Selective Mutism is an anxiety-based disorder, often accompanied by other challenges. Due to its complexity, a comprehensive treatment approach like DIR Floortime® is essential.
This approach addresses all aspects of the disorder including:
1) Social Emotional Development (D): Developing emotional and social skills.
2) Individual Differences (I): Considering speech/language disorders, sensory processing, issues, motor planning difficulties, and visual perceptual problems.
3) Relationships (R): Building relationships at home, school, and in the community.
The Functional Emotional Developmental Capacities (FEDC) of Selective Mutism include:
FEDC 1 - DIR® Regulation: The child is frozen or non-speaking
FEDC 2 - DIR® Engagement: The child may gesture or nod their head to communicate.
FEDC 3 - DIR® Purposeful Two-Way Communication: The child may begin to whisper or make environmental sounds (e.g., laughter, car and truck noises, baby crying, animal sounds).
SSSS - Systematic Sound Sequencing Strategy (SSSS): The SSSS helps move the child toward two-way communication through body noises, silly sounds, environmental sounds, and speech sounds.
FEDC 4 - DIR® Shared Social Problem Solving: The child is mostly verbal, but may continue to struggle with social problem solving, sequencing, and organizing play.
Check out the corresponding 2 PDH course here to learn more about the DIR-SM program and how to use this deck directly from the author herself!
