After skimming through People magazine I came to an article about a child who suffered from selective mutism. We’ve been talking about many different aspects of language but have not looked at those who are unable to utilize these aspects. With this being said I found the article on selective mutism to be very interesting and decided to look up more information on the subject.
Selective mutism, usually found in children, is not caused by misunderstanding language or not knowing how to speak well. Instead it is a psychiatric disorder where the child does not speak in major social settings for at least one month. They do however speak in other settings, most commonly in the home to their parents and a few others. This disorder becomes noticeable usually when the child enters school and is expected to speak in the classroom. It may be related to issues like extreme shyness or a phobia of social embarrassment or social settings but dramatically interferes with the daily life of the child. Forms of treatment include various medications in addition to behavioral treatments like desensitization, positive reinforcement and rewards.
People magazine presented a quote from the child suffering from selective mutism that states “When I try to speak, my bones feel like glass, my skin feels like paper, and my lips are glued shut.” I found this quote to be powerful and made me want to learn more. There are a lot of different websites for this condition but the one I found most helpful was
http://www.selectivemutismfoundation.org/about.shtml