iSpeak

Kathryn Harper suffered from selective mutism as a child when very little was known about this frequently misunderstood condition. In her teens and early adult years she developed further complications as a result of her untreated anxiety. Today, it is important to Kathryn to share her perspective, which she has been able to develop using the benefit of hindsight, and a willingness to explore her past. She hopes that this book will provide insights and a greater understanding for people whose lives are affected in some way by selective mutism. "I have wanted to write this book since 1985. As a six year old girl I had no idea that selective mutism even existed, but my silence was palpable and inside of it I was developing all kinds of conversations, explanations, questions, and insights ..."

Thirteen-year-old Amethyst does not get on with her teachers. Her classmates think she is weird. She prefers to be on her own, and she wishes she did not have to go to school. Amethyst reads detective stories, collects fossils, loves archaeology, and is writing her own dictionary. She has trained herself to become an expert in tracking, searching and following clues, and she uses these detective skills to search for someone who was murdered seventy years ago. Amethyst reaches out across time and space and in doing so finds her own voice among the many meanings of silence.

To Kim Tucker, solidly in the Asperger's section of the autism spectrum, the colors blue and green and gray are not just colors, but rather whole worlds of iridescent life. Likewise, to say that Under the Banana Moon is full of laughter and love and heartbreak is to only scratch the surface. Growing up, Kim couldn't speak when there was more than one person present, and sometimes even then her words failed her. But she could always write. More comfortable in the company of cats, or passing notes to grandmother, she found peace where she could, and avoided the frightful parts of the world—like anything that was the color green. But school brought whole new worlds of fear: other kids. Their words and feelings were indecipherable. Their touch was toxic. She survived with scars. As a teenager, she felt the same urges as her peers but went about it in extreme ways: when she drank, she went to the hospital; when she dated, she got married. Her husband, Howie, was her high school sweetheart. He was also her best friend and the father of her three children. He took care of her and managed her disability. When he was diagnosed with ALS, their roles reversed, the world collapsed—but they kept going. Some things Kim could never learn (like how to drive a car... without crashing), but some things she could. Like how to help her husband die, and how to live to tell the story. In her book, as in her life, tears and laughter are like a rhyming couplet, similar expressions of the same deep feeling. Only with both can Kim tell her story which is, in the end, about perseverance, and joy, and love beyond lifetime.

Persona Medusa is the story of a boy, DJ, who upon starting school is struck by an overwhelming force of anxiety. The anxiety is so strong that he physically cannot speak or move a muscle when the expectation to speak is on him. This anxiety disorder is known as Selective Mutism. He continues to experience the same anxiety and paralysis of voice and body each day at every expectation to speak such as, the roll call, class-mates trying to speak to him, his pencil breaking, his paint brush drying, the teachers asking him questions, break times and worst of all being unable to ask to use the toilet. DJ has a safe place home where he can speak and move freely but this is slowly eroded by the immense anxiety that attacks him in his away from home life. The anxiety and shame follows DJ as he leaves school, starts college, travels, enters the work force, makes and loses friends and falls in love with his future wife, Anita. With his marriage coming up DJ decides he wants to give a speech but first he must make peace with the intense anxiety that confronted him at the age of four on the school classroom threshold which muted him in voice and expression. DJ goes to a therapist who talks him through his experiences and feelings and helps him reconnect with himself. His wedding day arrives and DJ steps up to make his speech...

“Selective Mutism: A Guide for Therapists, Educators, and Parents provides an effective, research-based behavioural intervention plan for the successful treatment of selective mutism. Based on years of clinical experience and expertise, author Dr. Aimee Kotrba provides not only assessment and treatment information, but also case examples, easy-to-implement workbook sheets, and informative handouts.
 
Dr. Kotrba is an advocate of team treatment – parents, schools, and mental health professionals working together to intervene with selective mutism – and this book provides intervention strategies for all team members, as well as a comprehensive treatment plan that can be individualised to any child. The techniques included emphasize a gradual, stepwise approach to increased speech, as well as fun and engaging activities that can be used at each step of treatment. Tips for engaging and motivating children and teens are included to improve treatment outcomes.”