Selective mutism
Classification & external resources | ICD-10 | F94.0 | | ICD-9 | 309.83 313.23 | Selective mutism is a social anxiety disorder in which a person who is normally capable of speech is unable to speak in given situations. The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ...
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision (ICD-10) is a coding of diseases and signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or diseases, as classified by the World Health Organization (WHO). ...
// F00-F99 - Mental and behavioural disorders (F00-F09) Organic, including symptomatic, mental disorders (F00) Dementia in Alzheimers disease (F01) Vascular dementia (F011) Multi-infarct dementia (F02) Dementia in other diseases classified elsewhere (F020) Dementia in Picks disease (F021) Dementia in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (F022) Dementia in Huntingtons...
The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (most commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) provides codes to classify diseases and a wide variety of signs, symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances and external causes of injury or disease. ...
The following is a list of codes for International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. ...
Social anxiety is an experience of fear, apprehension or worry regarding social situations and being evaluated by others. ...
Bold text This article does not cite any references or sources. ...
Description
In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders selective mutism is described as a rare psychological disorder in children. Children (and adults) with the disorder are fully capable of speech and understanding language, but fail to speak in certain social situations when it is expected of them. They function normally in other areas of behavior and learning, though appear severely withdrawn and some are unable to participate in group activities due to their extreme anxiety. It is like an extreme form of shyness, but the intensity and duration distinguish it. As an example, a child may be completely silent at school, for years at a time, but speak quite freely or even excessively at home. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is a handbook for mental health professionals that lists different categories of mental disorder and the criteria for diagnosing them, according to the publishing organization the American Psychiatric Association. ...
Psychological science redirects here. ...
In humans, shyness is the feeling of apprehension or lack of confidence experienced in regard to social association with others, e. ...
Particularly in young children, selective mutism can sometimes be confused with an autism spectrum disorder, especially if the child acts particularly withdrawn around his or her diagnostician. Unfortunately, this can lead to incorrect treatment. A boy with autism and his mother Autism refers to a spectrum of disorders, and lies somewhere under the umbrella of a greater encompassing spectrum, that of pervasive developmental disorders that involve the functioning of the brain. ...
Selective mutism is usually characterised by the following:
- Consistent failure to speak in specific social situations (in which there is an expectation for speaking, e.g., at school) despite speaking in other situations.
- The disturbance interferes with educational or occupational achievement or with social communication.
- The duration of the disturbance is at least 1 month (not limited to the first month of school).
- The failure to speak is not due to a lack of knowledge of, or comfort with, the spoken language required in the social situation.
- The disturbance is not better accounted for by a Communication Disorder (e.g., Stuttering) and does not occur exclusively during the course of a Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Schizophrenia, or other Psychotic Disorder.
The former name elective mutism indicates a widespread misconception even among psychologists that selective mute people choose to be silent in certain situations, while the truth is that they are forced by their extreme anxiety to remain silent; despite their will to speak, they just cannot make any voice. To reflect the involuntary nature of this disorder, its name had been changed to selective mutism in 1994. However, misconceptions still prevail; for instance, the ABC News erroneously attributed the cause of selective mutism to trauma and described it as willful in a report dated May 26, 2005.[1] Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ...
ABC News logo ABC News Special Report ident, circa 2006 ABC News is a division of American television and radio network ABC, owned by The Walt Disney Company. ...
is the 146th day of the year (147th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The incidence of selective mutism is not certain. Due to the poor understanding of the general public on this condition, many cases are undiagnosed. Based on the number of reported cases, the figure is commonly estimated to be 1 in 1000. However, in a 2002 study in The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the figure has increased to 7 in 1000. Incidence is a measure of the risk of developing some new condition within a specified period of time. ...
No single cause has been established, but there is some evidence that there is a hereditary component. Typical sufferers have some of the following traits when anxious, some of which are often perceived as rudeness: [citation needed]
- They find it difficult to maintain eye contact.
- Often don't smile and have blank expressions.
- They move stiffly and awkwardly.
- They find situations where talk is normally expected particularly hard to handle. (answering school registers, saying hello, goodbye, thank-you, etc.)
- They tend to worry about things more than others
- They can be very sensitive to noise and crowds
- Find it difficult to express themselves
Treatment | | This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. | Contrary to popular belief, people suffering from selective mutism don't necessarily improve with age, or just grow out of it. Consequently, treatment at an early age is important. If not addressed, selective mutism tends to be self-reinforcing; those around such a person may eventually expect him or her not to speak, and stop attempting to initiate verbal contact, making the prospect of talking seem even more difficult or foreign. Sometimes in this situation, a change of environment (such as changing schools) to a place where the condition is not proven make the difference, but in some cases; with psychological help the sufferer's condition can improve. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ...
Occasionally, treatment in teenage years becomes more difficult, though not necessarily.
Forceful attempts to make the child talk are not productive, usually resulting in higher anxiety levels and so reinforcing the condition. The behaviour is often viewed externally as willful, or controlling, as the child usually shuts down all communication and body language in such situations, which is perceived as rudeness.
The exact treatment depends a lot on the subject, their age and other factors. Typically, stimulus fading is used with younger children.
Some in the psychiatric community believe that anxiety medication may be effective in extremely low dosages and that higher doses may just make the problem worse. Others in the field believe that the side-effects of psychiatric medications- in any dose and on any child- are so dangerous as to negate any temporary benefit, preferring behavioral and psychological interventions.
Stimulus Fading In this technique the sufferer is brought into a controlled environment with someone who they are at ease with and can communicate. Gradually another person is introduced into the situation involving a number of small steps.
These steps are often done in separate stages in which case it is called the sliding-in technique, where a new person is slid into the talking group. This can take a relatively long time for the first one or two faded in people.
Desensitization The subject is allowed to communicate via non-direct means to prepare them mentally for the next step. This might include email, instant messaging, Webchat, until they are in a position to try more direct communication.
Drug treatments Some practitioners believe that there is evidence indicating that antidepressants such as fluoxetine (prozac) may be effective in treating children with selective mutism. Though many in the medical community believe that psychiatric medications decrease the anxiety levels enough to allow communication to take place in cases of selective mutism, other practitioners and activists (see articles on Peter Breggin and David Healy (psychiatrist)) stringently decry any use of psychiatric medications on children and note the lack of medical proof of genetic links to behavioral disorders. The denunciation of psychotropic intervention on children with behavioral anxiety disorders has intensified particularly since lawsuits against several drug companies—current to 2005—have exposed previously unseen internal research documents linking fluoxetine and other SSRI antidepressants with increased risk of suicide, psychosis and—ironically enough—damage to areas of the brain which could affect language production and normal social development. Prozac redirects here. ...
Peter R. Breggin is a controversial psychiatrist from the United States. ...
David Healy is an Irish psychiatrist who is currently Reader in Psychological Medicine at Cardiff University College of Medicine, Wales. ...
Cultural references - (1948) The Makioka Sisters, a novel by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki, is published in Japan, its characters modeled upon real members of the author's third wife's family. The distinctively 'shy' character of Yukiko, who challenges her family with a stubborn refusal to marry, is based on a sister who may have had selective mutism.
- (c. 1985) In the cartoon Care Bears, Secret Bear appears to be selectively mute and verbally communicates only with Friend Bear by whispering in her ear. He mimes his words to all other characters.
- (1987) In A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors the character Joey Crusel is selectively mute; his scream kills Freddy. In the sequel, he appears to be over it.
- (1993) In the film The Piano, the main character, Ada McGrath, is a selective mute.
- (2000) The title character of Dori Jones Yang's novel The Secret Voice of Gina Zhang has selective mutism.
- (c. 2001) In the Disney Channel original series Lizzie McGuire the character Lenny Onassis, a friend of Matt McGuire, is selectively mute and only communicates to Matt.
- (2001) The song "She's Given Up Talking" by Paul McCartney (from the album Driving Rain) conforms almost perfectly to a clinical description of selective mutism in childhood, describing a young girl who is mute at school yet normally talkative at home ("When she comes home it's a yap yap yap/ words start to flow like water from a tap").
- In Torey Hayden's book, "Ghost Girl", the young girl Jadie is a selective mute, and will only talk at home or to Torey. She is in 'special education' yet only Torey helps her to talk to everyone.
The Makioka Sisters (細雪 Sasameyuki lit. ...
This is a Japanese name; the family name is Tanizaki JunichirÅ Tanizaki , 24 July 1886—30 July 1965) was a Japanese author who was one of the major writers of modern Japanese literature, and remains perhaps the most popular Japanese novelist after Natsume SÅseki. ...
The ten original Care Bears in the logo for the 1980s franchise, with Tenderheart Bear at top. ...
This article is about the film. ...
Corrina, Corrina is a 1994 feature film, starring Whoopi Goldberg, Ray Liotta and Tina Majorino. ...
Majorino in Napoleon Dynamite, 2004 Tina Marie Majorino[1] (born February 7, 1985) is an American film and television actress. ...
Lizzie McGuire is a Disney Channel Original Series that aired on the Disney Channel from 2001 - 2004. ...
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE (born 18 June 1942) is an Academy Award-winning English singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who first gained worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles. ...
Driving Rain is an album by Paul McCartney, recorded and released in 2001. ...
Torey Hayden (born 1951 in Livingston, Montana, USA) is a child psychologist, special education teacher, university lecturer and writer who has written books about children under her care. ...
List of well-known selective mute people - Seung-Hui Cho, who is known for the Virginia Tech massacre, was diagnosed with selective mutism in middle school.
- Richard Don Rauch had a case of Selective Mutism. He was born on January 10, 1977 from Garland, Texas.
Korean pronunciation (IPA) : English pronunciation (IPA) : [1] Seung-Hui Cho[2] (January 18, 1984 – April 16, 2007) was a student at Virginia Tech who committed the mass murder of 32 people[3] and wounded 25 others[4] in the shooting rampage known as the Virginia Tech massacre. ...
Notes - ^ http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Health/story?id=794677&page=1
See also June and Jennifer Gibbons (born April 11, 1963) were twins born to a military family from Barbados, whose story is a curious case involving psychology and language. ...
In humans, shyness is the feeling of apprehension or lack of confidence experienced in regard to social association with others, e. ...
Social anxiety is an experience of fear, apprehension or worry regarding social situations and being evaluated by others. ...
Torey Hayden (born 1951 in Livingston, Montana, USA) is a child psychologist, special education teacher, university lecturer and writer who has written books about children under her care. ...
Other Organisations - SMIRA (Selective Mutism Information and Research Association) (UK)
- SMG-CAN (Selective Mutism Group Childhood Anxiety Network) www.selectivemutism.org
| WHO ICD-10 mental and behavioural disorders (F · 290–319) | | Neurological/symptomatic | Dementia (Alzheimer's disease, multi-infarct dementia, Pick's disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, AIDS dementia complex, Frontotemporal dementia) · Delirium · Post-concussion syndrome | | Psychoactive substance | Intoxication (drunkenness) · Physical dependence (alcohol dependence, opioid dependency, cocaine dependence) · Withdrawal (benzodiazepine withdrawal, delirium tremens) ·
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behavioural | Eating disorder (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa) · Sleep disorder (dyssomnia, insomnia, hypersomnia, parasomnia, night terror, nightmare) ·
Sexual dysfunction (erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, vaginismus, dyspareunia, hypersexuality) · Postpartum depression | Adult personality
and behaviour | Personality disorder · Passive-aggressive behavior · Kleptomania · Trichotillomania · Voyeurism · Factitious disorder · Munchausen syndrome · Ego-dystonic sexual orientation | | Mental retardation | Mental retardation | Psychological development
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Pervasive: Autism · Rett syndrome · Asperger syndrome | Behavioural and emotional,
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