Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Selective Mutism

"Suffering in Silence"
By Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum dedicated to her daughter Sophia Blum

What is Selective Mutism?

It is a beautiful little 4 yr old who loves to talk to her
dolls...But she cannot speak outside the home..

It is an adorable 6 yr old boy who runs around boisterously in his
backyard ............ . but stands expressionless, staring into space,
when he enters his classroom..

It is a 11 yr old little girl who sings and writes beautiful songs at
home.......but cannot verbalize a sound to her teacher and classmates.

It is a 15 yr old boy who loves computers; roughhousing and joking
with his best friend...... but cannot talk to his best friend at
school or other social events.

It is a sensitive and perceptive little 5 yr old girl who tells her
parents all the exciting and fun things she wants to do at her
birthday party....... .....but has never spoken a word to anyone
outside the home..

It is a comical 6 yr old girl who dances and sings in the
entertainment room while her family proudly watches on....but, stands
motionless, and cannot utter a sound when her class rehearses for the
school musical..

It is a 9 yr old boy cheering loudly and intensely as he watches his
favorite hockey team score a goal... but sits alone at a party and
sadly turns away when another child approaches him.

It is an artistic 7-year-old girl who prides herself on showing off
her artwork to her family and two best friends.... but cannot talk to
these friends at school..

What is Selective Mutism? It is a child suffering in silence

I thought this was so beautiful! I belong to a yahoo group of parents with children of all ages dealing with selective mutism. Anyways, I just thought I'd share this with everyone.

Me and the girls are back home! They had a great time with Nana, Gampy, my sister and Daisy-cat! They talked non-stop for the entire ride home! They wanted to tell me everything! I loved it! They passed out within about 5 minutes of laying down in their beds. It is nice to be home, I just wish my husband was here. He did call from the field tonight though!

Tomorrow it is back to the grind and I am thankful.

4 comments:

Trinka said...

I'm glad you're all home safe & sound.

The post on selective mutism was very good. I'd be interested in having a look at that group.

roccor said...

This quote describes my daughter.

"It is a comical 6 yr old girl who dances and sings in the entertainment room while her family proudly watches on....but, stands motionless, and cannot utter a sound when her class rehearses for the school musical.."

I really liked this post!

Rob
Selective Mutism Support Forum
http://smsg.baseman.ca/

Clifford Jeffery said...

Trinka-Just go to yahoo and search groups for selective mutism. I think it is the only one listed. =) Thanks Selective for leaving a comment. I tried your profile but could not find it. Do you have a blog?

roccor said...

No, I do not have a Blog. I have google alerts set up to notify me whenever the keywords Selective Mutism appear in a web page or blog. I just try to gain as much knowledge as I can. I have found some interesting issues that many SM kids have, like Sensory Processing issues. I do have an online forum for SM, feel free to check it out. SM children can be gifted too. New Age people refer to SM Chidren as "Crystal Children". Very interesting!

http://smsg.baseman.ca/