higher-level goals (e.g., peers, presentations, conversational speech), we may have you take a back seat to help your child be more independent.
+ Can you work with the school too?
If your child needs additional support in school, we can provide training for school staff as well as live coaching opportunities for your child’s teachers to ensure they are correctly using learned strategies. For students who require supports beyond a general education program, we are able to consult with you and your school district to develop a 504 Accommodation Plan or an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).