ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the life stories of adults who had selective mutism (SM) as a child and, in some cases, into adulthood. There are tragic descriptions of the effects of late diagnosis, mismanagement and missed opportunities that point to the importance of adult services recognising SM and having the knowledge and skills to manage it effectively. There is generally a strong genetic predisposition to SM; and those affected tend to share a clearly recognisable set of features in common. It is not unusual for SM to traverse generations, passing from parent to child (as in our case). Specific strategies that helped included emotional freedom technique (EFT) which uses tapping on specific meridian points in the body; and a movement programme developed by the Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology (INPP) to overcome the physiological effects of author retained Moro reflex.
