This article is a written transcript of the course, “Selective Mutism: Comprehensive Management”, presented by Robert Thompson, Ph.D., CCC-SLP on November 10, 2011.
>> Amy: Good morning, everybody. Today’s event is entitled, “Selective Mutism: Comprehensive Management” by Robert Thompson. Dr. Robert Thompson earned his Ph.D. in Communication Disorders at the University of Oklahoma and has been a professor at the University of Texas Edinburg, University of Oklahoma and Northeastern State University, Oklahoma. He was director of speech‑language-hearing for 16 years at Tulsa Children's Medical Center, a psychiatric and pediatric hospital. Currently he is a consultant to Developmental Pediatrics, Hillcrest Medical Center Tulsa and to Pediatrics, W.W. Hastings Indian Hospital Tahlequah of the Cherokee Nation. He presented on selected mutism throughout the United States and national associations of Canada, Australia and New Zealand and at 2004 Congress of the International Congress of Logopedics and Phoniatrics. So welcome back, Dr. Thompson, and thank you so much for sharing your expertise with us today. (applause)
>> Robert: Thank you very much for the introduction, Ms. Hansen. I'm looking forward to today's presentation because it is very, very current on mutism. Just a little aside, in regard to selective mutism:
- It is a psychiatric classification. It is not just a kid who's a little ornery or a little difficult to manage. It is self-imposed silence.
- The mutism is not the only problem I see in my patients. I think most people that work with the children will report the same observation.
This is a very complex situation where children present many associated features and also may have co-morbid psychiatric diagnosis. For example, yesterday I saw a five‑and‑a‑half‑year‑old girl. Her parents contacted me because she has been silent in school for a year and a half. My diagnosis on her indicates the comprehensive way I have to deal with her as a patient. She’s a selective mute with a lot of associated features. Her parents report she is a very, very picky eater - she will “only eat dairy foods.” She is also difficult with regard to getting to sleep. The parents have to lay down with her every night and she wants to sleep with them often. She throws a lot of tantrums and is very compulsive. Her mother mentions she must wear black every day. She refuses to eat anything but a baloney sandwich at lunch. She will never eat anything else. Mother says, “If I don't give her a baloney sandwich, she won't eat.” The child is very controlling.
