Abstract
From the outset, it is very clear that this book has been carefully edited with a sense of passion, pride and enthusiasm in order to act, just as the title states, as a guide for professionals and parents. The broad range of topics covered and range of contributions included adds to the credibility of this book as a general guide for any professional and parent that may want to find out more about Selective Mutism (SM). In addition, within a clinical area where it is encouraged to ease children’s anxiety by telling them that they are not the only one e.g. suffering from this kind of talking anxiety, the personalized quotes and stories in this book could be used for this purpose, as appropriate, with anyone effected by SM.
The large number of individual case studies in this book provides interesting reading with useful ideas, anecdotes, techniques and strategies. The passionate parental accounts, particularly ‘Ann’s story’ in Chapter 10, showed a real dedication and application of strategies that parents and professionals would find useful to read. The inclusion of usefully applied approaches from a range of professionals makes the guide generically of use across professions and builds on the known research that, where individualized treatment is needed, the involvement of a key professional with knowledge and skills in the area of SM is the most solid foundation. At the same time, the book clearly outlines the need for specific professionals in specific cases. For example, I was of course pleased to read the agreement that generally the involvement of a speech and language therapist is of particular value, especially where an additional communication disorder may exist.
Regular reference to SMIRA (The Selective Mutism Information & Research Association; www.smira.org.uk), from details of its inauguration to examples of the support they have offered parents and professionals, are proudly cited throughout to reinforce the positive impact this organization has had. In addition, the inclusion, acknowledgement and referencing of specific techniques and resources makes this book a useful overview and reference guide towards other more specific resources. For example, the acknowledgement of Maggie Johnson, Speech and Language Therapist, as a ‘leading expert’ (p. 78) and frequent reference to The selective mutism resource manual (Johnson and Wintgens, 2001) promotes this manual as a practical and widely used tool.
The book is set out in three main parts.
Part 1: current understanding of Selective Mutism. This section includes a history of changing perspectives of SM and an overview of current assessment, treatment and research. The questionnaire-based research presented in Chapter 3 is particularly interesting for parents and professionals. Whilst more detail would be needed to fully evaluate this research for journal publication purposes, the examples and outcomes are valuable. The inclusion of touching quotes from children with SM, make this a very powerful chapter and piece of work.
Part 2: Related and co-morbid conditions. This section provides a very useful overview for those who would like to understand more about co-morbidities. As a clinician with a specific interest and background in working with SM and autism, I found Chapter 6 a very welcome addition, providing a clear and simple starting point for any parent or professional who wants to find out more about co-existence or how they may present as similar.
Part 3: Intervention strategies and supports. This section makes up the vast majority of the book and includes an overview of a wide range of approaches applied by various professionals. The general information on medication presented in Chapter 8 is presented objectively. This would be a useful overview for parents and professionals in order to be better informed of this as a possible treatment option to be discussed more specifically in application to personalized cases. The examples of various behavioural approaches applied across settings and age groups include useful tips and strategies that readers can apply or go and find out more about. Chapter 11 includes kindly shared care pathways and is very clearly set out and explained. I would recommend this to services as part of service development. The inclusion and successes of less well-known treatment options provides a useful reference guide to treatment options. For example, the successes of animals as part of therapy in Chapter 10, and a case of the successful role music therapy played in Chapter 13. Teaching confidence to teenagers in Chapter 14 provided useful strategies for supporting this age group more generically with confidence and would be valuable more widely than with just SM. Finally, the legal and educational overview in Chapter 15 is a useful reference point in light of many of the recent changes in health and education in the UK.
In summary, this book, does just as it states: it provides a useful guide which parents and professionals can dip in and out of to best suit their needs.