* * * * * * * * * *
Chapter 5 Selective mutism and my high school years
Entrance Exams (2)
* * * * * * * * * *
In
the former story, I took three college entrance examinations. But I was
scheduled to take one more examination. That is the secondary entrance
examination to a national university. I put special importance on the
examination, because I wanted to enter the national university.
Fortunately,
the examination was written examination, not interview examination. So,
it did not matter whether I was able to speak smoothly. Even today many
Japanese colleges and schools sometimes set interview examination to
applicants. So, some Japanese junior high school and high school
students with selective mutism have trouble passing entrance
examinations.
And I was successful in the entrance examination.
["Tomishige was all smiles"]
Soon
after I knew my examination result, I went to my high school to tell
the result to my teachers and thank them. But when I arrived at my
school in the evening, few teachers remained there. Opening the door of
the teachers' room, I found only one teacher worked. He was a teacher of
the third year of the school, not my homeroom teacher. As soon as he
noticed me, he walked straight up to me and said, "Congratulations, Tomishige!"
He added that the college had already informed the high school of a
list of students who passed the examination. He offered his hand, so I
shook hands with him.
I think most students will have a
happy smile if they are in the same situation. But I didn't. I was
emotionless. That must be odd. I had studied hard to pass the entrance
examination of prestigious colleges since I entered a high school. Now I
achieved my ambition. But my selective mutism caused me to be
emotionless even when I were in such a happy situation.
After I went home, my homeroom teacher called me. "Congratulations on passing your exam, Tomishige! One teacher told me you went to high school some time ago. He said Tomishige was all smiles. I felt very sorry for going home early."
I
was surprised. It was contrary to the truth. I did not know why the
teacher said such a thing. Perhaps he told a lie to her, because he
wanted her to be pleased. Like the Japanese proverb says, Uso mo houben
(Circumstances may justify a lie). Another possibility was that he
confused me with other students.
* * * * * * * * * *
In this way, my high school life ended. Next, I went to university.
(To be continued)
Index of SM story
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Selective mutism and developmental disorder
I've read literature on selective mutism written by Japanese researchers. From what I read, some recent Japanese researchers explore the relationship between selective mutism and developmental disorder.
Common diagnostic criteria, such as DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10, distinguish selective mutism from pervasive developmental disorder. If symptoms of selective mutism occurs during the course of pervasive developmental disorder, that is diagnosed as pervasive developmental disorder, not selective mutism based on anxiety. So, it is important to distinguish both disorders.
Indeed, there seem to be many mute children with pervasive developmental disorders. According to a famous Norwegian research, 68.5 per cent of selectively mute children met the diagnostic criteria for developmental disorder/delay compared with 13.0% in the control group (Kristensen, 2000).
And Shintaro Sagawa, a member of Hinode City Board of Education based on Tokyo, writes that he had seen many mute children, but they are not necessarily silent because of psychological problems. He writes some of them have many difficulties, including developmental disorder (Sagawa, 2006).
So, if you find a selectively child, it may be better to consider the possibility of pervasive developmental disorder. But Yasuhiro Watanabe and Sakakida Rie, a pediatrician and child psychiatrist, points out that it is difficult to distinguish both disorders (Watanabe and Sakaida, 2009). In case you do not know whether the child can be diagnosed as selective mutism or pervasive developmental disorder, it may be better to keep both possibilities in mind.
[Reference]
Kristensen, H. (2000). Selective mutism and comorbidity with developmental disorder/delay, anxiety disorder, and elimination disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 39(2), 249-256.
Sagawa, S. (2006). Bamen kanmokuji heno approach. L'Esprit d'aujourd'hui. 471, 55-61.
Watanabe, U. and Sakakida, R. (2009). Four cases of selective mutism examined from in light of the austic spectrum disorders. Japanese journal of child and adolescent psychiatry. 50(5), 491-503.
Common diagnostic criteria, such as DSM-IV-TR and ICD-10, distinguish selective mutism from pervasive developmental disorder. If symptoms of selective mutism occurs during the course of pervasive developmental disorder, that is diagnosed as pervasive developmental disorder, not selective mutism based on anxiety. So, it is important to distinguish both disorders.
Indeed, there seem to be many mute children with pervasive developmental disorders. According to a famous Norwegian research, 68.5 per cent of selectively mute children met the diagnostic criteria for developmental disorder/delay compared with 13.0% in the control group (Kristensen, 2000).
And Shintaro Sagawa, a member of Hinode City Board of Education based on Tokyo, writes that he had seen many mute children, but they are not necessarily silent because of psychological problems. He writes some of them have many difficulties, including developmental disorder (Sagawa, 2006).
So, if you find a selectively child, it may be better to consider the possibility of pervasive developmental disorder. But Yasuhiro Watanabe and Sakakida Rie, a pediatrician and child psychiatrist, points out that it is difficult to distinguish both disorders (Watanabe and Sakaida, 2009). In case you do not know whether the child can be diagnosed as selective mutism or pervasive developmental disorder, it may be better to keep both possibilities in mind.
[Reference]
Kristensen, H. (2000). Selective mutism and comorbidity with developmental disorder/delay, anxiety disorder, and elimination disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. 39(2), 249-256.
Sagawa, S. (2006). Bamen kanmokuji heno approach. L'Esprit d'aujourd'hui. 471, 55-61.
Watanabe, U. and Sakakida, R. (2009). Four cases of selective mutism examined from in light of the austic spectrum disorders. Japanese journal of child and adolescent psychiatry. 50(5), 491-503.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Japanese children's book about selective mutism
I found a Japanese children's book about selective mutism. Issho ni asobo vamos brincar (in English, let's play with me!), published in 2003. It's a fiction novel written by Etsuko Yamamoto.
The main characters of the story are two children. One is a third-grade Brazilian girl named Juliana. She transferred to an elementary school in Japan. But she faces difficulties in speaking Japanese. The other is her classmate named Seiya. He suffers from selective mutism.
The story revolves around Juliana and Seiya. The heart of the story is Seiya's relationship with Juliana.
Both Juliana and Seiya have difficulties in speaking, although their problems are different. When it comes to people who have language problems in fiction, I recall a short story "Hankachi," written by Kiyoshi Shigematsu. Hankachi is included in the book Aoi Tori, a collection of short stories. The main characters of the story are one teacher and one student. The teacher has a stutter problem. On the other hand, the student suffers from selective mutism. The center of the story is their relationship.
I have mixed feeling about this. I guess writers of both stories aim to explore meaning of verbal communication by writing people who can't speak well. But I don't want to group them together. Selective mutism is different from stuttering and lack of language knowledge.
But I guess this book may give solace to children with selective mutism. They may feel they are not alone when they finish reading the book.
The main characters of the story are two children. One is a third-grade Brazilian girl named Juliana. She transferred to an elementary school in Japan. But she faces difficulties in speaking Japanese. The other is her classmate named Seiya. He suffers from selective mutism.
The story revolves around Juliana and Seiya. The heart of the story is Seiya's relationship with Juliana.
Both Juliana and Seiya have difficulties in speaking, although their problems are different. When it comes to people who have language problems in fiction, I recall a short story "Hankachi," written by Kiyoshi Shigematsu. Hankachi is included in the book Aoi Tori, a collection of short stories. The main characters of the story are one teacher and one student. The teacher has a stutter problem. On the other hand, the student suffers from selective mutism. The center of the story is their relationship.
I have mixed feeling about this. I guess writers of both stories aim to explore meaning of verbal communication by writing people who can't speak well. But I don't want to group them together. Selective mutism is different from stuttering and lack of language knowledge.
But I guess this book may give solace to children with selective mutism. They may feel they are not alone when they finish reading the book.
Friday, February 25, 2011
A new Japanese picture book about selective mutism
A new Japanese picture book about selective mutism was published in January 2011. The title is Nacchan no koe -- Gakkou de hanasenai kodomotachi no rikai no tameni (Nacchan's voice -- Understanding children who can't speak at school).
Book details by Yahoo!Japan books
(New window open)
The heroine of the book is an elementary school girl who has selective mutism. We can understand the disorder through the story.
The main contents of the book are, of course, picture book. The story is very easy to understand, so even little children seem to be able to understand the disorder through the story.
The author is Miko Hayashi. She was a mother of a child who once had selective mutism. She illustrates the book as well as tells the story. Ms. Hayashi has made public her original picture stories about selective mutism on the Internet for a few years.
And at the end of the book, Yoji Kanehara, the director of Kanehara Pediatric Clinic, provides medical explanation about selective mutism for teachers and parents. In addition, one junior high school girl with selective mutism contributes her poem.
This book is edited under the supervision of Kanmoku Net (Knet), a Japanese selective mutism support group. Miko Hayashi is a member of the group.
Nacchan no Koe is not the first Japanese picutre book about selective mutism. As far as I know, the one titled Banzai! Nayakaya-kun (Hooray! Nakayama) was published in 2000. In 2002 a photo book Rika-chan ga waratta -- Hibikiau kodomo tachi (1) (Rika laughed -- Echoing children (1)) was published. However, there had been no picture books in which organizations on selective mutism involved until this book was published.
Book details by Yahoo!Japan books
(New window open)
The heroine of the book is an elementary school girl who has selective mutism. We can understand the disorder through the story.
The main contents of the book are, of course, picture book. The story is very easy to understand, so even little children seem to be able to understand the disorder through the story.
The author is Miko Hayashi. She was a mother of a child who once had selective mutism. She illustrates the book as well as tells the story. Ms. Hayashi has made public her original picture stories about selective mutism on the Internet for a few years.
And at the end of the book, Yoji Kanehara, the director of Kanehara Pediatric Clinic, provides medical explanation about selective mutism for teachers and parents. In addition, one junior high school girl with selective mutism contributes her poem.
This book is edited under the supervision of Kanmoku Net (Knet), a Japanese selective mutism support group. Miko Hayashi is a member of the group.
Nacchan no Koe is not the first Japanese picutre book about selective mutism. As far as I know, the one titled Banzai! Nayakaya-kun (Hooray! Nakayama) was published in 2000. In 2002 a photo book Rika-chan ga waratta -- Hibikiau kodomo tachi (1) (Rika laughed -- Echoing children (1)) was published. However, there had been no picture books in which organizations on selective mutism involved until this book was published.
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