The Selective Mutism Blog

Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder which prevents a person who is physically capable of speaking from doing so in certain situations or to specific people. The Selective Mutism Blog is dedicated to raising awareness for this condition as well as offering support to those who suffer from it.

[theselectivemutismblog]

Selective Mutism In Our Own Words by Carl Sutton and Cheryl Forrester of iSpeak

Buy the book here

Chapter 11: Selective Mutism and Asperger’s Syndrome (Lorraine’s Story) and Appendix B: Reasons Why I Dislike School written by me

Chapter 10: Those Who Spoke For Me and Chapter 13: Parents’ Experiences of Selective Mutism (Alberta’s Story) written by my mom

[theselectivemutismblog]

Sorry for being inactive!

I’m not doing very well right now so I haven’t been paying much attention to this blog. I’m really sorry! I’ll try to get around to answering your questions but at the moment I don’t think I’m in the best state of mind to help so it would probably be best if you directed your questions at one of the other SM blogs instead.

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Information for Selective Mutism Awareness Month.

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Selective Mutism Awareness

Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder that affects 7 in 1000 people in which a person who is perfectly capable of speech fails to speak in certain social situations. Many people have never heard of this disorder and do not understand how it affects...

I just upload a Twibbon for selective mutism awareness month! Now you can show your support for SM awareness on your Facebook or Twitter Profile picture.

[theselectivemutismblog]

For Awareness Month

What is selective mutism? 2.0

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Side note - while selective mutism isn’t a /type/ of autism, it’s commonly comorbid and can occur in autistic shutdowns.

[theselectivemutismblog]

While it is possible to have a diagnosis of both selective mutism and autism it isn’t actually very common as it’s part of the diagnostic criteria of SM that the person’s lack of speech cannot be better accounted for by another disorder. Being unable to speak during an autistic shutdown is usually considered something somewhat different to SM.

[theselectivemutismblog]

For Awareness Month

What is selective mutism? 2.0

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imagine this: you are terrified of heights and surrounded by people who are not. every day, you have to sky dive 50,000 feet. you never do it. nobody else understands your fear.

that’s what selective mutism feels like.

[theselectivemutismblog]

Sabrina Branwood raising money for sufferers of selective mutism

Sabrina Branwood, 35, from Rochdale is currently on a fundraising mission to raise money to help sufferers of selective...

Donate to her cause here.

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Selective mutism: Change Selective Mutism to Anxiety Induced Mutism

Many people think children and adults with Selective Mutism are choosing when to talk and when not to talk. It does not mean that at all. The anxiety closes the sufferer's throat while blocking the words of getting out. The word, "Selective" sounds like they're choosing and they are not refusing not to speak. Selective Mutism needs to be changed to Anxiety Induced Mutism to show that it's the anxiety and not a choice that stops them from verbalizing.

[theselectivemutismblog]

Hello! My name is Lauren Whiteway and I am a grade 12 student at Rothesay Netherwood School in New Brunswick, Canada. I am 17 years old and have had selective mutism for 3 years. One of the requirements to graduate from my school is the completion of an extended essay. I have decided to write my thesis paper on the portrayal of selective mutism in popular media. I would really appreciate it if you could fill out this survey!

If you have the time please complete this survey on the portrayal of selective mutism in the media. 

[theselectivemutismblog]

Hi, i'm Chris from mental health faq, i'm interested in a comment you made about progressive mutism. I am aware complete mutism exists, but I did my reaserch and I don't believe that selective mutism if left untreated evolves into progressive mutism. But then again, there might be exceptions. You are more experienced in mutism than me, I would really like to hear your thoughts about this.

Progressive mutism is mentioned briefly in the selective mutism Wikipedia article as a severe form of SM where the disorder progresses overtime until the person is unable to speak to anyone at all (if the person is unable to speak to anyone right from the beginning despite never having SM then that maybe traumatic mutism instead) though no sources are given.

It’s probably not uncommon for a person’s anxiety around speaking to worsen overtime if nothing is done about it although I’m not sure how likely it is for this to develop into progressive mutism. I can only give you personal experiences unfortunately due to the lack of research on SM but I have come across a few people with SM who have stopped speaking to everyone completely as they’d gotten older and have even stopped making any kind of sound at all such as yawning or coughing.

There is a case mentioned in this video of a girl who eventually stopped talking to her own family.

[selectivemutismawareness]

Selective Mutism is not Equivalent to Autism

Lately I’ve been seeing a lot of people who think that selective mutism is a symptom of autism. This is not true. Selective mutism is classified as an anxiety disorder and is it’s own separate mental illness. It is not even on the autism spectrum. 

Furthermore, the current DSM-V criteria makes it very difficult if not impossible for an individual to be diagnosed with SM and autism at the same time as it states that the disorder is “not better explained by a communication disorder and does not occur exclusively during the course of autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia, or another psychotic disorder.” 

But the main difference is that people on the autism spectrum will have a speech disorder that will limit language ability and render them non-verbal whereas individuals with selective mutism will usually have no disorder other than anxiety that prevents speech. People with SM will also usually show increased empathy, relate to other people easily, and show appropriate social skills where some people who have autism may not.

I’m not trying to put down people on the autism spectrum. I am simply trying to prevent the spread of misinformation.

[theselectivemutismblog]

why does everyone always say sm is a fear of speaking? when i dont speak it's because i just physically can't, not bc i'm too scared. is it different for other sufferers? idk

It is currently accepted by most professionals that SM is brought on by anxiety in some shape or form. Though not a lot is known about SM at the moment so as more research is done on the condition it may be proven that there are other causes for it as well. 

[neuro-psych-faq]

Is it possible for selective mutism to become full fledged mutism without treatment??

I wouldn’t say impossible, but unlikely.-Chris

[theselectivemutismblog]

I don’t know how common it is but it can and does happen. It’s called progressive mutism.

[theselectivemutismblog]

Hi i'm adam and i'm working with Chris who is a psychiatry student just like me, and Jack who is a psychologist. Can you help us promote our blog? we think we can help with medication related questions. Our url is: mental-health-faq(.)tumblr(.)com

Sure! Go follow mental-health-faq!

[theselectivemutismblog]

Hi there, my parents informed me that when I was younger like childhood years like the normal age kids start to talk, I wasn't talking. They told me I was mute but luckily they took me to therapy and it got fixed. Sometimes when things get stressful, I do see that my talking ranges down to minimum and I don't know if it's from that. I don't remember much of the times I was mute, but I do remember that with my childhood and now has come with a lot of social phobia. I'm afraid with all that cont.

(2) with all that is going on in high school and how even the first day of junior has been stressful, I could revert back to being selectively mute. I tend to notice that sometimes in deep stress and anxiety I slowly minimize the talking. I don’t know if this is anything close to SM, but I’m worried that this school year can cause me such troubles. I don’t know what to do ?

It is quite common for ex-SM sufferers to retain some symptoms of their SM even years after their recovery however with SM it is best to do something about it as early as possible so if you’re concerned that you may be reverting back into SM then you should probably tell someone like your parents or a professional. You may want to let the school know too if you’re worried that it may cause you difficulties in the coming year.

[theselectivemutismblog]

When I was a child I was diagnosed with SM. I went to the therapy and I recovered from it (kind of). But now I am very anxious and sometimes I don't want to talk.

It is quite common for people who overcome SM to still have problems with anxiety and even revert back to being mute in times of significant stress. It can be a very difficult thing to deal with but you’ve still done well. Thanks for sharing!