Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Selective Mutism Top 10 Facts!


Selective Mutism is a severe anxiety disorder in which a child is unable to speak in social situations and settings.  A child with Selective Mutism usually talks normal at home, but is unable to get their words out once outside the comfort of their home.  The Child responds to severe social anxiety as if their words are locked up tight in a box with no key in sight!  Often confused with being overly shy or stubborn these children live their life in silence.  It's painful, they wish so badly they could speak...but to no avail.  Not even a whisper.

I have put together a list of the top ten Selective Mutism Signs, Symptoms, and facts.


  1. The child seems to be excessively shy.
  2. The child experiences social isolation and withdrawal
  3. Not speaking lasts for longer than one month, besides the first month of school.
  4. The child's lack of speaking is interfering with their school progress.
  5. consistent failure to speak in any social situation.
  6. lack of eye contact.
  7. The child often displays stiff body language with shoulders curled in and head down.
  8. The child's inability to speak is not from lack of knowledge or speech problem.
  9. Their inability to speak is not brought on by a tragic event, but rather the child's anxiety of social situations.
  10. Because Selective Mutism overlaps with social anxiety disorder, it is believed it may be genetic and the child may have other family members who suffer from anxiety.

There are a lot of teachers, Pediatricians, and professionals who have not heard of Selective Mutism.  Awareness is key to the success of these children!  There are some treatment plans in place for Selective Mutism, and is best if caught early.

Please spread the word!  Get these Children their voices back!

Have a beautiful day :)
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17 comments:

  1. Masshole MommySeptember 24, 2015 at 8:55 AM

    Aww, this makes me really sad. I hate to think about poor kids suffering from this. Poor things.

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  2. tiarastantrumsSeptember 24, 2015 at 1:46 PM

    I have never heard of this - and I have never seen this in any child. So sad! This must be a terrible task to get through this frightful time in a young child's life.

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  3. Lori FelixSeptember 24, 2015 at 4:38 PM

    It is important to spread the word about selective mutism. Hopefully they will start training daycare staff and teachers about the warming signs/symptoms to be aware of so that the child can get treatment early

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  4. Annemarie LeBlancSeptember 24, 2015 at 6:47 PM

    Now they have a term for it. When I was a child, I thought kids who behaved that way were just really shy. Thank you for raising awareness. It is now easier to detect and seek medical help the soonest time.

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  5. Liz MaysSeptember 24, 2015 at 6:49 PM

    this is really interesting. I didn't know much about selective mutism. I can imagine this is more common than we think, especially with the big change of preschool and kindergarten.

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  6. Deal Match MakerSeptember 24, 2015 at 11:37 PM

    I never heard of this term before.. My son is a very shy person and having a social withdrawal. He is very talkative at home and very smart.

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  7. UnknownSeptember 25, 2015 at 3:38 AM

    I love to reading this article it sounds interesting. My kids would excessively shy when they were outside but in our home he is so hyper.

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  8. Elizabeth O.September 25, 2015 at 3:49 AM

    This is the first time I've heard about Selective Mutism. Do they ever recover or grow out of it? Or is it something that they will have for the rest of their lives?

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  9. UnknownSeptember 25, 2015 at 4:02 AM

    I have actually never heard of this before but thank you for bringing it to our attention. I hope it is something that over time with confidence building that the children can get over it because it must be so frustrating for them. Thanks for sharing.

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  10. Kelly HutchinsonSeptember 25, 2015 at 11:36 AM

    I have not heard of Selective Mutism, so thank you for so much informatino o it. This much be so difficult for families who have this among them.

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  11. stephanicketySeptember 25, 2015 at 2:22 PM

    What a difficult thing to go through. I have not heard of this disorder before.

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  12. Maddi'sMommySeptember 25, 2015 at 2:57 PM

    How heartbreaking for everyone involved but being away of the symptoms is the first step at making it better.

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  13. MsCrookedHaloSeptember 25, 2015 at 3:01 PM

    I think my kids may have had a mild case of this. Do you know if they outgrow it because now my kids do better in social situations although they will never be social butterflies.

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  14. UnknownSeptember 25, 2015 at 3:09 PM

    I didn't know much about selective mutism before now. Thanks for bringing this to light and making people understand what the condition is.

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  15. DhemzSeptember 25, 2015 at 4:16 PM

    good to know! I've never heard about this term before. Thanks for sharing.

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  16. DogvillsSeptember 25, 2015 at 5:54 PM

    This is the firs time I heard about this. I think one of my girls has a mild case of this. I will have to ask her doctor about this.

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  17. Tatanisha Pitts-WortheySeptember 26, 2015 at 11:14 PM

    It's the first time I've hear about this term but I do see shy kids around. Reading the symptoms make me sad, how hard it must be. :(

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