Malaysian Anxiety Disorder

[milo001]

credit to wikipedia:

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders selective mutism is described as a rare psychological disorder in children. Children (and adults) with the disorder are fully capable of speech and understanding language, but can fail to speak in certain social situations when it is expected of them. It ranges in presentation from a reluctance to speak in certain situations to physical and social ‘frozen’ unresponsiveness. They function normally in other areas of behaviour and learning, though appear severely withdrawn and some are unable to participate in group activities due to their extreme anxiety. It is like an extreme form of shyness, but the intensity and duration distinguish it. As an example, a child may be completely silent at school, for years at a time, but speak quite freely or even excessively at home.

Particularly in young children, selective mutism can sometimes be confused with an autism spectrum disorder, especially if the child acts particularly withdrawn around his or her diagnostician. Unfortunately, this can lead to incorrect treatment. The main difference between selective mutism and autism is that the selectively mute child can communicate normally when in a situation with which they feel comfortable.

Selective mutism is usually characterised by the following:

Consistent failure to speak in specific social situations (in which there is an expectation for speaking, e.g., at school) despite speaking in other situations.
The disturbance interferes with educational or occupational achievement or with social communication.
The duration of the disturbance is at least 1 month (not limited to the first month of school).
The failure to speak is not due to a lack of knowledge of, or comfort with, the spoken language required in the social situation.
The disturbance is not better accounted for by a communication disorder (e.g., stuttering) and does not occur exclusively during the course of a pervasive developmental disorder, schizophrenia, or other psychotic disorder.
The former name elective mutism indicates a widespread misconception even among psychologists that selective mute people choose to be silent in certain situations, while the truth is that they are forced by their extreme anxiety to remain silent; despite their will to speak, they just cannot make any voice. To reflect the involuntary nature of this disorder, its name was changed to selective mutism in 1994. However, misconceptions still prevail; for instance, the ABC News erroneously attributed the cause of selective mutism to trauma and described it as willful in a report dated May 26, 2005.[1]

The incidence of selective mutism is not certain. Due to the poor understanding of the general public on this condition, many cases are undiagnosed. Based on the number of reported cases, the figure is commonly estimated to be 1 in 1000. However, in a 2002 study in The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the figure has increased to 7 in 1000.

Typical sufferers have some of the following traits, some of which are often perceived as rudeness [2]:

A difficulty in maintaining eye contact
A reluctance to smile and a tendency to have a blank facial expressions
Stiff, awkward body movements
Particular anxiety in situations where speech is normally expected (answering school registers, saying hello, goodbye, thank you, etc.)
A tendency to worry about things more than other people, sometimes Generalized Anxiety Disorder
A sensitivity to noise and crowds or crowded situations
Difficulty with verbal and non-verbal expression
Frequent temper tantrums at home
Fear of using public restrooms
Compulsive traits, even Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Clinging behavior

[milo001]

i have selective mutism as well when i'm little.luckily i start talking at school when i was 9.i can talked and played at home but in school i can't do any of it.selective mutism kids will felt very lonely in their heart.because they're like the outcast to the others.