Selective Mutism and Social Anxiety Disorder: Learning to Socialize and Communicate in the REAL WORLD

This is a DVD package that includes: 2-hour power point presentation by Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum; An audio CD of the presentation to listen to in the car or in any CD player; PDF handout of the presentation. Presentation is updated version of Selective Mutism conference materials. Description: School is not the only setting that is difficult for the child/teen with Selective Mutism and Social Anxiety Disorder. Socializing & communicating in public settings can be anxiety provoking and/or challenging for our children/teens. To help the child suffering in silence, parents, professionals and educators need to understand that children/teens with SM often have difficulty communicating nonverbally. Some may 'whisper' thru a parent or make sounds and some may shut down and therefore, not communicate at all when they sense an expectation for speech and communication. In addition, social comfort and communication will vary depending on the setting and individuals present in that setting. This presentation will begin with background information on the SM Stages of Social Communication Scale; The use of the Social Communication Anxiety Inventory (SCAI) to assess a child's social communication skills from setting to setting; causitive/maintaing factors of SM and the characteristics of children with SM and the importance of understanding the child's unique needs when developing strategies/interventions for the REAL WORLD. A discussion of the Social Communication Bridge will be mentioned to highlight the importance of the child's social communication level (noncommunicative, nonverbal, transitional or verbal) within the social environments the child encounters Information on HOW to determine the child's social communication baseline skills (i.e., is the child noncommunicative? Nonverbal? In the Verbal Transition stage (whispering, making sounds, etc.) or Verbal) in particular social settings will be discussed. Specific strategies and interventions to help the child feel