Selective mutism/ Binah magazine

amother

Khaki

Thu, Jun 11 2015, 11:36 pm

I have a son with selective mutism and read the article in Binah about it a few months ago and found it informative, if not helpful...
In this weeks Binah, there is a letter to the ed from a Shaindel Cohen who (I googled) is somewhat of a sm specialist. I have tried calling her but never got through... The part of her letter that was most disturbing (at least to me) was that she claims she can cure sm in 2 weeks. Has anyone here gone to her? Is this true? I have done a lot of research over the years and I was always told it takes a lot of time.
I wish she had been interviewed or given some tips. I feel so desperate at times. Any advice??

amother

Emerald

Fri, Jun 12 2015, 1:15 am

I've treated kids with sm successfully. Depending on the child the treatment can be short, but I'm talking 3-4omths , never two weeks. I'm sorry but I don't think it's possible considering all the anxiety that accompanies sd. I think that your best bet is to go with someone who does more of a behavioral approach, especially if the kid is very young.

amother

Blue

Fri, Jun 12 2015, 1:43 am

I didn't answer the poll because none of the answers were appropriate for me. I have 2 kids who suffered from selective mutism, one extremely severe, and BH both of them are fine now. But it took months for them to improve, not a couple of weeks.

seeker

Fri, Jun 12 2015, 3:22 am

If I understood the letter correctly, she did not say the condition could be CURED in 2 weeks - she said the child should be talking within that time frame. She did not say how much talking. I think her main point was that talking would be her first goal, whereas other approaches suggest building up to it gradually, starting with nonverbal communication, etc. Her opinion seemed to be that this sets the child up for continuing difficulty since it not only isn't normal communication, but you're making an issue out of it so the child feels more like "a kid with an issue" because they get the message that they can't/shouldn't be expected to communicate normally.

I do not have extensive experience with SM but in theory this does make sense to me. My professional experience was limited to a short subbing position with a young child with SM and I had very little training or support in how to approach it - all I really knew is that it's an anxiety thing so for the few weeks I was on the case I focused on trying to make the school environment as relaxing/un-stressed and positive as possible for the child. By the time his real provider came back, he was talking to me in school in a very quiet voice but only when others were not present. I would not have expected more progress than that in a couple of weeks, but as I said I am far from expert on this and did not have a specific targeted technique for this.

water_bear88

Fri, Jun 12 2015, 6:34 am

I didn't answer the poll because I also have known exactly two people (both grown now) who suffered from selective mutism as children. I'm very skeptical of a 2-week cure, though if what she's promising is to have the kid talking to her by the end of two weeks, it might be possible.

amother

Saddlebrown

Fri, Jun 12 2015, 8:02 am

My son suffered badly from selective mutism (spoke ONLY to my husband and me and that too only limited) not to his siblings, his grandparents, classmates, cousins etc.
He also sufferes/ed from some psychological isssues and needed combination of meds and therapy which he refused for along time (it also took me quite a while to agree to meds)
Once he started with both it took about two months for thim to start talking. And nowadays he is bH ok in that area (sadly not in other areas, yet) the only time it happens again is if someone hurts his feelings, then he will clam up completely.
Two week cure? I'd like to see that hocus pocus. Unless she meant as someone here said -first results maybe. But that also depends on how many times a week she meets with the patient...

amother

Amber

Fri, Jun 12 2015, 8:29 am

My three year old had it in school. BH she got better!

My daughter kind of froze when addressed directly. She participated with the class but her voice was missing completely and her demeanor was stunted.

Her teachers are especially devoted and kind. They accepted her completely and also reached out to her. She also gets therapy in school. And the barrier came down. Now she is her real self in school, talking and playing her heart out.

She is having a graduation soon and I kinda think she will freeze. We shall see. I think I will prepare her that whatever she feels is okay and that mommy loves her!

amother

Amethyst

Fri, Jun 12 2015, 4:57 pm

I took a course given by shaindel cohen a couple of years ago. At the time, I was teaching 3rd grade and had a sm student. Student's mom sponsored the course so I can learn techniques. When she refers to 2 week success, it mainly applies to pre school kids as they are young and easily adapt to her methods. My student was talking after 3 months of consistently following mrs. Cohen's method, albeit altered a bit to fit appropriately into a 3rd grade classroom setup. I also added othrr methods I thought would work well together and bh the kid finally gave way and started talking..