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Children's mental health should be a priority, as they are mostly incapable of expressing their problems. Selective mutism can be one such issue. It is a severe anxiety disorder that prevents children from speaking in certain social situations. It is essential to diagnose this condition to avoid future complications.
Do you wish to find out about selective mutism? Then, keep reading this article for a comprehensive guide.
Selective mutism is a condition that occurs when children fail to express themselves in a particular setting with people that they are not comfortable with. They start feeling anxious in such a situation, which can harm their mental health.
Children often feel free to talk and open up to their parents, friends and close relatives. However, when they meet strangers or distant relatives, they feel awkward and embarrassed to talk to them. If this condition is neglected, it might impair their overall communication and socialisation skills. It can also hamper their mental health issues with extreme anxiety and panic from a young age.
It is important to know about the symptoms of selective mutism to diagnose and treat it at an early stage. Here are some of the symptoms which prove the possibilities of this condition.
If your child shows these symptoms, do not hesitate to visit a psychologist for quick counselling sessions and try to diagnose the problem. It can escalate faster if left unattended.
It might be tricky to understand the exact causes of selective mutism, as it is a condition that has developed since childhood. Some of the causes are as follows:
Children suffering from selective mutism disorder are likely to face the following risks.
The diagnosis of selective mutism depends on the ability of the parents and family members to notice their children and take proper steps at the right time.
If parents observe children avoiding communication and social gatherings, they need to start observing them for at least a month. Then, if the problem persists, they must visit a speech and language therapy clinic.
The therapist will discuss the condition of the children with the parents before directly talking with them. They are likely to ask questions about the following:
After analysing these issues, the therapist will decide on the child's health condition. For example, if the therapist feels the child suffers from SM, the treatment procedure will begin accordingly.
The treatment of selective mutism depends on multiple factors. These are as follows:
Here are the common types of treatment used for healing children from SM.
This therapy allows individuals to focus on their thoughts regarding themselves and the world. It uses graded exposure to challenge the common fear and paranoia in the patients. While younger children can also benefit from this therapy, it is more appropriate for slightly older children undergoing adolescence. Here, the therapist will ask questions about children's feelings when they undergo anxiety and offer coping strategies.
As the name suggests, this therapy aims to understand the patients' behavioural issues and solve them. Instead of examining a child’s past or thoughts, the theorists analyse their current behaviour. They replace bad habits with good ones and reinforce desired behaviour. They must understand the problems causing problematic behaviour and manage the same.
In this type of therapy, therapists deal with situations that cause the least anxiety and slowly move deeper. For instance, if children feel anxious about talking to strangers over the telephone, therapists ask them to do the same. This way, they learn that these activities are not necessarily stressful and get a hold of their feelings.
In this type of therapy, children start talking with their parents or anyone close to them. The therapist joins the conversation. As the child gets comfortable, the parents leave, and the therapist takes over. This way, they learn to open up and interact with strangers.
Finally, medicines can be a great way to treat SM. This is more appropriate for teenagers than young children. Therapists might suggest antidepressants if they feel the children are having a hard time. However, the dosage is usually mild. Moreover, they mainly prefer a change in the environment to bring changes rather than focusing on medicines.
It is up to the parents to monitor their children's behaviour over time. Before consulting a doctor, they must observe if they are showing symptoms of SM. They need to cut some slacks for children with speech and hearing impairments.
They must contact professionals if they feel the children are disinterested and withdrawn from social gatherings for a long time. Then, psychologists and counsellors will be the right option for starting the treatment.
There are no specific means of preventing secretive mutism in children. However, the best parents can do is to ensure a safe and healthy environment for them. Children who do not face any anxiety, fear or paranoia are less likely to develop SM. Moreover, they need to check if the children face intimidation or fear in schools and classrooms and try to eliminate such possibilities. This might help them prevent SM in children.
Therefore, selective mutism in children is a burning issue. As this article pointed out, it is important to diagnose and treat this condition to avoid any complications in future. Parents have a pivotal role in dealing with such conditions among children. They need to monitor the children's behaviour to identify its symptoms before seeking treatment.
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Disclaimer #2: This information is added only for informative purposes and collected from different sources across the Internet. Digit Insurance is not promoting or recommending anything here. Please verify the information before making any decisions.
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