Differential Diagnosis In Child Mutism

Differential diagnosis in child mutism

Selective mutism has as its main symptom the inability to speak in certain situations, but it can be more evidenced when he children are in the kindergarten or at school.

To know if children really have selective mutism we have to be too careful since on the one hand we have to see if what the child is experiencing is not social anxiety and thus make a diagnosis that is not adequate what would be a serious mistake.

The important thing about a differential diagnosis is to help us know if the patient is pretending this condition to receive a reward or if this disorder is really and thus be able to help it and difficulties, to organize adequate support and intervention in the kindergarten or infants orat school ”(Oerbeck, Manassis, Romvig & Kristensen, 2018)

On the other hand, we have to take into account ‘if the child shows multiple delays in social or communication, or mutism in the context of other socially strange behaviors, it is more likely that autism spectrum disorder is the primary diagnosis'(Oerbeck et al, 2018). We realize that the diagnosis is to be able to differentiate between whether the child really is presenting this disorder or we may be related to another which can make a serious mistake.

The most important thing about a differential diagnosis is to see that the real child is suffering from this type of disorder and that it does not also have a medical problem like chronic otitis which makes the child suffer is a auditory problem and does not have in itself mutismselective.

In addition "the diagnosis of selective mutism must include a differential diagnosis to rule out generalized disorders of development or other psychotic disorder" (Sinclair, NT)

Current explanatory theories.

One of the new theories of selective mutism can be those proposed by Pablo J. Olivares-Olivares and José Olivares Rodríguez in which he proposes 4 variables which can directly affect the child as indirectly which are. Variable of the child, genetics, evolutionary and non -evolutionary and psychological nature, according to Olivares, Olivares (2018) states:

Our explanation of why all children who are exposed to similar circumstances integrate two groups of variables of the child with another epistemological relevance do not present more. In the first we include the biological variables that we group in genetic, evolutionary and non -evolutionary;In the second the psychological variables, relevant both for their absence in the basic repertoires of behavior, despite being necessary, as well as its presence when it hinders or prevents necessary learning for normal development. (p.117)

What these authors want to show us is that the child can present selective mutism depending on any of these factors, which can be discovered in different ways, we can also see that if the child is separated from his father figure, he can suffer thisType of problems, but from 1 year to 7, but their level of duration can vary according to the attitudes of the person with whom they show too much attachment.