Blog on Selective Mutism

I think a milestone should be added today to this blog.   My son graduated Jr. High, will be a freshman next year and had a 4.0.  For a kid who could not put two words together during pre school, this is a milestone. 

He talks, he talks too much, he is popular, words that if you had asked me 10 years ago, I would of said how, he never speaks a word to any of his class mates. He has tons of friends today.  The selective mutism never came back, but there are still hangovers to those days.  He is a perfectionist and it is his way or the highway. 

He will be a teacher, lawyer or preacher when he grows up, his word are so spot on.  The kids at school call him  Dr. >>>>, like Dr. Phil since he can tell them what in their life is not working and get them on the right track.   Parents call him the voice of reason.  They always know they can go to him to find out what really went on.  Words are a big part of his life.  He is a very good writer. It comes easily to him. Sometimes I think for all the early struggles, it should be easy.  Time will tell.

I  still sit in amazement at how far we have come and how many paths we went down.  Always fearing every grade that it would re-appear, luckily it did not.  How many teacher I had to train on what it was. How many feared it and tried to put him in a ” special class”.  How many were annoyed that they would have to have a child with Selective Mutism who turned out to be gifted.

So instead of going down the path they wanted him to go, I had to bully my way up.  I mean fight hard for him, fighting with the school administration, talking with state administrators who did not want to fund his alt test. Funding it ourselves and finding out we were right all along. 

The point was he was not mute and dumb, he was selectively mute and brilliant.  People have to learn the difference.  Einstein did not speak until he was 5.  That piece of info carried me through many a dark day. Helen Keller was blind deaf and mute, but not stupid.  My son did not speak at school, but did at home, so I saw different child then they say everyday.

So my advice and why I wrote this blog was to help others, since I had no road map.  Do not give up on your child, Dont’ ever give up, follow your gut, and do what you can do to make it right.