5 year old boy

[Icanseeclearlynow12]

Hello!! It's hard to know where to start but I have concerns regarding my little boys behaviour. Can anyone shed some light?
He is diagnosed with Selective mutism.
He has a speech sound disorder and is under SALT but will not speak to the therapist. Some of the behaviours that are worrying me:
Anxiety, chews everything! This may be the selective mutism
No awareness of personal space
Anger- Can suddenly turn. Just from us asking us to do every day things or if he hurts himself etc. Hits, kicks and flips out.
Very set in his play, we have to do/say exactly what he wants us to when playing lego etc.
There's so much more but can't think of everything right now! Do we need to seek help/advice? Thank you for reading

Look up chewelry and find some textures he likes, that should encourage him to chew something that won't harm him.

Have a look at this booklet, does anything else besides the chewing sound like him?
www.falkirk.gov.uk/services/social-care/disabilities/docs/young-people/Making%20Sense%20of%20Sensory%20Behaviour.pdf?

How did you get the SLT referral? See whoever put that in place and ask them for referral for an assessment, stating all the behavioural traits you've observed that are markedly different to his peers.

Thank you for the link. He talks very loudly and reacts angrily when startled. With the movement and body awareness I would say he is not sensitive enough. He also sometimes just walks around in a circle when talking which us another little thing that's a bit different

I think I will contact his speech and language therapist and go from there. It may just be the anxiety causing these behaviours but it feels like there could be something else.

Any other thoughts on his behaviour? He's just had an uncontrollable meltdown.....hitting, throwing things and being really destructive. I managed to stay calm but there was no getting through to him whatsoever. He is now exhausted. Does this sound like asd?

@Icanseeclearlynow12 Hi, could his behaviour be linked to frustrations of being unable to communicate what he needs?
My son used to be really affected by the hot weather as well with huge hideous meltdowns.
We have been through quite similar issues (without the selective mutism).

Thank you for your reply. Yes it's definitely possible it is linked although we are able to understand his speech most of the time from spending so much time with together.
He is also not giving great eye contact(Don't know how we didn't notice this before!!)
It's all so complex with the selective mutism too, don't know what to think anymore

Hi there,

I can see why you are asking about asd with the anxiety, chewing, meltdowns/eye contact/rigid play patterns/poor social awareness.

The sm alone will be causing anxiety which leads to frustration and behaviour challenges and the chewing will his way to try to regulate his nervous system (anxiety and/or sensory).

As I am sure you know as with many conditions, ASD can present as a comorbidity with selective mutism. I can also see why you don't know what to think. For this reason and his age, I would be raising your concerns with the SALT about investigating further.

I don't know what type of school setting he was in (before the Covid situation) and what support he was getting. If he does meet the asd criteria in addition, this alone could make a difference for the right school setting, which just based on his anxieties alone, could make a world of difference.

There is a lot to be said for "gut feeling", in my experience it has usually been right. I hope you had a better day today.

Just also wanted to ask if you have access to any support? Have you been given any links to support groups for sm? Talking to other parents/carers can be hugely helpful in not just knowing you are not alone in the struggle but also for sharing strategies and ideas to help each other. Your SALT should be able to point you in the right direction if you haven't already done so.