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My already 15-year-old daughter has elective mutism. She speaks only with a limited circle of people – in our case, with relatives and children – her peers. Doesn’t speak to outside adults at all. Plus a bunch of all sorts of fears, mostly far-fetched. Plus hyper-shyness and dislike for personal hygiene. I will not list now everything with which we first arrived for treatment. It was in 2015. Since then we have already gone through 5 cycles.
The last time we were on treatment was in May 2017. Since then, Vita has been to a summer camp (unfortunately, only a week) and to a city camp. Communication not only with peers but also with older children is in full swing. She was going to start talking to adults in these camps, but she could not overpower herself. Now, in this regard, we have all hope for the winter camp. It is not only the habit of washing your hair that is fully entrenched. It became a necessity for her.
She had not spoken softly before, and on the last cycle, the professor seemed to “turn on” her sound to the maximum. I stopped controlling the volume of my voice in public places. If earlier she spoke there very quietly, now, as circumstances require, even louder. She stopped reacting painfully to my remarks like “Don’t shout at the whole minibus”: to be shy, to lower her head, to hide, etc. I hope this is already the beginning of the fact that she is no longer ashamed of her voice.
I began to calmly and normally react if someone outside (for example, a saleswoman in a store) intervenes in our conversation in response to Vitin’s remark. Still determined to learn. Unfortunately, so far, mainly in words.
If someone has any questions, call me on the ukrainian mobile number +380503431575 or email: korogodskyirina@gmail.com. I will be happy to answer all your questions.
Mom Irina and daughter Vita. Kharkiv, Ukraine