Peer reviewed
ERIC Number: EJ713824
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005-Jun-1
Pages: 4
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0890-8567
EISSN: N/A
Differential Diagnosis of Selective Mutism in Bilingual Children
Toppelberg, Claudio O.; Tabors, Patton; Coggins, Alissa; Lum, Kirk; Burger, Claudia
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, v44 n6 p592 Jun 2005
Early diagnosis of selective mutism (SM) is an important concern. SM prevalence is higher than initially thought and at least three times higher in immigrant language minority children. Although the DSM-IV precludes diagnosing SM in immigrant children with limited language proficiency (as children acquiring a second language may normally undergo a "silent period"), specific diagnostic boundaries are not clear. The specific focus of this article is, therefore, the exact circumstances in which a language minority child should be diagnosed with SM.
Descriptors: Identification, Bilingualism, Language Impairments, Immigrants, Measures (Individuals), Language Minorities, Children, Clinical Diagnosis, Second Language Learning, Language Proficiency
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, P.O. Box 1620, Hagerstown, MD 21741. Tel: 800-638-3030 (Toll Free); Fax: 301-223-2400.
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Opinion Papers; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany; Israel; Switzerland; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A