Some current and former sufferers of selective mutism (and maybe their parents) think various things about selective mutism on the basis of their experiences.
For instance, "I suffered from severe depression as a lasting effect of selective mutism. So, selective mutism in general have severe lasting effects."
"I overcame my selective mutism by myself. So, Everyone can overcome selective mutism by themselves."
But it's impossible to generalize personal experience.
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View of selective mutism by current and former sufferers (and maybe their parents) may be biased.
Their views are limited. They know their symptoms in detail, but don't necessarily know others' well.
Some become emotional when it comes to selective mutism, because they experienced selective mutism. For instance, if someone say selective mutism is less common in adults than children, how do adults with selective mutism feel?
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I know the impossibility of generalizing personal experience. But I'm driven by emotion as well as reason. Deep down, I want to generalize my experiences to think selective mutism. But I should follow the dictates of reason.
Of course, if I collect many personal experiences, I may find something in common. That's induction.
