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Selective Mutism

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Handbook of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders

Abstract

Selective mutism is a persistent and debilitating condition in which a child fails to speak in public situations where speaking is expected. Children with selective mutism often speak well in familiar situations such as home but do not speak to people in public situations such as parks, shopping malls, restaurants, and school. Failure to speak must last at least 1 month. A diagnosis of selective mutism does not generally apply to youths with a communication disorder such as stuttering or to youths who lack comfort or knowledge with the primary language spoken in public situations (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Selective mutism thus does not generally apply to new immigrants or to youths whose parents are non-English speakers, though prevalence of selective mutism among established immigrants may be elevated compared with the general population (Elizur & Perednik, 2003; Krysanski, 2003; Vecchio & Kearney, 2007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, 89154-5030, USA

    Christopher A. Kearney

Authors
  1. Christopher A. Kearney
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  2. Courtney Haight
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  3. Timothy L. Day
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Correspondence to Christopher A. Kearney .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Psychology, Fordham University, East Fordham Road 441, Bronx, 10458, New York, USA

    Dean McKay

  2. , Departments of Pediatrics, Psychiatry, a, University of South Florida, Tampa, 33612, Florida, USA

    Eric A. Storch

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Kearney, C.A., Haight, C., Day, T.L. (2011). Selective Mutism. In: McKay, D., Storch, E. (eds) Handbook of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7784-7_19

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