This study takes place at the Selective Mutism Anxiety Research Treatment (SMart) Center specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of children with selective mutism, located in Jenkintown , PA. Parents with children suspected of having selective mutism who are interested in obtaining information about their child’s speech-language skills (involving speech production, vocabulary, narrative, and pragmatic language) may decide to participate in this study. Informed consent is required for participation in this study and all information is kept confidential and anonymous. This study requires Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval from La Salle University .
At the start of the study, each parent receives a brief training session to learn how to administer and score the Test of Narrative Language (TNL) (Gillam & Pearson, 2004), the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-4) (Dunn & Dunn, 2007), and the Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT-2) (Williams, 2007), prior to testing their child. During this time, each child will have an opportunity to view videos, play with games at the SMart Center , or sit with an accompanying family member or friend.
Completion of the assessments takes approximately 1½ hours. Intermittent breaks are planned. In addition, questionnaires from the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-2) (Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2006) and the pragmatic protocol from the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-4) (Wiig, Secord, & Semel, 2003) are also completed by parents and teachers prior to the formal testing time. Additional case history information, secured during prior formal testing (SM-CDQ), will be available, as agreed upon by parents. The total testing time may run up to 3 hours given both parent and professional administration.
Parents and their children will be randomly assigned to one of two counterbalanced groups designated by order of the first evaluator. Group 1 receives testing by the parent first and then the same measures are administered by the professional who is previously unknown to the child (a certified and licensed speech-language pathologist or supervised graduate student). Group 2 receives testing by the professional first and then the same measures are administered by the parent. All testing is audio and videotaped for later analysis.
At a brief follow-up session, parents will receive a brief interpretation of the assessment in writing, and have an opportunity to discuss the results if they choose. Suggestions will be provided for enhanced communication.