Thank you for all the helpful information your books and the web site offer, they truely have been the primary source of information we have used to help our son. In the last year my 1st grade son has made great progress. In k he spent most of the year not talking to anyone. This year he talks to 4 friends and his teacher. He has made the most progress since starting 10 mg prozac in Nov. 03. Prior to that he took Zoloft for 9 mths with little progress. I’m wondering if he would benefit from increasing the dosage? Any suggestions? He is receiving therapy with a therapist that is experienced (20+ yr) with SM, but she focuses on his talking mostly (she is our 4th one in 1 1/2 yrs.).

We have worked with him for the last 2 years to decrease his anxiety and he uses techniques he’s learned 2x daily. He says he is comfortable with not talking and has stated people like him just how he is. He’s very social and has many friends and rarely feels nervous at school. In Jan. a new student joined his class and within a day my son talked to him. My son stated that this boy didn’t know he didn’t talk and he felt comfortable with talking to him. He worries what the kids will say when he talks, he thinks they won’t think he’s the same person. I know my son is in a comfortable zone at school (his teacher agrees) and I feel all the key elements are in place to help him to successfully transition to moving to the next level, I just don’t know what to do to help him. We need to develop a detailed plan on how to progress at his comfort level. Do you think it would be beneficial to bring him to your center in PA. to get assistance? His behavior is engrained in who he feels he is and I need help helping him unlearn this.

Any information you could provide would be appreciated!

Answer

Increasing medication is not the answer. There is nothing in the information that you wrote that mentions HOW you are helping him to progress. Lowering anxiety is just one facet to treatment…for the very reason you described. Your son is comfortable but he also does not know how to PROGRESS without help. The therapist you are working with should help you to transition him from nonverbal to verbal communication via various tactics/techniques…so that he can UNLEARN mute behavior to become a verbal communicator, i.e, your son said that he does not feel the need to TALK…that others know him this way. What he is saying is that TALKING will change the dynamics between his friends, draw attention to himself, and most of all, he really has no idea how to do this.

Please speak to your therapist about methods to help your son progress communicatively. Your son is literally in the ‘verbal transition’ phase. In other words, nonverbal responding is easy and effortless with most individuals he knows. I am sure with NEW, unfamiliar people he may have trouble responding at first and probably cannot initiate comfortably, but in school, he can respond with ease and is most likely and expert in nonverbal communication…that if we were to peek into the window of the classroom (without hearing anything), he looks and acts like every other child! So, now is the time to transition him or he will remain this way…for in indeterminate amount of time.