Selective Mutism Questionnaire

Developed by R. Lindsey Bergman and colleagues, the Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ) is a caregiver-report questionnaire that assesses the frequency of selective mutism symptoms over the preceding two weeks, in three domains: at school, speech in home/family environments, and in community/social settings. It includes items like, “When appropriate, my child asks their teacher questions,” which respondents rate on a four-point scale (always, often, seldom, and never). In addition, the SMQ includes an interference/distress scale to gather information about the impact of symptoms in different domains. On the SMQ, higher scores represent more speech whereas lower
scores are reflective of less speaking and potentially more severe selective mutism.

*Reprinted with permission from R. Lindsey Bergman