November 2nd 2012 the day my almost 4 year old said "I not going to speak again till my Papa comes home." The first day I didn't worry, nor the second, on day three I was upset and on day four I was in tears. I begged, I bribed, his brother and sister tried to get him to speak, his friends, teachers everyone. He had just stopped speaking -after two weeks his Papa was back, but his words were not.
His Papa didn't worry the first day, nor the second, but within a few days he too was worried. It was nearly three weeks since we had heard our little boys voice. No "I love you" s no laughter, no silly stories not a single sound.
A visit to our family doctor told us that Jean might have "selective mutism" a little know social anxiety disorder. Our (fantastic) doctor referred us to a paediatric resident who confirmed the earlier diagnosis and ruled out several very scary diseases.
We headed home with a name for what it was that our son had but we were still at a loss. What had caused his selective mutism, why wouldn't he talk to anyone, and what could we do to make it better?
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