Selective Mutism

Selective Mutism

Speech is defined as the sounds we produce that others understand as words. Ours is an intensely verbal society. We need words in order to think and talk. We need language to express our ideas, share our feelings, make known our needs and wants and have meaningful relationships with family and friends (Berger, 1981, p.10).

A common example of the importance of speech can be found among immigrants who do not know the local language. Just getting the basics of life-food and a place to sleep, can be a struggle when they cannot ask for directions (Allstetter, 1991, p.14).

How do people acquire speech? Noam Chomsky, the most prominent linguist of the past 30 years, believes that all humans possess an innate ability to learn language. "Language is too complex for children to learn as quickly as they do unless they are born with some capacity for it," remarks Chomsky (Allstetter, 1991, p.17).

Indeed, it has been found that all babies, including deaf ones babble when they are first born. Those who cannot hear eventually stop and become mute, but those who do hear, begin imitating the adult speech around them. As long as a child is exposed to people who speak, he or she will almost always learn to talk. However, there does appear to be a critical period, ending at puberty, after which children find it much more difficult, if not impossible to learn language (Alltstetter, 1991 p.19).

Much research has been done to gain insight into the critical period of language development. Isabelle was the daughter of a deaf-mute who spent her first six years in a darkened room. When finally released, it was discovered that the youngster was only able to make croaking sounds. Still within the critical period, however, she made remarkable progress, learning in two years the language skills it takes most children six years to acquire. On the other hand, Genie, a child who passed the onset of puberty with no language skills, failed to catch up on many of the basic concepts of language (Borden, Harris & Raphael, 1994 p.6).

Typical development of speech follows a basic pattern. At around the fourth month of life, babies begin to babble. Babbling is simply the repetition of certain sounds (Berger, 1981 p. 24). Through babbling, the baby learns to associate the movements of its mouth with the sounds heard. Experts find that parents who show an interest in their children's verbal development help them with speech and language development. Parents are advised to play along with the child. When the child makes sounds at them, the parents should duplicate the sound back at the child. This exchange gives the child the idea that one uses sound to communicate and eventually turns sound into talking (25).

Typically, babies say their first word close to the end of their first year. Almost always, the first words are