5 Treatment Tips for Selective Mutism

As speech-language pathologists we wear many hats. By the time we finish grad school, we have training in articulation, language, fluency, AAC, pragmatics, voice, aphasia, apraxia, swallowing and more. But sometimes the terrain becomes more psychological in nature, as I discovered on day one of my clinical fellowship, when I met a student with selective mutism (SM), in which children speak in some situations, but not others. Here’s what I learned from treating my first student with SM. First and foremost, creating a treatment plan must begin with a thorough, team-based assessment. Then, I found the following steps produced the best results. Build trust and rapport You first must gain a child’s trust before trying to desensitize him into using verbal communication. Build rapport by engaging in fun activities and positively praising your student, as well as imitating what he or she does. By developing a communication ladder together, you help your student with SM face his or her fears at a reasonable pace. As students progress, they need to trust the person standing by their side. Reinforce verbal communication When asking your student a question requiring a verbal reply, the anxiety-filled silence feels uncomfortable. As a result, well-intentioned bystanders often swoop in and speak on the child’s behalf or change the question to require only a yes/no response. What should you do about this issue? According to Aimee Kotrba, a psychologist and expert in this area, ...
Source: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) Press Releases - Category: Speech Therapy Authors: Tags: Speech-Language Pathology selective mutism Speech Disorders Source Type: blogs