How do you help a child who is able to talk, but can t or won t talk in a social situation? Finding Voice provides valuable, actionable support for teachers, therapists and parents seeking to help children who are struggling with verbal communication in social and educational settings. Selective mutism exists when a child is unable to speak in specific social and personal situation and when that deficit is not caused by a learning disorder or a language difference. It s a condition more closely aligned with a social anxiety disorder than a physical disability. This book presents a systematic procedure for increasing social speech. It was built on evidence-based methods that have been used to treat anxiety disorders in older children and adults. Dr. Schum notes that the approach to treatment for children with selective mutism varies according to individual behavioral variations and the child s own progress. For this reason, he does not recommend a manualized, one size fits all approach. His methodology encourages and instructs the child s helpers to create a personalized strategy, or menu, that builds on the childs strengths while building and strengthening skills necessary to address social challenges.A unified approach allows parents, teachers and therapist to work together in coordination to promote both social interaction and cognitive understanding. A consistent approach is advocated whether it is through activities at home, in the classroom or in the therapy room. The overall goal is to improve on the communication abilities the child already has to make him or her more confident and verbally proficient in communicating through every channel.

PDF version of material included in this book's appendixes are available for download on the book webpage at www.researchpress.com/downloads.