Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

Is It Selective Mutism or Is My Child Just Shy?
  • USA - English


News provided by

MCPR, LLC

Aug 28, 2013, 03:00 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

Dr. Carly Orenstein
Dr. Carly Orenstein

These children are not willfully refusing to speak. They are actually unable to speak or communicate effectively in certain social settings, most notably school.

Post this

Parsippany, NJ (PRWEB) August 28, 2013 -- As another school year begins, it can be expected that some number of young children will approach the first day in the classroom with a fair amount of trepidation. For some, their shyness and anxiety will initially manifest itself in a failure to speak. But for a few – perhaps as many as 7 out of every 1,000 children – their silence will continue throughout the school year. These children may have a disorder known as selective mutism. “Children with selective mutism are fully capable of speaking and in fact generally communicate normally at home and in situations where they are relaxed and comfortable,” says Dr. Carly Orenstein, clinical psychologist with Morris Psychological Group. “These children are not willfully refusing to speak. They are actually unable to speak or communicate effectively in certain social settings, most notably school.”

Almost all children with selective mutism also have social anxiety disorders. While an inability to speak might not show up until a child is exposed to social situations – most are diagnosed between the ages of 3 and 8 – in hindsight, many of these children showed signs of severe anxiety, timidity and fearfulness as infants and toddlers but were simply thought to be shy. They are often talkative and even boisterous at home but fearful and anxious in settings where there is the expectation of social interaction and communication. Some freeze in these situations and are expressionless, withdrawn and completely mute with both peers and adults while others seem relaxed and are able to communicate with a few select children, sometimes in a whisper.

Causes
It is thought that most children with selective mutism have inherited a predisposition to anxiety. Some affected children have one or more family members with a history of selective mutism, extreme shyness or anxiety disorders. It has been hypothesized that the timidity and fearfulness that characterize individuals with anxiety disorders is caused by a low threshold of excitability in the amygdala, a part of the brain involved in controlling emotional responses. When the child is in an uncomfortable or fearful scenario, the nervous system sends danger signals to the amygdala, which sets off a protective reaction, manifested in these children as withdrawal from the social situation. About 20-30% of children with selective mutism have speech or language abnormalities that place additional stress on the child and increase the anxiety in situations where there is an expectation to speak.

Tips for Parents
“Children with selective mutism should not be expected to simply grow out of it,” says Dr. Orenstein. “The earlier a child is diagnosed and treated, the better the prognosis. Left untreated, the mutism may become habitual and those around the child will stop expecting him or her to speak, reinforcing the social isolation and increasing the child's anxiety.”

Dr. Orenstein advises parents who suspect selective mutism as follows:
• Do not pressure the child to speak. Convey understanding of the child's fear and frustration and let him or her know that you can help. Offer positive reinforcement of the child's efforts and successes.
• Excluding the first month or so of school, if the child's failure to speak in specific situations continues for more than a month, talk to your pediatrician or consult a psychologist or psychiatrist. An experienced professional will be able to differentiate selective mutism from other disorders for which it is sometimes mistaken, including autism.
• The goal of treatment is to reduce the child's anxiety and build up his or her confidence in social situations. There are several therapeutic approaches that have been successful, including behavioral therapy, in which the child is gradually introduced to social environments in a non-threatening way; and cognitive behavioral therapy, in which the child's fear and anxiety are redirected to positive thoughts. The appropriate therapy for each child will depend on individual factors such as age, other conditions that may be present, and the duration and severity of mutism.
• Avoid any treatment plan that sees the child's behavior as controlling or manipulative and recommends a disciplinary or punitive approach. This will only increase the child's anxiety and reinforce the mutism.

“The most important thing for parents to realize is that selective mutism is caused by anxiety,” Dr. Orenstein concludes. “Pressure to speak from parents, teachers and peers simply intensifies the child's fears and makes things worse. But with early intervention and a supportive environment, children can successfully overcome selective mutism.”

Dr. Carly Orenstein is a clinical psychologist with the Morris Psychological Group in Parsippany, NJ who practices cognitive-behavior therapy with children, adolescents and adults through individual, family and group therapy. http://www.morrispsych.com

Melissa Chefec, MCPR, LLC, http://www.mcprpublicrelations.com, +1 (203) 968-6625, [email protected]

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.