Selective Mutism

[Mister Anonymity]

How frequent is selective mutism in Autistic children? I remember I was a child and I never used to speak until I reached the age of 7. I think my selective mutism is coming back. I have anxiety and I just don't know what to say in front of other people so I keep quiet. I don't have the stones or the balls to say anything to anybody. I don't think I can motivate myself to establish a dialogue between myself and other members of my community. I live in a small city where people are guarded and don't communicate as much with each other. When someone says hello to me, I keep quiet and ignore them. It's always been like that. Truth be told, people bore me to death. I'd rather be at home watching tv than going to a mixer or a social gathering. Cliques bore me to death. Being part of a group tailored toward certain social requirements and interests bores me to death. I've learned to distance myself by keeping my mouth shut and ignoring people.

 

[tree]

related threads:

Selective Mutism
Do you exhibit selective mutism as well?
https://www.autismforums.com/threads/more-on-selective-mutism.21724/#post-427498
Selective mutism.
Selective Mutism..?

 

[Kalinychta]

So selective mutism is the result of fear and anxiety, is that right?

 

[Aspychata]

How frequent is selective mutism in Autistic children? I remember I was a child and I never used to speak until I reached the age of 7. I think my selective mutism is coming back. I have anxiety and I just don't know what to say in front of other people so I keep quiet. I don't have the stones or the balls to say anything to anybody. I don't think I can motivate myself to establish a dialogue between myself and other members of my community. I live in a small city where people are guarded and don't communicate as much with each other. When someone says hello to me, I keep quiet and ignore them. It's always been like that. Truth be told, people bore me to death. I'd rather be at home watching tv than going to a mixer or a social gathering. Cliques bore me to death. Being part of a group tailored toward certain social requirements and interests bores me to death. I've learned to distance myself by keeping my mouth shut and ignoring people.

Sometimes l think people are all bored really. Not just you or me. It's not politically correct to say it. l don't stop talking. But l don't go out of my way to encourage small talk. It's okay to ignore people, there is nobody giving us scores at the end of the day. I just work on nicely cutting people off. It could be a person who is having a really bad day, and maybe the one nicety you say keeps them going or makes up for something really horrible that just happened to them. Don't guilt trip yourself about this.

 

[Ezra]

So selective mutism is the result of fear and anxiety, is that right?

Often. But it can also be an involuntary reflex type thing, more related to neurology.

 

[Ezra]

How frequent is selective mutism in Autistic children? I remember I was a child and I never used to speak until I reached the age of 7. I think my selective mutism is coming back. I have anxiety and I just don't know what to say in front of other people so I keep quiet. I don't have the stones or the balls to say anything to anybody. I don't think I can motivate myself to establish a dialogue between myself and other members of my community. I live in a small city where people are guarded and don't communicate as much with each other. When someone says hello to me, I keep quiet and ignore them. It's always been like that. Truth be told, people bore me to death. I'd rather be at home watching tv than going to a mixer or a social gathering. Cliques bore me to death. Being part of a group tailored toward certain social requirements and interests bores me to death. I've learned to distance myself by keeping my mouth shut and ignoring people.

I think in your case not speaking until age seven was probably more a matter of classic nonverbal autism. Speaking did not come naturally due to how your brain is wired. And since it did not take place during your formative years of development, it is something you have always struggled with neurologically even if you became a fluent talker later on. Which I believe would make you a lot more prone to experiencing selective mutism.

I would say to view it more as neurological issue, rather than as a character flaw.

 

[dragonfire42]

For me, I’ve realized that it seems like I have two different types of selective mutism. One is where I’m so nervous or experiencing so strong an emotion that I literally cannot force my vocal cords into action, and the other is where my brain just can’t seem to put anything into words - whereas in the first type I mentioned I have the words but can’t get them out, I don’t have the words in the first place with this type.