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What is the core feature of selective mutism (SM)?
Mnemonic: ‘Can talk, won’t talk (there).’ Child has normal speech in safe settings (home) but consistently does not speak in specific settings (e.g., school) despite ability.
Typical age of onset for selective mutism?
Mnemonic: ‘Preschool pause.’ Often emerges or is noticed between ages 3–5 when social demands increase.
Why was ‘elective mutism’ a misleading term?
Mnemonic: ‘Not a choice, a choke.’ It implied willful refusal instead of anxiety-driven inhibition.
How common is selective mutism?
Mnemonic: ‘Up to 2 in 100.’ Roughly up to 2% of children may meet criteria at a given time.
How is SM classified in DSM-5?
Mnemonic: ‘Filed under fear.’ It is classified as an anxiety disorder.
Common temperament in SM?
Mnemonic: ‘BI child.’ Behaviorally inhibited, shy, cautious, sensitive.
Key functional impact of SM?
Mnemonic: ‘3 S’s.’ School achievement, Social development, Self-esteem are all hit.
Why is early intervention in SM critical?
Mnemonic: ‘Mute now, marks later.’ Early treatment can reduce chronic anxiety and functional fallout.
What long-term pattern may persist even after SM remits?
Mnemonic: ‘Quieter adulthood.’ Greater social anxiety, less independence, reduced confidence.
Core family message about the child’s silence?
Mnemonic: ‘Frozen, not defiant.’ Emphasize anxiety, not oppositionality.
Dominant etiologic model for SM?
Mnemonic: ‘Anxiety at the mic.’ SM is viewed primarily as a severe, context-bound social anxiety phenomenon.
Behavioral explanation of SM maintenance?
Mnemonic: ‘Freeze to flee.’ Silence is negatively reinforced as it helps the child escape feared speaking demands.
What is ‘behavioral inhibition’ in SM?
Mnemonic: ‘Built-in brakes.’ A temperamental tendency to withdraw in novel or evaluative settings.
Why does considering SM behaviorally help treatment?
Mnemonic: ‘Model → Map.’ It directly points to graded exposure and contingency management.
How is SM distinct from typical social anxiety onset?
Mnemonic: ‘Earlier and narrower.’ SM starts younger and centers on speech in specific contexts.
Role of family anxiety in SM?
Mnemonic: ‘Anxious echoes.’ Anxious or overprotective family responses can reinforce avoidance.
Why avoid assuming trauma as the sole cause?
Mnemonic: ‘Sometimes scars, often temperament.’ Trauma may contribute but is not required.
What is the key avoidance behavior in SM?
Mnemonic: ‘Silence as shield.’ Not speaking to avoid scrutiny or evaluation.
Cycle that maintains SM in school?
Mnemonic: ‘Ask → freeze → teachers stop.’ Adult backing off removes demand, reinforcing mutism.
Why can SM kids still enjoy peers?
Mnemonic: ‘Social, just silent.’ They may like social contact but only on nonverbal terms.
DSM-5 criterion A for SM?
Mnemonic: ‘Expected words, empty air.’ Consistent failure to speak in expected situations despite speaking elsewhere.
DSM-5 criterion B for SM?
Mnemonic: ‘Silence costs.’ Mutism interferes with educational or social functioning.
DSM-5 criterion C for SM?
Mnemonic: ‘More than a month.’ Duration ≥1 month, not limited to first school month.