Elective Mutism

If you are a parent or teacher faced with a child presenting this type of behavioral difficulty, you are probably very confused.   A reasonable start would probably be to establish just what is meant by elective mutism.  A child presenting this behavior will have no language difficulty.  Outside the context in which they choose to be mute they are able and willing to express themselves and they do so.  In the context that they are mute they make no sound whatsoever, or if they do it is not speech.  

If this describes the child you are faced with then read on.  The first step in this intervention is to take the time to understand the rule system the child has with respect to their mutism and speech.  For instance if the child won’t speak at school at what point will they speak?  Do they talk as soon as they leave the school?  Do they speak as soon as they see their Mother?  There will be a complex rule system and you must have a reasonable understanding of this system before you begin to intervene.  Once you have established the rule system you should be able to predict when the child will be mute and when s/he will speak. 

The intervention suggested here is to slowly begin to put the child in situations that confound the rule system and force the child into making a decision with regard to speech or mutism.  For example the child will begin chatting away as soon as s/he is met by Mother who waits with all the other Mothers at the school gate?   We have two cues for speech, the school gate and Mother.  Lets see if we can have Mother take one pace forward from her normal position.  Does the child speak?  If s/he does then over the space of time we can get Mother to move closer to the school until the child is speaking in the front entrance of the school.  We are forcing the child to establish a new rule which is contrary to the “I don’t speak in school, but I do speak as soon as I see Mother at the school gate” rule.  Now the rule must be “I don’t speak to teachers in school, but I do speak to Mother”. 

The next step is to find a friend that s/he talks to outside school.  Arrange for the teacher to take the mute child and the friend who is talked to outside school out of school using some form of ploy.  A good example might be to choose a new Hamster/pet for the class.  Now the child has to form a new rule.  She has a rule about talking to the friend outside school.  S/he has a rule abut not talking to the teacher inside school but this situation is forcing a new rule to be invented.  If the teacher engineers a game of making animal sounds on the way to the pet shop the child will have to decide and will probably choose a new rule that allows making noises outside school with the teacher present.   A skilled teacher will very casually ask the children in the pet shop which pet to they like best.  A very tempting excuse to make up a new rule especially after the child has already made a new rule abut joining in games with the teacher outside school. 

Further suggestions for confusing the rule system might be to have Mother come and work in the classroom.  The teacher could give the children some work to do and work just outside the classroom with a small group, leaving Mother in the classroom for brief periods.  The teacher could make a home visit, particularly if one of the child’s friends is there.   The family could visit the teacher at home.  The family could visit the school after hours to meet the teacher in a room other than the classroom. 

You should have the idea by now.  The technique is to clearly identify the rule system in use by the child and then slowly but surly place the child in an array of situations that force new rules to be made.  The rule system will become very complex and unwieldy.  At this point give the child a way out.  For instance, use a birthday as an excuse.  Once you are six it will be time to talk in school.  Give some warning to the child and let it sink in. 

Good luck.  If you feel the need to discuss your intervention plan or feel in need of professional advice at some point we offer an advice service via e-mail.   Should you feel that you would prefer to work with an educational psychologist who will assess and prepare an intervention plan then you can locate a psychologist through this site.  You may also need a psychologist to undertake assessment of the child's language skills or intellectual profile in order to dismiss a language difficulty or a learning difficulty.