Selective Mutism Spring School Transition Plan

April 8, 2024

Dear SMA Community,

Spring has officially sprung, and the school year is winding down. It’s time to start developing (or refining) a transition plan for students with Selective Mutism as they prepare to advance into a new grade.

1) Spring is a great time to update assessment information about school communication. The School Speech Questionnaire is a short measure that gets completed by the teacher and can be very helpful in tracking progress and identifying new intervention goals. The Frankfurt Scale of Selective Mutism is longer and can provide additional ideas for new goals. Consider also involving the student in creating a list or map of adults and peers and settings around the school where the student finds it easy, medium, or hard to speak with/in.

2) Convene a school team meeting to discuss progress made during the current school year and ways that caregivers/educators can support further progress next year.

3) Transition plans should include small, achievable goals. For instance, many individuals with SM will have a much easier time getting verbally comfortable with any new teachers in a 1:1 meeting as opposed to having to develop a verbal relationship in front of the full class.

4) In general, prioritize accomplishing goals before the new school year starts so that the student starts the school year already verbal in the school setting and with key communication partners for their new year. Examples include:

• Caregivers can facilitate visits to the school setting to re-establish comfort and familiarity in the physical environment. Early visits might have no speech expectations (or low speech expectations such as answering their parents’ questions in an empty hallway) while later visits might also incorporate a challenge to respond to questions from office staff, administrators, and/or teachers who might be preparing their new classrooms.

• Caregivers coordinate playdates or get-togethers with students who will be in their child’s new classes. For adolescents, this might look a little different. For instance, a student with SM who is entering high school might be assigned a student ambassador who could give them a tour and help them complete some of their orientation tasks.

• If possible, students with SM should be given advance notice of their teacher/classroom assignments so that there is an opportunity to meet and ideally establish speech with their teacher(s) during the current school year or during the summer.

• Similarly, if possible, students with SM should have 1-2 of their friends (ideally peers they already speak with) in their new class(es).

5) Plan ahead for both in-classroom goals and goals for any intervention sessions built into the student’s school week. For instance, a student who starts the school year off answering their teachers’ questions might have an in-classroom goal of initiating with their teacher. That same student’s goals during their intervention sessions with the school social worker could include a scavenger hunt around the school setting wherein the student initiates with various school staff members. The interventionist might also plan to push-in to the student’s recess window to help the student initiate with their peers, invite them to play a game, and explain the rules of the game.

6) Caregivers should think about ways to incorporate bravery into their summer plans—whether that includes community outings with specific talking goals (e.g., telling a clerk how many tickets they need for the zoo), visits with extended family members (e.g., playing a verbal game with a relative they don’t see frequently), or summer camps/programming. It is important to continue practicing throughout the summer to help ease the transition back to school in the fall.

Sincerely,
Katelyn Reed, M.S., LLP
SMA Board of Directors, President