Selective Mutism

5 July

I had a very interesting encounter with one of my tuition kids today. She is P1 and suffers from Selective Mutism (SM). This is a childhood anxiety disorder where a child cannot speak in select settings, such as in school, despite their ability to speak normally in situations where they are comfortable, such as at home. I was praying much for her before I went today (as it was my first tuition lesson with her). Amazingly, she responded so well to me, made effort to communicate through writing with me and maintained lots of eye contact too. She was even smiling and giggling when I read a story to her. Although she did not speak much, she had visible lip movements and was trying to articulate what she wanted to say.

The Lord spoke to me after my tuition with this girl and told me that many of us, especially in our preparation for 100k, also suffer from selective mutism (SM). We begin to be anxious and fearful about sharing our faith or even praying a blessing. We could be gripped with so much of fear that we stand motionless when confronted with specific social settings. This can be heart wrenching because we could be chatting so much with our colleagues and friends but when it comes to the things of God, we literally freeze and become expressionless, unemotional and be socially isolated. Want to know how to help a SM ‘child’??

Have a caring and understanding teacher/ coach – The Lord spoke to me and said need to be just like that! We need to be caring and understanding coaches to our people. They need our love and motivation to nurture them and stand with them during this time. We need to coax them, give them practical handles and even be there for them to ease any form of discomfort and fear. Allowing them to communicate non-verbally will be a means of gaining a sense of comfort and stability. In due time, they will become pro-active, relaxed and will RISE UP!!