Volume: 2 Issue: 1
Year: 2025, Page: 39-45, Doi: https://doi.org/10.71325/ajjms.v2i1.25.18
Received: Feb. 20, 2025 Accepted: April 7, 2025 Published: April 19, 2025
Introduction and Aim : Social language skills, or pragmatics, are crucial for building and maintaining relationships. Deficits in these skills can impact a child's mental health, social-emotional well-being, and academic success. Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) play a key role in assessing and treating pragmatic language disorders. Children with selective mutism (SM) often struggle with social communication, making SLPs well-suited to support them. However, misconceptions about SM being solely an anxiety disorder may lead to inadequate awareness and knowledge among SLPs. This study explores SLPs' awareness and knowledge of SM, their ability to identify and treat the condition, and the need for enhanced training and resources. Methods: The study, conducted in A.J. Institute of Speech and Hearing, included SLPs, each with at least one year of work experience, regardless of their sex, age, geographic location, or work setting. A questionnaire, developed through a bibliographic review and expert feedback, included forced-choice, open-ended, close-ended, and Likert scale questions. It was distributed to SLPs in both academic and clinical settings. The data collected were analysed using statistical methods. Results: Awareness levels varied based on prior experience with SM. SLPs who had worked with children with SM demonstrated significantly higher awareness and understanding of its impact on treatment. Conclusion: The findings highlight SLPs' critical role in SM intervention due to its association with speech and language disorders. However, there is a notable gap in their knowledge. To enhance competency, integrating SM-related content into SLP education and providing in-service training programs are essential.
Keywords: Aphasia voluntaria, Co-morbid, Elective mutism, Interdisciplinary approach, Awareness, Competencies, Constant remissness
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© 2025 Published by Laxmi Memorial Education Trust. This is an open-access article under CC BY 4.0 license. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Afreen Sudheer, Hannah Abraham, Rashmi Ananth Pai, Ambreen Aseef. Awareness of Selective Mutism among Speech Language Pathologists. AJ J Med Sci 2025;2(1):39–45