Selective Mutism Strategy-Teacher: Teacher’s helper

• Who: Amy, teacher, whisper buddy
• Location: Classroom
• Environment: regular classroom environment
• Worry Level: 2
• Purpose: Give Amy a set of tasks to do in the morning and throughout the day. Allow her to have a whisper buddy when needed.
• What’s Happening: At the beginning of the school year, the teacher partners Amy with her whisper buddy and has them be the teacher’s helpers together.

Strategy and Scene

• Whisper Buddy
• Amy and her whisper buddy are chosen to be the teacher’s helpers for the day. This allows Amy to be more comfortable in her speaking role by using her whisper buddy to help do her tasks
• When Amy cannot answer a question, ask her friend/whisper buddy to come back and join her in answering questions
• As the year progresses, Amy should rely less and less on her whisper buddy, until she can be the teacher’s helper all by herself

Keep Amy Busy

• Teacher writes down a list of tasks for Amy and her friend to do that day
• When Amy gets comfortable, her friend may sit and Amy may continue her task in front of the classroom
• Use Positive Reinforcement
• “Amy, the students’ corner looks amazing!”
• “Good job today Amy! You are a great teacher’s helper.”
• “You and Caroline did such a great job organizing the classroom!”

 

It was the beginning of a new school year. The teacher purposely arranged Amy and her whisper buddy, Jada, to be teacher’s little helpers. With help from her whisper friend, it is easier for Amy to speak. For example, when Amy could not open her mouth to speak, her whisper buddy could lend her a hand. With time, Amy’s dependence on her whisper buddy would diminish until one day, she could complete all the little helper’s tasks by herself.

On a day not long after the start of the school year, it was Amy and Jada’s turn to be the teacher’s little helpers. The teacher had listed the day’s tasks earlier. Wow, there were quite a lot of tasks: weather report, attendance, reading assignment, math practice, lunch order, bookshelf management, and classroom cleanup. Some tasks were fine, but others required communication and presented difficulties to Amy. How Amy wished that Jada would do all the tasks that required speaking, even if the rest of the tasks were left to her! It was time to order lunch. When Amy realized she would have to talk to other students face-to-face, her heart started to pound, and she whispered this to Jada. The teacher read Amy’s nervous thoughts, and walked over with a smile. “You need to finish this task together. I have a suggestion: there are 20 students in our class. For the first 10 people, Jada will speak first and for the next 10, the roles will be reversed. Is that okay?” Amy thought to herself, “Well, at least I won’t have to talk first.” She felt slightly relieved. With each lunch order, Amy felt less and less nervous. Finally, it was Amy’s turn to ask the questions. Jada looked at Amy with encouragement. Amy recited Jada’s questions. At first, her face was red, heart was pounding, and could not look at the other student when asking the questions. Later, she got more and more comfortable with it. Finally, it was over. Amy breathed a sigh of relief. The teacher took the lunch order and gave them a thumb up. “You two are so capable! You’re really good helpers.” Throughout the day, the teacher praised Amy whenever she finished a task. The teacher’s praises made Amy feel slightly bashful. She was pleased inside, and hoped to have a longer list of tasks to earn more of the teacher’s praise. It was time to go home. “When will it be my turn again to be the teacher’s little helper?” Amy longingly wondered.

Strategy: Complete tasks with assistance from a whisper buddy, keep Amy busy, have the teacher praise Amy upon completion of each task.

作者俊華,艾米媽 。 如有需要，加微信：junwang08837，艾米媽邀你進 “選擇性緘默症家長分享群”。

選擇性緘默症包括語言恐 Speech Phobia，感知障礙 Sensory Disorder, 社交恐懼 Social Anxiety 。 關鍵詞： 孩子為什麽不說話，孩子在外麵不說話，孩子不敢說話，和陌生人不說話，社交恐懼，孩子在幼兒園和學校不說話，害羞，敏感，膽子小，懦弱，怕生，內向，沒自信，固執，不敢吃飯，不敢去廁所，不敢和小朋友玩，，在家講話，出門不講話。隻和爸爸媽媽說話， 不敢參加集體活動。