Including children with selective mutism in mainstream schools and kindergartens: problems and possibilities

Abstract

There is little research on inclusion of children with selective mutism in school/kindergarten. Moreover, few studies have tried to understand selectively mute children’s interactions in the natural surroundings of their home and school/kindergarten. Five children meeting the DSM‐IV criteria for selective mutism were video‐observed in social interactions in kindergarten/school and at home. Their parents and the staff in kindergarten/school took part in semi‐structured interviews. Themes arising from the data were: (1) assessment by the school/kindergarten; (2) interactions in the classroom/kindergarten: inadvertent maintenance of mute behaviour; (3) interactions in the classroom/kindergarten: overcoming selective mutism; (4) school/kindergarten contacts with parents; and (5) tensions in cooperation between home and kindergarten/school. Kindergartens/schools that succeeded in including children with selective mutism found that the child started to speak after a year with encouragement and gentle support from adults and other children. In those cases where the children maintained their selectively mute behaviour, teachers and other children either accepted their refusal to speak and their exclusion of themselves, or selectively reinforced the maladaptive behaviour.