selective mutism and autism

[clairewitchproject]

Hi all it's Ilikemysleep here; had to namechange when the login thing happened.

I am so frustrated and sad at the level of communication difficulty that my DS1 has. He started y7 this year and it has really highlighted so many things that he cannot do b/c of his selective mutism and the passivity that it imposes on him...compounded by his autism which takes away any motivation to change or extend the number of people he communicates with. I was concerned that his targets were too low for him this year (all based on CATS which he did badly on, despite passing 11+ and being near top of grammar cohort for maths and science), but I am coming to realise that there are many more things that he really finds incredibly hard...eg .his English y7 exam got sent home to finish b/c he had written 6 lines in 1 1/2 hours...he just gets stuck and can't think his way round it.

So I asked for an ed psych assessment and he just had a WISC done - verbal comprehension 'score' 63, which is at 1st percentile. Because of course he won't answer the questions once they move beyond the 'I am definitely certain this is correct' stage, and he struggles to formulate somehow. He can answer the same questions at home. I have a early years WISC from when he was 3 - before he was really selectively mute - verbal comprehension score 118, 88th percentile. So this bloody condition has robbed my child of 55 IQ 'points' in functional terms, from above average to moderate learning difficulties level.

I am seriously considering biding my time till EHCP come in and then making a parental request. I would like some funding to buy some therapeutic interventions and I want his plan to be outcome based not support based...and I want him to leave school able to maintain a short conversation, make a phone call, get on a bus, attend a job interview....

No answers clairewitch but I share your sadness and frustration. My DD (now 9) has HFA, selective mutism and anxiety disorders. This year the anxiety has become severe and she has been out of school since Jan. We are now in a position 3 months on trying to get appropriate support to re integrate her into school. We fought for a package of SALT and CAMHs intervention for DD last year to tackle the SM - it 'came to nothing' because DD's anxiety became overwhelming and getting her onto school premises became the issue. And as you say it has become apparent what a 'killer' combination autism and SM can be - reduced ability and motivation to communicate and to change.

But today has been a 'good' day. I left DD at school with the TA (in a separate room, not in class) for 20 mins - up til now I have stayed in the hour session, bar the odd 5 minutes away. And I got a letter from the LA agreeing to assess DD for a statement - they had opposed our appeal, but reconsidered.

pannetone - good news!! Are you on the SMIRA facebook group, they have some very useful resources that you can print and share with staff.

Lets hope that our children make some progress in the next few months.

There is a non verbal wisc assessment clairewitch and pannetone you might have to tell your EP's that as they might not know. I only know because a very experienced now retired EP got hold of a non verbal wisc assessment about 3/4 years ago for my daughter, also SM.