Table of Contents

Acknowledgements. Foreword. Jean Gross, CBE, Government's Former Communication Champion for Children. 1. Introducing Selective Mutism and an Overview of Approaches. Alice Sluckin, OBE, Chair and Founder of SMIRA, Retired Senior Psychiatric Social Worker and Benita Rae Smith, Retired Speech and Language Therapist and Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology and Therapy. Part I: Current Understanding of Selective Mutism. 2. Selective Mutism in Children: Changing Perspectives Over Half a Century. Tony Cline, Co-Director of the CPD Doctorate in Educational Psychology, University College London, Visiting Professor, University of Bedfordshire & Patron of SMIRA. 3. Silent Voices: Listening to Some Young People with Selective Mutism and Their Parents. Victoria Roe, Vice-Chair of SMIRA, Retired Teacher and SENCO. 4. Setting up a Support Network: Selective Mutism Information & Research Association (SMIRA) – A Brief History. Alice Sluckin, OBE, Chair and Founder of SMIRA, Retired Senior Psychiatric Social Worker, Lindsay Whittington, Co-Founder and Co-Ordinator of SMIRA and Benita Rae Smith, Retired Speech and Language Therapist and Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology and Therapy. Part II: Related and Co-morbid Conditions. 5. Selective Mutism and Communication Disorders: Exploring Co-morbidity. Hilary Cleator, Specialist Speech Pathologist working in Australia. 6. Exploring the Relationship of Selective Mutism to Autism Spectrum Disorder. Alison Wintgens, Retired Consultant Speech and Language Therapist, Advisor on Selective Mutism to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and SMIRA. 7. Selective Mutism and Stammering: Similarities and Differences. Jenny Packer, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust. Part III: Interventions, Strategies and Supports. 8. Is Medication Helpful in Selective Mutism? One Family's Experience and a Clinical Overview. Geoffrey Gibson, Lecturer, University of Hull and SM Supporter and Dr David Bramble, Consultant Child and Adolescent Learning Disability Psychiatrist, Shropshire Community Health Services NHS Trust. 9. Successful Approaches to Selective Mutism in School and Community Settings. Jyoti Sharma, Play Interaction Specialist and Autism Outreach Worker, Leicester City Council, Jane Kay, Targeted Support Youth Advisor, Youth and Family Support Service, Children, Family and Adult Services, East Riding of Yorkshire Council, Susan Johnson, SENCO, Leicestershire and Benita Rae Smith, Retired Speech and Language Therapist and Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology and Therapy. 10. Successful Combined Home and School Approaches to Selective Mutism. Alice Sluckin, OBE, Chair and Founder of SMIRA, Retired Senior Psychiatric Social Worker and SMIRA Parents. 11. Effective Care Pathways for Selective Mutism. Maggie Johnson, Specialist Speech and Language Therapist and Educational Consultant, Advisor on Selective Mutism to the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and SMIRA, Kent, Miriam Jemmett, Highly Specialist Speech and Language Therapist, East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust and Charlotte Firth, Advanced Clinical Specialist SLT, for Specific Language Impairment and Selective Mutism, York Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. 12. Approaches to Selective Mutism in Other Languages. Alice Sluckin, OBE, Chair and Founder of SMIRA, Retired Senior Psychiatric Social Worker, Benita Rae Smith, Retired Speech and Language Therapist and Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology and Therapy, Nitza Katz-Bernstein, Visiting Professor, Tel-Aviv University, Department of Communication Disorders, Israel and Krems-Donau University, Austria and Keiko Kakuta, Clinical Psychologist, Sanda Municipal Hospital, Hygo, Japan. 13. Music Therapy and the Path into Speech. Kate Jones, Chief Music Therapist and Researcher, Music Therapy Lambeth. 14. Teaching Confidence to Teenagers. Rosemary Sage, Professor of Education, Dean of Academic Affairs, College of Teachers, Institute of Education, University College London. 15. Legal Issues in Selective Mutism: What Support is a Child Entitled to?. Denise Lanes, Retired Specialist Teacher and Benita Rae Smith, Retired Speech and Language Therapist and Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology and Therapy. Part IV. Conclusion. 16. Recovery from Selective Mutism: Testimonies from Families No Longer Affected by Selective Mutism. Alice Sluckin, OBE, Chair and Founder of SMIRA, Retired Senior Psychiatric Social Worker, Katie Herbert, Mina Clark and a SMIRA parent. 17. Summary and Recommendations for the Future. Alice Sluckin, OBE, Chair and Founder of SMIRA, Retired Senior Psychiatric Social Worker and Benita Rae Smith, Retired Speech and Language Therapist and Senior Lecturer in Speech Pathology and Therapy. Appendix. Selective Mutism in Adults. Carl Sutton, PhD, Co-ordinator of ispeak.org.uk Support Network. References. Resources. Index.

Promotional Information

Expert knowledge and personal stories on how to tackle selective mutism

About the Author

Maggie Johnson is a speech and language therapist and educational consultant specialising in childhood communication disorders and selective mutism. With thirty years' experience in education and community settings, Maggie works closely with families and schools in East Kent and provides training and workshops for schools, parents and health professionals across the UK and abroad. She lives in Ramsgate, UK.

Reviews

Tackling Selective Mutism highlights the need for multi-disciplinary treatment and delivers the structure for successful collaborations and interventions. Providing many different perspectives on the diagnosis, treatment, and experience of those with selective mutism, this is a must-read for parents and professionals!
*Aimee Kotrba, PhD, clinical psychologist, President of the Selective Mutism Group, USA and Owner of Thriving Minds Behavioral Health*

This book provides a wise and thoughtful account of the numerous practical challenges involved in the provision of services for individuals with selective mutism, as well as helpful guides on how these challenges may be best met.
*Professor Sir Michael Rutter, Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London*

Tackling Selective Mutism is a comprehensive and holistic guide for professionals and parents with valuable contributions by professionals, practitioners families and their children... A case study approach is crafted across chapters, giving authenticity and voices that come alive... Four part of the book reflect current understandings of mutism and communication difficulties, support, intervention strategies and future developments.
*Education Today*

A very powerful perspective is offered by the personal accounts from children, young adults and their families highlighting the impact of SM, their journey to gain appropriate support and the positive accounts of those who have overcome SM... The book offers an international perspective on treatment approaches as well as offering information about effective care pathways and the importance of multi-agency approaches to assessment and intervention... This book provides a wealth of information about SM and is an insightful read for professionals and families.
*Afasic News*

There are not many books that can be recommended to families and professionals alike but this book would be useful to both as it gives insight from the child's perspective... This book therefore provides a well rounded view of the effects of SM and the factors which may inadvertently reinforce the continuation of the selective mutism... The book is a wealth of useful information around the topic and pulls together a range of research and influential people in the field. It would be useful to both parents and professionals alike.
*NAPLIC Matters*

This book is edited by two experts who have brought together research and practice in a manner that can be useful to anyone who has dealings with a child who in certain situations (often at school) is persistently mute but uses spoken language in other situations ... Many voices - those of children and young people, their families and professionals (speech and language therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists, educators, music therapists)- are included and offer a variety of perspectives... The book also includes an extensive list of references and a useful resource list.
All in all, this is an important book that brings together much that is of interest to anyone who works with children and young people with SM
*Red Reading Hub blog*

This book is a useful resource on a number of levels. It highlights the need to recognise SM earlier, to raise awareness of the condition in nursery and primary school staff, and to provide early and appropriate intervention and support... Chapters are written by different professional including educational professionals and psychologists, speech and language therapists, social workers, and youth and play workers... the authors also highlight the long-term impact of SM on social experiences of making friends, building up experiences of the subtle art of social interaction, and the influence and impact of this throughout adolescence and on to successful adult relationships...range of approaches are described and highlighted with insightful case studies... It also offers some really useful and creative ideas together with structures and sensitive approaches for working with children and young people with anxiety... Non-verbal play, role-play and interaction are used to elicit communication in a playful way... It provides thought-provoking chapters as to how we might approach our work with children with SM and what music therapy could offer them and their families, as well as the teams and institutions that we work within.
*British Journal of Music Therapy*