Selective Mutism Question

Post Reply New Topic

Woodpeace,

The eMedicine article of Asperger's states the Selective Mutism quote I posted.

strange, i was going to ask a similar question myself

there are a few people, my sister, my roommate, that i can just talk with nonstop for hours. I can talk about anything and everything with them. Other people, when I'm around them i just can't come up with anything to say. I can't even explain it, but somehow all i can manage to do is sit and watch the tv. I know in some cases it happens around people who are abnoxious. I hate abnoxious people. They're just so annoying and rarely have anything interesting to say.

My brother has no problems talking around people he can't talk to, he just won't talk to them. Often they don't even realise he doesn't talk to them these days, as he's worked out that if you smile and bat your eyelashes people assume you're communicating and you don't need to speak. Little ratbag.

His was picked up when he started school, though he was doing it since nursery school. From what I understand it usually starts at a young age, and it's virtually always anxiety-related. Perhaps not to the person as such, but to the situation, or to something they remind the person of. It's a very distinct and fairly obvious condition, though it is a little weird! (But then, weird isn't unusual round these parts. ).

When I am depressed I become mute. Its as though there is a block stopping me from communicating. Last time I was depressed I couldnt even ask a simple question to the technician at work (like where was a certain thing I needed) and she is one of the easiest people to talk to. It wasnt a simple anxiety - I didnt feel scared, it was just far too much effort to make words come out. At those times I normally stop talking to everyone to a certain extent, although it is easier with people I know well. Even now, there are many people in my lab who I dont communicate with all day, apart from the obligatory hello, unless they ask me a question. I have gone days without speaking more than a hello, just because I have nothing to say and it seems pointless to come out with inanities. I found though that when I was on antipsychotics, my mutism disappeared completely - the block was no longer there and I could chatter on to most people and even want to talk. Strange.

I did'nt talk untill i was about 4 and i wonder if it was selective mutism because i can now talk ok unless its social with a group.I wish i could see all my reports from when i was younger and my speech therapy reports but i keep getting told that my medical records are to old to track down ect.All i have been told is that my social worker discribed me as having an autistic like personality and also describing me as an absent minded proffessor and they suspected it could be autism.I spent time in special needs and in an assesment nursery and want to know what happened.I think they may of said i could'nt be diagnosed because i'd been neglected.
My mother got blamed for me not crying,they said i was proberly left so long i had stopped crying altogether.Im not sure my mother was as bad as was made out with neglect and wonder if there has been a slight cover up.I came across as kanner autistic when i was really young,i think being put into care might of made me seem autistic rather than an aspie and or even the social worker exaggerated for the courts avoiding a diagnosis as that would alter the court case.

When I am stressed out I don't really become mute (as in not speaking at all), but it seems like it becomes very hard to translate thoughts into speech.

I was a select mute for 14 years. I was very quiet at school, but talked at home. I was a bit freaked out by strangers too, so wouldn't talk to them. I'd just stare or look at my feet.

Some of the things you are describing (not all of you) are not really like selective mutism, it might be more general social anxiety (or plain old ASD). I'm not trying to be mean or anything, honest!

I have suffered for years with selective mutism. Like described, I can talk for blooming England when I am okay and 'safe' within my comfort zone, but in difficult situations, I used to just completely stop talking. It was not something I did out of choice. I didn't always find the situation was causing it, but I would just stop. I would make attempts sometimes to speak to a person and all that would come out was breath or occasionally a whimper. I would then have a meltdown or cry due to my inability to express myself.

This used to happen all the time when I was young, but nowadays I just find that when I have something REALLY important I need to talk about, I just can't physically do it and I get very upset and cry then no one understands why I am crying. It's a horrible thing to have. Thankfully, I am slowly overcoming it.

_________________
I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

I've had moments where I've found myself completely unable to speak, usually when I'm overwhelmed.

As a child I did not always speak. Sometimes I opted not to, other times I could not make myself speak no matter how badly I wanted to. There are still times when I cannot speak... usually if I am in a new environment and suddenly asked a question that I was not expecting. This happened to me a few months back when I went with my husband to see his therapist. I was under the impression that I was there to discuss how he behaves. They think he is bipolar and he disagrees so the therapist wanted input from someone close to him. She was asking me about him and then suddenly started asking me about myself and if I have friends and how I relate to them and I could not follow her words and I could not speak. I wanted to ask her to repeat herself and ask one question at a time. I wanted to ask why she was suddenly asking about me as it seemed random and off topic. She just stared at me and I could not even get the word "what" out.

I have never been in a situation like that.

interesting. I'd never heard of selective mutism before, but it could explain my inability to verbalize in certain conditions. I think I'll ask the neuropsychologist about it next week because it always bothered me that in certain situations I could not formulate words when I felt I needed to. it was different than just being scared to speak in a large group, which I dislike very much because I sweat, stutter, my heart races and my thoughts get so disorganized.

i found it hard to talk when i was young, i would only talk to family members and was never the same person outdoors as i was indoors even now. i find it hard to talk outdoors, i could be walkin down the street with a friend that i can comfortably talk to and completely stop mid sentence whenever anyone approaches or walks past. i find it hard to talk to my own lil kids in public, and i hate myself for it, i jus freeze, and when i do try and talk i jus end up jumbling the letters up like spoonerisms. and i hate bein noted for my lack of conversation too when i find myself in a room full o' people. especially at times like christmas where tho i look forward to seein some family members i haven't seen in awhile, i find there are too many extra people around which makes me close up and then i go the entire day without saying anything, except perhaps a lil nod confirming that i do still have jus one sugar in my tea... but despite all that i don't really find it difficult to type once i get started