I'm not sure where you received your information, but many SM children do speak
to their peers, or at least a select few.

My own daughter with SM from age 5 to 10 spoke to every child in her class and
those in her school in older grades.  As well she would go to the park,
playground or stores and just walk up to children she had never met before and
strike up a conversation.  With adults she spoke to no one except her parents,
not even her teachers whom she adored.  Anyone who was a teenager and appeared
to her to be an adult was not spoken to.  Some teens she would easily speak to,
it seemed to be that she just couldn't speak to any one who might be an adult.
As for not completing homework, this may be because there is something your
student doesn't understand and just can't bring himself to ask anyone.  He needs
to have a way to ask questions and participate without any pressure put on him
to speak and without feeling that he is being centered out.

Julie
follow your heart

I am not sure how much of your students problem is with SM. My daughter is in
3rd grade. She was diagnosed with SM in preschool. She used eye contact. That is
how the teachers knew she was trying to tell them something. Her eye contact is
how we knew if she was happy or not. She would talk to a few of her really close
friends. Her first grade teacher would take her to a room with a friend and they
would record her tests, then the teacher would listen to the recording. In the
beginning her therapist diagnosed her as a strongwilled child. I know she got it
honestly. So we had to curve that will to talk, and help her get past being
terrified to talk. She is now in 3rd grade and talks to alot of the people in
the school. Her Dr. said she most likely wouldn't talk until 4th grade. but she
has some really good teachers, who took their time and didn't make issues of her
talking. She has made honor roll twice this school year.
   Has your student been tested for speach? He may qulify(sp so sorry) for speach
theraphy. Or some other kind of help. Has any one come into observe him, in the
class room? I hope this has helped. Good luck
   Shelly



Shelly Holloway


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I have already posted this message once, but I received no replies.
Please, someone respond.  I need some advice to help this student!

I teach fifth grade. I have a student who I believe may have
selective mutism. I have been looking at MANY websites and
journals, and many of the symptoms fit with this student. There is
only one thing that does not fit...most of the information I have
found say that selectively mute children do not speak to ANYONE at
school. My student will speak with his peers in an (almost) normal
fashion. His biggest problem is that he does not speak to his
teachers, makes limited eye contact with us (though this has
improved since the beginning of the year), and does not exhibit much
emotion at all. He often sits awkwardly in his chair (bent at the
waist with head between knees, or curled with knees to chin), and he
often has his fingers in his mouth (we have addressed this and it
has improved). He does not often follow along with the work we are
doing in class, and he very seldom completes homework. I have
worked one-on-one with him, and I know that he is very intelligent,
so I would hate to see him fail. On the other hand, if he does
pass, I would hate to see future teachers feel the frustration and
concern I have felt this year.

Does this sound like selective mutism to you? If so, are there any
strategies you can suggest that might help me?

Hi Kristy, nice to hear from you.

I'm sorry but we have a different system here in the UK and I don't know  how
old your daughter is in grade 4 or 5.  It really does sound as if the
teachers in your school need a bit of education!  When I first found out  about
SM I
printed out all sorts of stuff and gave it to the school.  As I  said,
primary school was bad - they tried to help but unfortunately my daughter  just
didn't want to know.  It wasn't the school's fault but in a sense they  were
trying too hard and she reacted badly to the increased attention.

It's really important for the teachers and parents to understand and  accept.
  I found an article _http://www.selectivemutism.org/pdf/words.pdf_
(http://www.selectivemutism.org/pdf/words.pdf)    which might be quite useful. 
It
points out that there should be no  pressure on the child to speak, encourage
non-verbal communication, and make  them feel safe and secure.  As
self-confidence
increases, eventually  speaking will happen.  For my daughter, lots of other
things had to happen  first before she could begin to talk.

My daughter does fine in school.  Obviously there are problems  with speaking
in English and French lessons but as long as her written work is  done and
she takes part in practical activities, the teachers seem to cope  with it very
well.  They need to check her understanding because she  won't ask for help,
but now get a lot of non-verbal communication which  they are content with.  I
am sure we've been lucky with this school, but  their approach is certainly
working.

I would really encourage you to give the teachers as much information as  you
can find and tell them that too much pressure could actually make things
worse.  They really shouldn't mark kids down because of anxiety  problems.

I also encourage my daughter to talk to me about her anxieties and then we
started a "positive things" book, where she writes down any little thing that
she has done and feels proud of.  That way she can look back and realise  what
progress she is making.  Sometimes these steps are really tiny, but  what is
important is that they're going in the right direction!

Sorry for the rather long email.  Hope it helps.  Good  luck!
Anne


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello Anne,
   It was nice to hear your words of encouragemnet.  I am really worried about ny
daughter who is in grade 4.  When I went to the teacher interviews her grade
four teacher told me that teachers in grade 5 will not put up with this.  As the
rage in me began to come out  I simply said my daughter does not do this to be
rude and if she could talk to you she would.  I then proceeded to say that the
teachers in grade 5 will not have the choice as Taylor is doing this because she
just can not get the words out.  I feel that, that is  a large part of the
problem here.  Teachers believe they do this to be rude when in fact they can
not help this as much as they would like to.  I am trying to set up an appt with
her teacher to try and help her to understand SM I have put together a booklet
that Helps teachers understand Sm and I am hoping with that she will be able to
understand .  In school how are your daughters grades if you do not mind me
asking.  My daughter has straight A but a D in
  communication  and they tell me that it will continue until she begins to talk.
I dont know if there is anything I can do about this.  Any suggestions?

   Hope to hear from you soon
   Kristy

abell50758@... wrote:
   Hello all, I am in the UK and have a daughter with SM.  She has just  turned
13 and has never spoken to any of the teachers, and until recently had  not
spoken to anyone outside the home for more than 4 years.

It has been very difficult over the years, but one thing I have realised is
that there is absolutely no way of speeding up the process of  overcoming SM.
Her last years at primary school were very bad, she did not  speak to anyone
at all and was unable to participate in any kind of group  activity.  I tried
incentives, school helpers, all sorts of things, but got  nowhere.   She
rejected any kind of help or therapy.

However since starting high school in September 2004, she has gone from
strength to strength.  It's a very slow process, but last October she began  to
speak to a few of her friends.  Although she still hasn't spoken to the  staff,
they encourage her to communicate non-verbally through pointing and  writing
things down.  This is something she would not have considered  before, so they
are pleased that at least there is some progress.

We still have a long way to go, but I think the main factor in her
improvement is being in a very supportive environment where people do not make 
an
issue of her SM but just accept that's the way she is and there is no  pressure
on
her to speak.  As she grows more confident in herself she is  able to do new
things and I now feel that one day she will be able to  function normally in
society, this was unthinkable a couple of years  ago.  As long as I can see
continuous small improvements I am no  longer so worried about her.  She talks
to
me a lot about her concerns and  I am sure that feeling supported and safe is
really important to  her.  After all, SM is an anxiety-based thing and
pressure to speak can be  counter-productive.

Hope this gives some hope to those of you with young SM children.  I  believe
it does get better, though it may take years!

Anne





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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello all, I am in the UK and have a daughter with SM.  She has just  turned
13 and has never spoken to any of the teachers, and until recently had  not
spoken to anyone outside the home for more than 4 years.

It has been very difficult over the years, but one thing I have realised is
that there is absolutely no way of speeding up the process of  overcoming SM.
Her last years at primary school were very bad, she did not  speak to anyone
at all and was unable to participate in any kind of group  activity.  I tried
incentives, school helpers, all sorts of things, but got  nowhere.   She
rejected any kind of help or therapy.

However since starting high school in September 2004, she has gone from
strength to strength.  It's a very slow process, but last October she began  to
speak to a few of her friends.  Although she still hasn't spoken to the  staff,
they encourage her to communicate non-verbally through pointing and  writing
things down.  This is something she would not have considered  before, so they
are pleased that at least there is some progress.

We still have a long way to go, but I think the main factor in her
improvement is being in a very supportive environment where people do not make 
an
issue of her SM but just accept that's the way she is and there is no  pressure
on
her to speak.  As she grows more confident in herself she is  able to do new
things and I now feel that one day she will be able to  function normally in
society, this was unthinkable a couple of years  ago.  As long as I can see
continuous small improvements I am no  longer so worried about her.  She talks
to
me a lot about her concerns and  I am sure that feeling supported and safe is
really important to  her.  After all, SM is an anxiety-based thing and
pressure to speak can be  counter-productive.

Hope this gives some hope to those of you with young SM children.  I  believe
it does get better, though it may take years!

Anne





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I teach fifth grade.  I have a student who I believe may have
selective mutism.  I have been looking at MANY websites and
journals, and many of the symptoms fit with this student.  There is
only one thing that does not fit...most of the information I have
found say that selectively mute children do not speak to ANYONE at
school.  My student will speak with his peers in an (almost) normal
fashion.  His biggest problem is that he does not speak to his
teachers, makes limited eye contact with us (though this has
improved since the beginning of the year), and does not exhibit much
emotion at all.  He often sits awkwardly in his chair (bent at the
waist with head between knees, or curled with knees to chin), and he
often has his fingers in his mouth (we have addressed this and it
has improved).  He does not often follow along with the work we are
doing in class, and he very seldom completes homework.  I have
worked one-on-one with him, and I know that he is very intelligent,
so I would hate to see him fail.  On the other hand, if he does
pass, I would hate to see future teachers feel the frustration and
concern I have felt this year.

Does this sound like selective mutism to you?  If so, are there any
strategies you can suggest that might help me?

Hello Everyone,

I am having a meeting with the teacher to talk about some next steps
for my daughter.  I am wondering if anyone has any advice on some new
things that we could be trying.  Our main goals are to have Taylor talk
to the teacher in a private situation and or have Taylor start to talk
with some of her friends on the school property.  Should we try
incentives or just try to get her to do it.  I do not want to push her,
but I do not want to jsut leave it alone either she is going into grade
5 next year and that means more speeches and oral communication.  I
would appreciate any advice from anyone
Thank you
Kristy

Hi Kristy,
It took quite a long time and my daughter was very young when I first found out
about SM. She was not quite 3 when a speech pathologist mentioned it. At the
time she talked to me, her dad, her sister and a couple of my friends and their
children. I actually spent a lot of time with her at the pre-school as I ran a
playgroup there once a week. At first she didn't speak to me unless no-one else
was around. A couple of times she didn't realise a teacher was there and could
hear her. She was extremely embarrassed when she realised but I think that the
fact they had heard her made it easier later. Also I would talk to the teachers
about things she said at home (remaining very aware not to keep going if she was
embarrassed). When people said how quiet she was I replied with "not always at
home". I think staying at school and talking to them where the child is
comfortable even if no-one else is around is extremely useful. I was quite
worried about the transition to school last year and was prepared to spend time
with her if needed but she surprised me and many others by adjusting very
quickly. Bri does speak to her teacher now. She does a lot better in predictable
situations such as roll call and even enjoys 'show and tell'. Sometimes she
doesn't talk when asked questions.
I also think my own experiences have helped enormously as I have also had
difficulties with talking to others.
Hope this helps, Kylie
----- Original Message -----
   From: Kristy Smart
   To: selectivemutismsupportgroup2@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Wednesday, January 25, 2006 4:05 AM
   Subject: Re: [Selective Mutism Support Group] My Daughter and her struggle


   Hi Kylie,
     HOw did your daughter begin to talk , Just that one time with  the neighbor
friend and then transferred it to the daycare?  My problem is Taylor who does
speak to 6 of her school friends outside of school will not move it onto the
school property.  I do not know how to encourage this as I know how much her
social life will change.  Also does your daughter speak to her teacher?  If you
wouldn't mind I would love to hear a little bit about your daughters expierence
and your expierence with SM .
     Thank you
     Kristy

   Kylie Dinning <kyliedin@...> wrote:
     I agree too. My daughter Bri did not speak at pre-school for a few months
and then her friend Ebony (a neighbour at the time and one of the rare people
she did talk to)  transferred to the same pre-school and she began talking
there. At first it was just to Ebony but this meant other children and the
teachers heard her voice and eventually she began talking a lot more. It really
did take a lot of little steps (and some which seemed like going backwards).
   Kylie
     ----- Original Message -----
     From: follow.your.heart@...
     To: selectivemutismsupportgroup2@yahoogroups.com
     Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 4:36 AM
     Subject: Re: [Selective Mutism Support Group] My Daughter and her struggle


     Hi Kristy

     > In your opinion should I be encouraging her to use words with the
>children she already speaks to but now trying it on the school >property?

     Yes, SM is something that needs to be tackled one step at a time. Gradually
adding in people and more words, or louder words, and different situations, is
the way to go, in my opinion.

     >I have been trying to set up some sort of incentive program but do >not
want to make it to easy but not too demanding either.  Did you >try anything
like this with your daughter.

     Incentives can work, but only at the right time.  I recently asked my
daughter if offering her a special doll or treat would help her to speak to her
grandmother (who is one of only a few relatives she doesn't speak to.)  She got
very upset with me and told me that I knew that wasn't a good idea, and how
could I even ask her.

     However, there are parents in this group who have used incentives to get
their child to speak in certain situations. Some use stickers that can be traded
in for a treat after so many are obtained.  Some offer a bigger sized treat than
what the child will get anyway even if he doesn't speak.  This cannot be done in
a mean way though, just kind of said in a carefree manner, not as a threat or
punishment.

     All that being said, my daughter's school counselor did test my daughter in
a serious way.  She told her that if she didn't speak to her she would no longer
be able to come to the school and see my daughter.  This is not something I
would have agreed to, and did not know about until after my daughter started
speaking to her counselor.  I am not sure how I feel about it, except that it
did work with my daughter.  This was after more than two years of counselling,
and my daughter was making sounds and speaking to the counselor with her own
"made up" words, like her own language.  I think the counselor knew that this
was just the right time to make the move of almost forcing my daughter to speak.
I hesitate to tell everyone this because I truly believe the counselor has to
know exactly what she is doing and know the child very, very well.  When I first
heard what was done, ironically... I was speechless!!  But within a week of
being given the ultimatum my daughter was speaking to her
   counselor, her teacher and my boyfriend at the time (now my wonderful
husband).  I will leave it at that and hope that some of you will give your
opinions on this.

     Julie
     follow your heart





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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Kylie,
   HOw did your daughter begin to talk , Just that one time with  the neighbor
friend and then transferred it to the daycare?  My problem is Taylor who does
speak to 6 of her school friends outside of school will not move it onto the
school property.  I do not know how to encourage this as I know how much her
social life will change.  Also does your daughter speak to her teacher?  If you
wouldn't mind I would love to hear a little bit about your daughters expierence
and your expierence with SM .
   Thank you
   Kristy

Kylie Dinning <kyliedin@...> wrote:
   I agree too. My daughter Bri did not speak at pre-school for a few months and
then her friend Ebony (a neighbour at the time and one of the rare people she
did talk to)  transferred to the same pre-school and she began talking there. At
first it was just to Ebony but this meant other children and the teachers heard
her voice and eventually she began talking a lot more. It really did take a lot
of little steps (and some which seemed like going backwards).
Kylie
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: follow.your.heart@...
   To: selectivemutismsupportgroup2@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 4:36 AM
   Subject: Re: [Selective Mutism Support Group] My Daughter and her struggle


   Hi Kristy

   > In your opinion should I be encouraging her to use words with the >children
she already speaks to but now trying it on the school >property?

   Yes, SM is something that needs to be tackled one step at a time. Gradually
adding in people and more words, or louder words, and different situations, is
the way to go, in my opinion.

   >I have been trying to set up some sort of incentive program but do >not want
to make it to easy but not too demanding either.  Did you >try anything like
this with your daughter.

   Incentives can work, but only at the right time.  I recently asked my daughter
if offering her a special doll or treat would help her to speak to her
grandmother (who is one of only a few relatives she doesn't speak to.)  She got
very upset with me and told me that I knew that wasn't a good idea, and how
could I even ask her.

   However, there are parents in this group who have used incentives to get their
child to speak in certain situations. Some use stickers that can be traded in
for a treat after so many are obtained.  Some offer a bigger sized treat than
what the child will get anyway even if he doesn't speak.  This cannot be done in
a mean way though, just kind of said in a carefree manner, not as a threat or
punishment.

   All that being said, my daughter's school counselor did test my daughter in a
serious way.  She told her that if she didn't speak to her she would no longer
be able to come to the school and see my daughter.  This is not something I
would have agreed to, and did not know about until after my daughter started
speaking to her counselor.  I am not sure how I feel about it, except that it
did work with my daughter.  This was after more than two years of counselling,
and my daughter was making sounds and speaking to the counselor with her own
"made up" words, like her own language.  I think the counselor knew that this
was just the right time to make the move of almost forcing my daughter to speak.
I hesitate to tell everyone this because I truly believe the counselor has to
know exactly what she is doing and know the child very, very well.  When I first
heard what was done, ironically... I was speechless!!  But within a week of
being given the ultimatum my daughter was speaking to her
  counselor, her teacher and my boyfriend at the time (now my wonderful husband).
I will leave it at that and hope that some of you will give your opinions on
this.

   Julie
   follow your heart





------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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     a..  Visit your group "selectivemutismsupportgroup2" on the web.

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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---------------------------------






---------------------------------
Find your next car at Yahoo! Canada Autos

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Thought i would share something with ya'll. Great fun and it does actually work.
Met my girl on here, http://www.meetemhookup.info/tgum and so far it's been the
best year of my life ever! Wish you all the same happiness.

I agree too. My daughter Bri did not speak at pre-school for a few months and
then her friend Ebony (a neighbour at the time and one of the rare people she
did talk to)  transferred to the same pre-school and she began talking there. At
first it was just to Ebony but this meant other children and the teachers heard
her voice and eventually she began talking a lot more. It really did take a lot
of little steps (and some which seemed like going backwards).
Kylie
   ----- Original Message -----
   From: follow.your.heart@...
   To: selectivemutismsupportgroup2@yahoogroups.com
   Sent: Tuesday, January 24, 2006 4:36 AM
   Subject: Re: [Selective Mutism Support Group] My Daughter and her struggle


   Hi Kristy

   > In your opinion should I be encouraging her to use words with the >children
she already speaks to but now trying it on the school >property?

   Yes, SM is something that needs to be tackled one step at a time. Gradually
adding in people and more words, or louder words, and different situations, is
the way to go, in my opinion.

   >I have been trying to set up some sort of incentive program but do >not want
to make it to easy but not too demanding either.  Did you >try anything like
this with your daughter.

   Incentives can work, but only at the right time.  I recently asked my daughter
if offering her a special doll or treat would help her to speak to her
grandmother (who is one of only a few relatives she doesn't speak to.)  She got
very upset with me and told me that I knew that wasn't a good idea, and how
could I even ask her.

   However, there are parents in this group who have used incentives to get their
child to speak in certain situations. Some use stickers that can be traded in
for a treat after so many are obtained.  Some offer a bigger sized treat than
what the child will get anyway even if he doesn't speak.  This cannot be done in
a mean way though, just kind of said in a carefree manner, not as a threat or
punishment.

   All that being said, my daughter's school counselor did test my daughter in a
serious way.  She told her that if she didn't speak to her she would no longer
be able to come to the school and see my daughter.  This is not something I
would have agreed to, and did not know about until after my daughter started
speaking to her counselor.  I am not sure how I feel about it, except that it
did work with my daughter.  This was after more than two years of counselling,
and my daughter was making sounds and speaking to the counselor with her own
"made up" words, like her own language.  I think the counselor knew that this
was just the right time to make the move of almost forcing my daughter to speak.
I hesitate to tell everyone this because I truly believe the counselor has to
know exactly what she is doing and know the child very, very well.  When I first
heard what was done, ironically... I was speechless!!  But within a week of
being given the ultimatum my daughter was speaking to her counselor, her teacher
and my boyfriend at the time (now my wonderful husband).  I will leave it at
that and hope that some of you will give your opinions on this.

   Julie
   follow your heart





------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   YAHOO! GROUPS LINKS

     a..  Visit your group "selectivemutismsupportgroup2" on the web.

     b..  To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
      selectivemutismsupportgroup2-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com

     c..  Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.


------------------------------------------------------------------------------



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Kristy

> In your opinion should I be encouraging her to use words with the >children
she already speaks to but now trying it on the school >property?

Yes, SM is something that needs to be tackled one step at a time. Gradually
adding in people and more words, or louder words, and different situations, is
the way to go, in my opinion.

>I have been trying to set up some sort of incentive program but do >not want to
make it to easy but not too demanding either.  Did you >try anything like this
with your daughter.

Incentives can work, but only at the right time.  I recently asked my daughter
if offering her a special doll or treat would help her to speak to her
grandmother (who is one of only a few relatives she doesn't speak to.)  She got
very upset with me and told me that I knew that wasn't a good idea, and how
could I even ask her.

However, there are parents in this group who have used incentives to get their
child to speak in certain situations. Some use stickers that can be traded in
for a treat after so many are obtained.  Some offer a bigger sized treat than
what the child will get anyway even if he doesn't speak.  This cannot be done in
a mean way though, just kind of said in a carefree manner, not as a threat or
punishment.

All that being said, my daughter's school counselor did test my daughter in a
serious way.  She told her that if she didn't speak to her she would no longer
be able to come to the school and see my daughter.  This is not something I
would have agreed to, and did not know about until after my daughter started
speaking to her counselor.  I am not sure how I feel about it, except that it
did work with my daughter.  This was after more than two years of counselling,
and my daughter was making sounds and speaking to the counselor with her own
"made up" words, like her own language.  I think the counselor knew that this
was just the right time to make the move of almost forcing my daughter to speak.
I hesitate to tell everyone this because I truly believe the counselor has to
know exactly what she is doing and know the child very, very well.  When I first
heard what was done, ironically... I was speechless!!  But within a week of
being given the ultimatum my daughter was speaking to her counselor, her teacher
and my boyfriend at the time (now my wonderful husband).  I will leave it at
that and hope that some of you will give your opinions on this.

Julie
follow your heart

Hi Julie,
   Thank you for your words of encouragement.  Hearing from others who understand
Sm and have gone through it makes a world of difference.  In your opinion should
I be encouraging her to use words with the children she already speaks to but
now trying it on the school property?  I have been trying to set up some sort of
incentive program but do not want to make it to easy but not too demanding
either.  Did you try anything like this with your daughter.  Any advice on any
of this would be greatly appreciated.

   Thank you
   Kristy

follow.your.heart@... wrote:
   Hi Kristy, sorry for the delayed response.  Your email got shuffled out of
where it should have been in my inbox.

Your daughter is showing great signs to eliminate her SM.

The idea that she wants to progress is great.  She most likely is too nervous to
start speaking because she has spent so long not doing so.  My own daughter
explained it as the words stuck in her throat, and also worried that when she
first spoke, people would make a big deal out of it.  She worried so much about
being centered out, that the teacher or adults would say loudly "oh, you spoke!"

What is important is that you let her teacher know that she should not say
anything about Taylor's speaking. Just pretend like she always spoke in class. 
Some children find it easier to speak if first they speak quietly as the teacher
stands outside the door. They maybe a few days later, they speak with the
teacher in the room  but facing away from the child.  This should be as gradual
as the child feels comfortable.  Maybe read a book with the teacher nearby.  SM
children seem to be less anxious if they read written words, rather than speak
their own words.  Over time the child can speak directly to the teacher, either
quietly or regular tone.  My daughter found that if no one commented on her
speaking, she was okay.  There was one occasion at the very beginning where a
child in the classroom said "hey, Laura spoke to the teacher!" and my daughter
was most upset.  The children were spoken to about that with Laura not in the
room.  They had been told earlier, but it was such a shock
  to some of them, that I suppose they forgot not to say anything.  So, prepare
the classroom children as well.

Let us know how it works out, please!

Julie
follow your heart



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Find your next car at Yahoo! Canada Autos

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Damn, it has sure been a while... I just realized today that it's been 18 months
since I went out with a special lady last, but I'm pretty happy to be heading
out tonight. I've had a bit of trouble finding ANY decent women lately so I
joined up at this place a couple of weeks ago
http://www.meetthemonthenet.info/giht . And so far been doing pretty well, just
chatting to a few girls near me on Webcam and via the mail system on the place,
but this is the first one I've lined   up. So anyway, wish me luck guys!!

Hi Kristy, sorry for the delayed response.  Your email got shuffled out of where
it should have been in my inbox.

Your daughter is showing great signs to eliminate her SM.

The idea that she wants to progress is great.  She most likely is too nervous to
start speaking because she has spent so long not doing so.  My own daughter
explained it as the words stuck in her throat, and also worried that when she
first spoke, people would make a big deal out of it.  She worried so much about
being centered out, that the teacher or adults would say loudly "oh, you spoke!"

What is important is that you let her teacher know that she should not say
anything about Taylor's speaking. Just pretend like she always spoke in class. 
Some children find it easier to speak if first they speak quietly as the teacher
stands outside the door. They maybe a few days later, they speak with the
teacher in the room  but facing away from the child.  This should be as gradual
as the child feels comfortable.  Maybe read a book with the teacher nearby.  SM
children seem to be less anxious if they read written words, rather than speak
their own words.  Over time the child can speak directly to the teacher, either
quietly or regular tone.  My daughter found that if no one commented on her
speaking, she was okay.  There was one occasion at the very beginning where a
child in the classroom said "hey, Laura spoke to the teacher!" and my daughter
was most upset.  The children were spoken to about that with Laura not in the
room.  They had been told earlier, but it was such a shock to some of them, that
I suppose they forgot not to say anything.  So, prepare the classroom children
as well.

Let us know how it works out, please!

Julie
follow your heart

Thought i  would share something with ya'll. Great fun and it does actually
work. Met my girl on here, http://www.matchfunhere.info/hzpn and so far it's
been the best year of my life ever! Wish you all the same happiness.

Well even if you're not looking for love, and just a bit of fun thought I'd give
you all this tip. So you can stay away from all the BS fake profiles places.
This is what I've been using http://www.easyhookup.info/ivvp .      No joke,
I've messaged about 5 women close to me and already 3 have responded, and I am
already organising to meet up with one. Not bad for a guy who hasn't had a date
in a while, lol! :)

Met my fiance here! hehe. Thought I should share it with any other guys who  
are worried about ending up alone like I was. Check it out
http://www.livechatrooms.info/nfiv

My daughter is 10 years old and I have been struggle with selective
mutism since her first day of school.  At first  we did not know what
was wrong and with a lot of reading and my own investigating I came to
the conclusion that this is what she had.  Went to see a specialist who
did diagnose her with SM and proceeded to tell me she will out grow
it.  Wrong information.  I have supported my daughter through this and
with my help and and her stong willingness to want to work on this.
Taylor is now at the point where she is talking to 5 of her closest
friend outside of the school property.  She will speak to these 5
friends on the phone and just last week she video taped a school
project and allowed the whole class to watch it.  Now I want to
increase her speaking to her friends on the school property and sahe
has shown a want in talking with her teacher how should I go about
this. Does anyone out there have some advice for me
thank you
Kristy

Met my fiance here! hehe. Thought I should share it with any other guys who are
worried about ending up alone like I was. Check it out
http://www.browsepictureshere.info/xnja

The best and largest club for deaf, ASL singles and friends looking
for love, romance, and even marriages.

http://www.aboutme.com/users/deaffriend/newprofiles1.htm

http://www.aboutme.com/users/deaffriend/newprofiles.htm

hey guys, here is something for ya'll to check out. Just been playing around on
it myself, pretty fun actually, lol, and even had a   bit of  interest from some
ladies on there. Anyway, have a peek if you're interested, been a lot of fun so
far    http://www.millionsofsinglesarehere.info/jpyme

> Hi I am an Early Childhood studies student at Swansea University in the UK. I
am doing research into selective mutism for my dissertation and want to find out
if I can post a message on this website. I am looking for parents of children
with SM to fill in a questionnaire I need as many peiople as possible. I am
interested in parents views on what their schools are doing to help their
children. All information given to me will remain confidential and I will be
happy to send everyone copies of my final assaingnment. I suffered as a child
from SM so I understand this disorder completely.
               Regards Emma

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

This message is about Human beings, Democracy, UNHCR, Refugees, The Iraqis,
Islam, Kurds, Human rights, Respect, Money, Donations, Angelina Jolie,
Pavarotti, Giorgio Armani, Donors, Peace, History, Campaigns and about you if
you care about these words.

Hi there,

I am SAM, an Iraqi refugee living in Lebanon at the moment; I have spent the
last 10 years of my life as a refugee registered with the UNHCR in Beirut. The
last 4 years, I have spent as an activist for peace and human rights (especially
refugees and asylum seekers) on the Internet; I'm also books author and ebooks
publisher. I have launched many campaigns to improve our situation as refugees
in Lebanon and hopefully bring more understanding to our problems worldwide. I
helped make many changes and improvements at the UNHCR office in Beirut; I used
the Internet as the field for my activities (you can read more about that in my
free ebook 'MY CAMPAIGNS'). All my ebooks are free and could be download from my
sites.

This is my newest campaign, it's about the illegal and humiliating actions of
the UNHCR, who using photos of refugees as banners and human-buttons to collect
money. This is an abuse of the dignity and humanity of the refugees and must
stop immediately and a clear public apology present by The United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees. My friends, I am talking about the pictures you can
see here:
http://Arts.net4free.org/un77

Where you can read the rest of this message as web page.

For more info about UNHCR and life of refugees you can read my free ebooks. I
invite you as fellow humans and members of the world community to support my
campaign by reading my article on my site and see the human-buttons. The
campaign is to support and improve the UNHCR http://www.unhcr.ch especially
after the last scandals in the UN and UNHCR, just for example:

The refugees allege that UNHCR staff is selling most of the food items they are
supposed to be supplied.
"They aren't supplying sufficient food to us because they sell most of the food
items," they allege: http://allafrica.com/stories/200503140214.html
  Here is another example: Burmese Refugees Withdraw Protest Against UNHCR 
http://www.mizzima.com/archives/news-in-2005/news-in-april/12-April05-22.htm
Together we will build better world.

You could reach me fast via this form: http://www.unhcr.us/email_me.htm and if
you like to know more about me, you can google for my name 'osam altaee'.

Thanks
THE TRUTH WARRIOR
http://www.un.6te.net
  http://www.unhcr.biz

Here is another site you can try to get more information about the
study they are doing in Chicago.  Go to  http://bbc.psych.uic.edu
then click research then project.  Once that screen pops up click onto
Neurobiology of social behavior in individuals w/ SM.
I do believe it's Keri that you send an e-mail to.  She responded
rather quickly. Once she responds to your e-mail she will send a much
more specific guideline of what they will be doing.  Good luck.

               Theresa

Try this link for the sm research study at Uni. of IL at Chicago.  The
research is being conducted by Dr. Stephen Porges.
http://chicago.craigslist.org/vol/100271481.html
Gail

I went to the web site but I didn't see anything on this particular study.
We live in Milwaukee and might be interested if you can give me some more
information  Thanks Beth
----- Original Message -----
From: "igmig00" <igmig00@...>
To: <selectivemutismsupportgroup2@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, October 14, 2005 1:37 AM
Subject: [Selective Mutism Support Group] Selective Mutism Study (general
info)


> Hi,
>
> I am wondering if there are any members from the Chicagoland area
> here.  A university professor is running a few research studies for
> children 4-19 years old and we would like your help in being a
> participant.
>
> This is a non-invasive study, pays reimbursements for your time and
> travel expenses, and will help you find out about your children's
> behavior and new therapies.
>
> Please let me know if you would like to participate, or would like
> more information, or simply go to www.researchchicago.com/participants
> log in and check out the study and check to be notified of similar
> upcoming studies.
>
> Thank you.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Hello!
Look at this healthcare information directory.
URL : http://www.hi-fiweb.com/users/anusha/
Cheers!
Mary

Hello,

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