For the topic of my blog it took me awhile to think about what I wanted to do. I went back and forth between a lot of things. At first I thought about doing something with Diabetes because I am familiar with it having two brothers who have it. Then I decided I wanted to do something I didn't know about so I came across Autism and was wondering what it would be like to have an Autistic sibling and what that child's life is like. Then finally I came to the decision of Selective Mutism. I had never heard of this before until my student teaching experience and a child in my class had Selective Mutism. When I was told we were going to have a child in our class with this I had so many questions. My first and main question was, what is it? Then I had many more questions like, when do you get diagnosed, how do you diagnose it, how will the child act, does the child have special needs in the classroom, how can I help and so many more. So for my blog I decided I want to find out more about Selective Mutism. I don't have a specific question yet about it, but I feel after doing more research I will be able to come across something and take a deeper look. On the American Speech - Language - Hearing Association website it tells about what Selective Mutism is and gives a little background about it. This is the site I first came across when I had questions.
http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/selectivemutism.htm
Hi Libby! That's really interesting that you had a student with Selective Mutism because I did too! I had never heard of it before my internship and I thought it was very rare, so I'm surprised it's something that we both have encountered. Before the school year started, the mother of this child came in to give my mentor and I some background knowledge on what Selective Mutism is. She described it as being a type of anxiety. This child spoke regularly at home with his parents, but only whispered to a select few friends at home. He did not speak to me or my mentor teacher. It was definitely a challenge when I was teaching. I also wonder about the stress that this puts on the families of children with Selective Mutism. The site you posted has some interesting information about children with Selective Mutism.
ReplyDeleteLibby, your topic of Selective Mutism is very interesting to me. I'm exploring communication disorders as my blog topic and hope to become an SLP. Selective Mutism is a relatively rare communication disorder that is usually associated with anxiety and I would love to learn more about it. Growing up with my sisters and brother I know we talked nonstop. It would be so different to have a sibling who chose not to- or could not- communicate with me. I wonder how this effects the bonding between siblings. A good site with more info on Selective Mutism is http://www.selectivemutism.org/. -Megan
ReplyDeleteLibby,
ReplyDeleteExcellent start. Like you and Lindsey, I had never heard of selective mutism. I've been working in the Arlitt preschool at UC and there are a couple of kids that exhibit some characteristics of mutism, however it may be that they are just developmentally delayed. As such, I also have some of the same questions you posed above. Specifically, how do you identify it (and how do you differentiate between a lasting disorder and selected episodes of silence)? I'm looking forward to reading the answers to some of the questions you posed and learning more about identifying and dealing with selective mutism. Good work.
Gabe