MWM: Selective mutism is not related to trauma. Trauma can cause mutism but it usually presents differently than selective mutism and shouldn't be diagnosed as such and according the research kids with selective mutism don't have any more trauma history than kids without. Selective mutism also has nothing to do with speech delay either (though also people with speech delay can have it.) Selectyive mutism is a situation there the person is capable to speak and speaks in some situations normally and freely, but who in some situations or to some peole doesn't talk at all. Typical case would be a kid, who at home speaks normally, even a lot, but doesn't speak at school. And it can be, that they do speak to other kids, but not to teachers or other way around. Kids still often communicate and participate in other ways. My niece speaks to other kids some, but only extremely limited way to adults in day-care. Selective mutism is anxiety disorder and seems to have genetic component.
To me it also seems it is known disorder also in states: http://www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/selectivemutism.htm
Treatment is what confuses sister in law, because after evaluations she was told interventions would be needed and that psychologist will set them up with the day care. Some online sources do recommend similar interventions she was told about, some recommend not to try to force child to speak in any way.
Niece is having few interventions already. She currently is working with physiotherapist and occupational therapist. Has been some time now. And she had her first half year of physiotherapy when she was a baby and she was late to crawl and had other slight gross motor skill delays. It was very helpful and she was hitting her goals when year and half. But when three, she was again delayed. Around here physiotherapists do more than in US, I guess. At least here in the board anyone seldom mentions physiotherapy as an intervention and here where I live there basically are few special needs kids who are not working with physiotherapist. Is there is any motor skill issues, physiotherapists are always involved. So I guess in our systems physiotherapists do some things that OTs do in your. While niece also sees Occupational Therapist (OT), motor stuff and lots of sensory stuff is done with PT. She is now waiting also speech therapy. And as I said, she is waiting a spot in special needs day care group and if that happens before there is an opening in speech therapy (very possible, they have long waiting lists and she is not the most urgent case), she will be seeing a speech pathologist during the day care days. And while waiting, they will have selective mutism interventions in current group.
Susie is right and her current group is too big and taxing for her. That is why they will keep her there only three days a week and mother in law is having her twice a week. Special needs group will be much smaller and there is a lot done to have environment less taxing on sensory stimuli so hopefully that will be easier for her. But she will not get that spot before November. Niece doesn't seem to be bullied in day care and there are few kids she does play (and talk) with. She does seem to be scared of rowdier children and their plays and is clearly bothered by the noise. She does communicate with gestures with adults in day care and may occasionally whisper something to an adult, if she wants something. But she doesn't talk during their group times or during activities or chat with adults. Sometimes she may mouth the answers to some of teachers questions if she is excited with 'the lesson', but she doesn't answer aloud. And if she for example needs to use bathroom, she may ask in gestures etc. And even that is difficult for her (they have tried to introduce her to showing a 'bathroom card' if she needs to use bathroom, but she is very hesitant. So they just ask her often if she needs to go and so she can just nod, when she does.
EDIT: By the way, the interventions to make child with selective mutism to talk are not nowadays actually forcing them to talk, more either bribing them to talk or trying to trick them to talk. For example there may be a 'surprise prise' child can get, when she asks it aloud. Or child is taken to the room in the place she doesn't usually talk alone with person she does talk with (for example child and parent being left alone to the class room.) And when child reliably talks with person also in that environment, people child doesn't talk with start to stop by while child and trusted person are talking (e.g. teacher comes to class room to 'get something they forgot') So that is kind of exposing them to the idea of talking in that environment little by little. But apparently if the child understands that the goal is to make them speak, even those approaches can backfire.
