Children should be seen and not heard, is an idiomatic saying often used. But how many people realise that there is a phobia called selective mutism which is more common among children than adults?
According to the NHS, selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder that prevents children speaking in certain social situations, such as school lessons or in public.
But these children are often able to speak freely to close family and friends when nobody else is listening. The NHS says it is important to understand that when the mutism happens, the child is not voluntarily refusing to speak but is literally unable to speak, feeling frozen. In time, they learn to anticipate the situations that provoke mutism and do all they can to avoid them.
The BBC says current estimates suggest one in 150 children in the UK have selective mutism. This falls to one in 1,000 with adolescents and one in 2,400 young adults. But the proportion of older adults with the condition is unknown.
Alison Wintgens, national adviser for selective mutism at the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, told the BBC that care for adults with the condition is ‘extremely under-researched, with a real deficiency of services because it so often falls under the radar’.
She describes selective mutism, in its simplest terms, as a ‘phobia of talking’.
Misinterpreting selective mutism as shyness is a common mistake, according to Wintgens, but psychologically the difference between the two can be pronounced.
She explains that shy people are generally ‘slow to warm up’, but are eventually likely to take part in conversations and situations.
But people with selective mutism ‘have a consistent and predictable pattern, finding it impossible to talk to the same people and in the same places’.
If untreated, according to Carl Sutton, founder of the support group iSpeak, ‘other anxiety disorders – such as agoraphobia – are very likely outcomes for adults’.
Treatment, says the NHS, does not focus on the speaking itself, but focuses on reducing the anxiety that your child has for speaking to and being overheard by people outside their immediate circle of family and friends.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH) has qualified and trained therapists across the UK who can help treat anxieties and phobias.
A hypnotherapist, by using hypnosis to relax the sufferer, can help identify the root of the underlying stress, whether it is a situation, a physical issue, a past experience or a relationship.
After this they will help the client reach desired speaking goals using a range of different techniques and by working with the client’s subconscious mind.
Treating an anxiety or phobia can take several sessions – sometimes around six sessions but the client usually feels more confident; more relaxed in situations that have previously been challenging. Many say they are calmer and that they have more clarity of thought – able to make decisions and speak more easily.