All About Selective Mutism

[Joyous Box]

Hi parents,


I am new to this forum and wanted to connect up with parents whose kids might hv SM, social anxiety, HFA, HSC, super shy, quiet etc.....

I am also hoping to set up playdates for my 8 yo son (undiagnosed), who is a quiet HSC (Highly Sensitive Child), doing well in school but unable to make any \"real\" friends. He fears speaking up to kids around his age but is highly motivated and willing to have social engagement with support.

Hoping to share and learn with you all!

Please let me know if your child is keen to connect up, we can arrange playdates together

[ChiefKiasu]

I just saw the show Wonder on Netflix. Although it feels like a kids show, the issues they dealt with, from shame from looking like a monster, bullying, to friendship and inter-family relationships, are all too real.


No it doesn’t solve anything for people suffering from selective mutism. But it’s definitely worth a look-see.

[chenlaoshi]

This Mother's Day tribute video to mothers of special needs children \"虽然我说不出来 可是我的世界很精彩\" features this year's National School Wushu Championships Tai Chi champion 12 yr old 林主恩, who has selective mutism. :salute:


[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZhD6kQYfxM]

[aweserm]

Hi everyone,

Spreading some freebies around!!
My colleague (Joleen) in the US is offering a Free Selective Mutism Online Summit!

LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY! Selective Mutism H.E.L.P. has an upcoming FREE Selective Mutism Online Summit! If you or anyone in your family is affected by Selective Mutism, this Summit will give you tips from 12 different professionals about therapeutic interventions that are available. To register, go to http://www.smhelp.org/free-summit and make sure to select Joleen's name at registration!


Regards,
http://www.speechtherapyadventures.com.sg

[anneffendi]

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it has been 8 years since my first posting on this topic.
apologises to those who have PM-ed me but didn't get a reply from me.

to update on DD1 status

We brought her to see a psychologist or speech therapist (can't recall exactly as it's so long ago) but it was not as helpful as we had thought.

During the sessions, drawings and games were used to \"open\" her up and also as a way for them to understand her thoughts etc. Eventually we stopped going after a few sessions as we don't see any improvement at all. We just stopped and see how it goes at that point of time.

At that time, the situation was quite bad that the teachers in kindergarten suggested to getting a psychologist to come to the class and monitor her behaviour etc. But when she was in K2, there was a very patient teacher who really took extra care on her and eventually she made my girl open up.

Although it is a really slow process, she eventually get better when she went to Pri sch. She is now a very talkative girl.

Thank you for sharing!!
My son now in k2 is diagnosed with selective mutism, I was guessing it could be due to pandemic and everyone is wearing masks and he cant see \"facial expressions\" which his teacher also agreed . He might be the only one having this SM in his class as well among his other 3 siblings(he's the youngest) Initially, I didn't bother much as I see he is doing well and he is usual self at home and when with comfortable surroundings even in public just like any other kids. As time goes by, mid K1, I did ask the teacher how was he doing and yes being a kiasu mum, am worried if he is able to communicate well and/or able to read. The teacher feedback positively about him ,only difference, when teacher asked he answered and not willing to speak up or volunteer any \"answers\" when teacher asked the class. He also don't voice out like example, he was unable to open his toothpaste cap but teacher saw him teary-eyed LOL. I was surprised as he is an independent one at home and also sent videos of his positive interactions at home and being chatty. So, I let the matter rest as I was worst than him when I was my toddler to primary yrs. People thought I was deaf/mute and even the report book in primary school always being remarked \"a good, quiet and girl\" LOL. HIs trait is just like mine but I am the eldest and hence lack of social skills being in a conservative family. I don't have many friends too up to secondary school years as I was an introvert.

I appreciate the PCF recommended my son for check up and enter the L&D programme. He will be starting in May/June and see how is he progressing. Currently, he is in flair programme as well. On my side, I already sending him phonics class already early this yr. The PCF is now moving to face shields for the teachers who are DS-LS & Flair programmes which I am glad .Hope my son is p1 ready soon!!

[dwwong]

https://www.homage.sg/resources/autism-school-singapore/

Not to worry, many mainstream schools accept students w selective mutism as long as he/she is considered high functioning.

[zsheng2512]

Hi, this term Selective Mutism is new to me and is suggested to me by my son’s EIP teacher.

My son is 5yo this year (K1). He is very talkative at home to us parents. used to be in mandarin, but recently, he is also trying to talk to me alot in English. But in school, he is a totally different kid. Very quiet and doesn’t speak even when he needs help from the kindergarten teachers. He will resort to pointing and pulling the person. His kind of interaction with his classmates is also through touching and pulling his friends’ hands and often misinterpreted as being rude.
This has persisted since N1 and he has been with the same group of classmates for close to 3years now. We tried EIP lessons when he was ~3yo and stopped for a while. recently, we resumed EIP albeit with another centre. This time, the teacher actually suggested that my son could have selective mustim and the EIP lessons might not help him much in this aspect. She suggested that we go for Cognitive Behavioural Treatment (CBT)

I’m writing in this forum as i know nuts about SM. First, i would like some recommendations on where i can get my son assessed on this, and then subsequently the treatment. Any tested and proven recommendations will be very much appreciated!

I heard about REACH but i have yet to reached out to them (pun intended).
Should i go Gov’t or private?

all advices are welcome~

[Whistar]

My daughter was diagnosed with selective mutism when she was around 5-6 years old. She is in the mainstream school. She was not really talking much in kindergarten and P1. But beginning of P2, she started to respond to her teachers and chat with her friends in class. Now she is in upp pri, there is not much of a problem communicating with others, but she still has episodes whereby she may be mute - when the situation gets stressful for her (e.g. visiting the dentist for extraction).

I actually published a children storybook on selective mutism. It is more suitable for kids around 4-9 years old.

The story is about a little girl with selective mutism the struggles she faces with speaking in school. How through support, and small steps, she gradually learns to express herself and gain confidence in her own way.

I did this book because I thought it may help the younger kids understand what they are going through and hopefully help them to gain confidence and hope that they too can overcome this condition one day.

If anyone is keen to have a look at the book, it is available on Amazon (The Lost Voice) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DF84QRM3