Tackling Selective Mutism by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780857997612
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Published: 2014-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

The story of Peter1

TOLD BY ALICE ON THE BASIS OF HIS FATHER’S ACCOUNT

Several of the SM children whose parents have approached SMIRA have had other diagnosed conditions. Peter was such a child.

At birth, he was found to have a cleft lip and palate, a condition that occurs once in 600 to 700 births (Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists 2006; McWilliams, Morris and Shelton 1990; Watson 2001).

This necessitated a repair operation soon after birth, followed by several other admissions to hospital. Cleft palate can interfere with articulation and there is a greatly increased risk of ‘glue ear’ due to malformation of the Eustacian tubes. At 18 months Peter had grommets inserted into his eardrums, and his response to hearing better was dramatic. He quickly learnt to speak, with a good vocabulary in English and Spanish, his mother’s native language.

However, on starting nursery aged three, he did not speak to his teacher or peers, even though he appeared to enjoy being with the other children. He continued not speaking on transfer to primary school. At home he spoke fluently to the family, as well as to visitors. The parents reported no other problems.

As no one at school was able to offer help for Peter, his parents became increasingly concerned for him. By chance, they happened to come across the term ‘Selective Mutism’ in a Local Authority booklet on special needs, and learnt about our charity SMIRA which was said to help the parents of affected children. The parents contacted us and were given our handouts which explained that SM was, in most cases, likely to be caused by anxiety about speaking at school, and that children could be helped by teachers and parents working together using a step-by-step approach.

Peter’s father then suggested to the teacher that they should put into operation a step-by-step programme to help the boy overcome his fear of talking at school. The father said he was willing to join his son’s class for three half-hour reading sessions each week and both the teacher and the boy were happy about this plan. Initially, the father saw Peter alone and the boy only managed to whisper in his ear, but after only two weeks he was able to read out loud in a corner of the classroom as long as they were alone. After a while, Peter agreed that one of his classmates could join them, but became silent when this happened. However, after only another two weeks, he began to use a normal voice in this boy’s presence. Gradually, more children were introduced, and Peter eventually managed to read and talk in groups of four or five classmates. At this stage an ancillary teacher joined this small group, although she did nothing active at first. After two terms Peter was able to read and speak even when the teacher was leading the group and his father could leave without affecting his confidence and willingness to take part.

Peter’s progress in the small group continued steadily, but at a frustratingly slow pace.

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