Posted by Dinah on April 13, 2005, at 0:51:27
In reply to Selective mutism article, posted by fires on April 13, 2005, at 0:18:24
Do you have an interest in the area?
I've always enjoyed Torey Hayden's books in general, and since she later specialized in this area, many of her stories include the topic.
And there was a little girl in my first grade class who would whisper to me, but to no one else. My mother taught her the next year, took a compassionate rather than an angry approach, and enforced it among her students. No teasing was allowed. She was in a much better position to protect her than I was, although I really tried. By the end of the year, the girl was talking.
It's a shame that it used to be considered manipulation. That girl was no more manipulative than any first grader, probably less. She did seem depressed and anxious. It certainly didn't seem to be shyness per se. If I remember correctly, she only wore one dress to school, but it was always very clean. Unfortunately, parents were often blamed in those days for things that we now know weren't due to parenting - autism for example. I imagine that selective mutism is like many other things. It's a symptom that may have more than one cause. There's a name for that, but I can't recall it.
It's an interesting article though. Thanks for linking to it. It brought back fond memories of that sweet young girl. I found her picture the other day! I can't recall where, but I knew in an instant who it was. I hope she's doing ok, wherever she is.
And it also helped me remember one of the nicest things about my mother.
poster:Dinah
thread:483582
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050409/msgs/483598.html