The Child Silenced by Social Anxiety

This meta-synthesis explores the subject of selective mutism across multiple age groups. Selective mutism is present in a very small percentage of students. Given the small number of students that have this disorder there is limited resources and professional collaboration options available for teachers. The low incident rate of selective mutism often leads to students being forgotten about in the classroom setting. Teachers do not know how to help them overcome their disorder and the students are not able to ask for the help they need. This exploration into selective mutism reviewed 30 articles on the topic and attempted to provide identifying characteristics of the disorder as well as interventions for educators to implement while working with students selective mutism

Selective mutism in children

This thesis focuses on selective mutism, a rare childhood disorder in which the child refuses to speak in many situations and there are no underlying medical or speech disabilities that explains their behavior. The research of the paper focuses on the many different factors that can have a role in the development of selective mutism, including parent child relationship as well as the development of anxiety. Also discussed are the impacts this disorder can have on a child’s development, two main areas being academics and social relationships. Many teachers and parents do not have a full understanding of selective mutism, which may hinder the support that is made available to the child as the age of onset often occurs around the child’s entrance to school. This makes selective mutism an important topic because there is a need for educating caregivers. Part of this project will be surveying teachers in order to gain an understanding of their knowledge of selective mutism and what can be done to bring more awareness to the disorder. This thesis will also discuss the positive outlook for selective mutism as there are many different types of treatments and approaches available for helping the child overcome their intense fear of speaking. (Author abstract)Kennedy, S. (2014). Selective mutism in children. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.ed

Hypothalamic and mesencephalic regions involved in the control of laryngeal activity and subglottic pressure in spontaneously breathing anaesthetized rats

Changes of laryngeal caliber allow changes in airflow which are necessary for the vibration of the vocal folds and emission of voice. It is known that stimulation of the Periaqueductal Gray matter (PAG) and nucleus retroambiguus (nRA) produces vocalization, and lesions in PAG cause mutism in animals and humans. The nRA is the perfect target to turn passive into active expiration modifying the activity of laryngeal motoneurons located in the nucleus ambiguous (Paton and Nolan, 2000). We have shown that rostral and ventral pontine structures are involved in changes of laryngeal caliber (Lara et al., 2002). It has been also demonstrated a high expression of FOXP2 protein (transcription factor related to vocalization) at mesencephalic and pontine regions (PAG, Parabrachial complex and A5 Region) involved in cardiorespiratory control. The aim of this study was to characterize the relations between hypothalamic and mesencephalic regions involved in cardiorespiratory control and their possible role in modulating laryngeal activity. Experimental studies were carried out with non-inbred male rats (n=7), SPF, Sprague-Dawley (250-300 g) housed under standard conditions. Animals were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbitone (60 mg/kg i.p., initial dose, supplemented 2 mg/kg, i.v., as necessary). A double tracheal cannulation to develop the classical technique of the “glottis isolated in situ” and for the recording of respiratory airflow was carried out. DMH-PeF, dlPAG, and CnF stimulations evoked a significant decrease of laryngeal resistance (subglottal pressure) (p<0.01) accompanied with an inspiratory facilitatory response consisted of an increase in respiratory rate, together with a pressor and tachycardic response. The results of our study contribute with new data on the role of the hypothalamic-mesencephalic neuronal circuits in the control mechanisms of subglottic pressure and laryngeal activity.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

The family history of children with elective mutism: a research report

The family history was studied in children with elective mutism. The samples comprised a series of N = 38 children with elective mutism and a control group of N = 31 children with a similar behavioural phenotype, i.e., the combination of an emotional disorder and a developmental disorder of articulation or expressive language. Interviews were performed with the respective mothers. There was a clear excess of the personality trait of taciturnity in first-, second-, and third-degree relatives. Although mutism was reported almost exclusively in the group of relatives of children that manifested elective mutism, the differences between the two samples were not significant probably due to low frequencies. Disorders of speech and language were quite common in the relatives of subjects in both samples. Psychiatric disorders were more frequently reported in the families with an electively mute child. The study lends some evidence for the assumption that genetic factors may play a role in the etiology of elective mutis

Cerebellar mutism in children: report of six cases and potential mechanisms.

Cerebellar mutism is a rare finding associated with resection of posterior fossa tumors or cerebellar hemorrhages. We reviewed the medical records of six children, aged 6 to 12 years, who developed cerebellar mutism after resection of a posterior fossa mass or as a result of posterior fossa trauma. From 1989 to 1994, 210 children underwent posterior fossa resection at our institution, and four developed mutism (an incidence of 1.6%). All four patients had primitive neuroectodermal tumors. The fifth patient experienced trauma, and another patient had an arteriovenous malformation (AVM). In four children, hydrocephalus developed as a result of their tumor or AVM. Four developed cerebellar mutism 24 to 48 hours after surgery or trauma, and one developed cerebellar mutism 5 days after surgery, coincident with hydrocephalus. In one, mutism occurred after a second resection was performed for a recurrence of his posterior fossa tumor. Cerebellar mutism lasted 10 days in one patient and 2 to 8 weeks in the other four. Dysarthria was apparent in four patients during the recovery phase. We suggest trauma to the dentate nucleus and/or its outflow tract, the superior cerebellar peduncle, as a cause of reversible mutism. Because posterior fossa tumors are common in children, mutism should be recognized as an important side effect of surgery

Art and Fear : an introduction.

Following the controversial reception of ‘La Procedure Silence’ (2000) Virilio felt the English translation of ‘Art and Fear’ needed an introduction to clarify his views on contemporary art, technology and the body. For Continuum, the success of output 1 made Armitage the obvious choice. Output 2 links CARcentre activities to Holocaust research at Northumbria. In 2007, the School of Arts and Social Sciences appointed Konopka-Klus (curator of the Auschwitz Museum) as Visiting Fellow, following a series of highly successful lectures on the role of art at the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. This was organised as part of an interdisciplinary project that makes Northumbria the only UK University with formal links to Auschwitz, and with a Holocaust Studies module that offers field trips to Auschwitz as part of the syllabus. Whilst working on this output (and an associated study: ‘The Aesthetics of Auschwitz’, HTV 50, Amsterdam [2003]) Armitage helped Rowe develop a theoretical understanding of the politics of suffering, for an AHRC funded practice-led doctorate entitled: Communicating Pain: Can physical pain, especially gynaecological pain and its associated psychological effects, be communicated and understood through art? Armitage’s introduction complements studies such as Nicholas Zurbrugg’s ‘Hyperviolence and Hypersexuality: Paul Virilio’ (Eyeline, 45, autumn/winter 2001). The output led to Armitage being asked to be keynote speaker at ‘Paul Virilio und die Künste’, an international conference at the Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie (ZKM), Karlsruhe, Germany, 2006. Armitage presented a paper entitled ‘Virilio Over Hypermodern America: On the Recent Art of Jordan Crandall, Joy Garnett, and Elin O’Hara Slavick’. The paper will shortly be published in an edited book by Peter Weibel, the Director of ZKM. It will also be entitled ‘Paul Virilio und die Künste’, and will be published in German, by ZKM, in collaboration with publishers Merve Verlag, in Berlin, December 2007

Brief report : the level and nature of autistic intelligence revisited

Owing to higher performance on the Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM) than on the Wechsler Intelligence Scales (WIS), it has recently been argued that intelligence is underestimated in autism. This study examined RPM and WIS IQs in 48 individuals with autism, a mixed clinical (n = 28) and a neurotypical (n = 25) control group. Average RPM IQ was higher than WIS IQ only in the autism group, albeit to a much lesser degree than previously reported and only for individuals with WIS IQs <85. Consequently, and given the importance of reliable multidimensional IQ estimates in autism, the WIS are recommended as first choice IQ measure in high functioning individuals. Additional testing with the RPM might be required in the lower end of the spectrum

Developmental aspects of FXAND in a man with the FMR1 premutation.

BackgroundFragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) premutation can cause developmental problems including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), social anxiety, depression, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). These problems fall under an umbrella term of Fragile X-associated Neuropsychiatric Disorders (FXAND) and is separate from Fragile X-associated Tremor/Ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), a neurodegenerative disorder.Methods/clinical caseA 26-year-old Caucasian male with the Fragile X premutation who presented with multiple behavior and emotional problems including depression and anxiety at 10 years of age. He was evaluated at 13, 18, and 26 years old with age-appropriate cognitive assessments, psychiatric evaluations, and an MRI of the brain.ResultsThe Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale (ADOS) was done at 13 years old and showed the patient has autism spectrum disorder (ASD). An evaluation at 18 years old showed a full-scale IQ of 64. A Kiddie Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS) performed at 26 years old confirmed the previous impression of social anxiety disorder, agoraphobia disorder, and selective mutism. His MRI acquired at 26 years old showed enlarged ventricles, increased frontal subarachnoid spaces, and hypergyrification.ConclusionThis is an exemplary case of an FMR1 premutation carrier with significant psychiatric and cognitive issues that demonstrates Fragile X-associated Neuropsychiatric Disorders (FXAND) as separate from the other well-known premutation disorders

Sociocultural understandings of the silent period: young bilingual learners in early years settings

This briefing draws from longitudinal Doctoral research (Bligh, 2011) to re-examine the emergent stage of English language acquisition, the silent period, through the experiences of two early years bilingual learners. Historical understandings of Vygotsky (1986) provide the platform through which sociocultural learning theory is applied in relation to the silent period. Legitimate peripheral participation (Lave and Wenger, 1991), is examined as a workable concept through which to explore the initial learning trajectory of an emergent bilingual learner whilst negotiating participation within, through and beyond an early years community of practice. The initial research employed multi-method ethnographic approach to data gathering, including participant observations, unstructured interviews with monolingual participants, participant narratives and significant auto-ethnographic accounts. In this briefing the researcher focuses upon ‘gaze following’ (Flewitt, 2005) as an adjunct to participant observations. The findings are revealed through a two stage analytic process. Data is initially funnelled through thematic analysis, (Braun and Clarke, 2006) and tested out against sociocultural theorising. The deductive process highlights nine vignettes which present the silent period as a crucial time for learning. One professional narrative account and one significant vignette are examined in this briefing. Examining the silent period through a sociocultural lens reveals the initial stage of language acquisition as a significant, but lesser acknowledged contribution to learning in the early years community of practice. Key words: bilingual; silent period; legitimate peripheral participation; sociocultural; ethnographic; participation