Single-case methodology : patients with selective mutism

Author / Creator

Kehle, Thomas J., 1943- author

Available as

Online

Summary

Shortly after accepting my current position as a professor at the University of Connecticut in 1987, I was asked to meet a third-grade student who had not spoken a word in an educational setting fo...

Shortly after accepting my current position as a professor at the University of Connecticut in 1987, I was asked to meet a third-grade student who had not spoken a word in an educational setting for nearly 5 years. During preschool, kindergarten, and in the elementary grades, he was mute. However, in non-educational settings, although shy, he spoke freely. I used an augmented self-modeling intervention within a single-subject AB design to effect a complete remission of his selective mutism in just three approximately 10-min-long treatment sessions. At a 9-month follow-up, his normal verbal behavior was maintained. In the 27 years since then, I along with my colleagues have successfully treated close to 60 individuals with selective mutism. We will present a recent case study in which we treated a 7-year-old child, Pam (pseudonym), incorporating things we have learned over the years that have made this intervention more effective and less time consuming.

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