What Is Infantile Selective Mutism?
The condition known as selective mutism is more common than we think. It happens suddenly to many children, but not all parents recognize it as a disease. It is a situation that leads children to remain mute in different contexts.
Sometimes it happens that a child, even when he knows how to speak, prefers to be silent in certain places. It is a childhood anxiety disorder that is usually diagnosed around the age of 5 or 6, although it usually appears earlier. Early detection of it by a specialist and good monitoring will avoid chronic symptoms.
The way we treat our children when these episodes occur is not always correct. It can stress us out and make us lose patience. However, psychologists point out that it is in fact a disorder that must be treated to avoid complications. That is, if we stop acting in relation to selective mutism, this can become more serious.
Specialists suggest that we go to a professional when we notice the symptoms of this condition. Next, we will tell you how selective mutism manifests itself and how to act in this case.
Symptoms of infantile selective mutism
Psychologists explain that selective mutism not only manifests itself with having isolated episodes in which the child does not want to speak. Other signs indicate that you are suffering from this condition. Among the main ones we have:
- Anxiety in the presence of strangers or people with whom you do not deal regularly.
- Shy most of the time.
- Total inability or difficulty to speak in certain contexts, for example when arriving at school, in the park and in public places in general. However, at home it is a child who shows the ability to speak and socialize with close people.
To be sure that it is this disorder, it is necessary to observe the child act in this way for more than a month. In this sense, it is possible to confuse the symptoms if they are his first days of school or when he is integrating to a new environment.
It is normal for some little ones to act shy or seem unwilling to speak in certain settings. The real problem occurs when the behavior is repeated and sustained for months.
How to treat it properly?
The key to helping our children overcome selective mutism is in the way we deal with these episodes. It is essential to be tactful and always act with affection to avoid causing psychological damage and aggravating any inconvenience that may arise.
It is recommended to go immediately to a specialist and seek responsible help. In addition to this, parents should consider the following guidelines:
- E quilibrar social relationships of the child, for it must be relevant personal conditions. In this regard, it is convenient that family and close friends are aware of the problem, so that they can collaborate to overcome it.
- Encourage study groups, invite friends of your liking and try to share mainly with children of their age.
- A determining factor in the solution is to strengthen the child’s self-esteem. For this, it is advisable to avoid overprotection, which can limit your self-confidence. Letting him do small tasks on his own will help you to have confidence in his abilities; In addition, they will be the topic of conversation.
- Openly valuing the merits of your child helps him to be aware that everyone knows his qualities, and that, therefore, he is respected,
- Adapting the conversation between parents and children is essential in these cases. Listen to him carefully so that he is confident and interested in talking to you. Sometimes our children do not speak to us because they assume in advance that we are not paying attention to them, and perhaps we are.
- Motivation when you do well is just as important as when you fail. It is advisable to avoid criticism before its failures. Let us remember that our purpose is to encourage them to act and get out of their silence, not to seek perfection.
- Comparisons with siblings or other children are detrimental in these cases. Let him speak when he wants and not because he has to do the same as others.
And of course, avoid labeling him “shy” if he has been diagnosed with the disorder. Labels are as harmful as pressure and repression.
