Let me start this post by stating that I am not a special educator or licensed mental health professional. I am a music teacher who is willing to admit I was completely ignorant to what selective mutism was when I first started teaching. If I’m being honest, I really knew nothing about it. Selective mutism wasn’t covered in my college special education classes, and I hadn’t even heard the term used until a student diagnosed with selective mutism was placed on my class roster. I was pretty surprised when I found out what it was, and how its diagnosis would impact the student in a music class setting. I had to learn how to adapt and modify my instruction for very important reasons.

I don’t think I’m alone in my ignorance. Selective mutism seems to be a lesser-known and understood anxiety disorder in the education space. It can be hard to know how to best support these students in the music classroom, especially if you’re working from limited knowledge, like I was. 

I want to be clear that you should always consult with your school counselor and nurse when supporting students with selective mutism. They will be able to provide the most relevant guidance for that particular child. What I’d like to do here is share some things I have tried as a music teacher that have worked in my classroom. I truly believe that, with the right supports in place, students with selective mutism can thrive in a music class setting. If you don’t share that belief yet, I hope you will by the end of this post!

What is Selective Mutism Anyway?

For the clinical definition of selective mutism, I recommend this article from the NIH (National Library of Medicine).

I want to reiterate that I’m not a doctor, counselor, or special educator, but I will do my best to describe selective mutism to you in a way that I’ve come to understand it: through my own experience and interactions with students and medical professionals over the years.

From what I’ve learned, selective mutism is a type of anxiety disorder that typically occurs in childhood, which causes a child to be unable to speak in social settings like school, public places, or extracurricular activities. In contrast, a child with selective mutism can appear chatty and interactive with their immediate family at home, but struggle (or fail) to speak in a social setting like school.

Selective mutism typically manifests in childhood (typically around the age of 3 or 4). One thing I learned through discussions with our school nurse is that children diagnosed with selective mutism typically want to talk and communicate like everyone else. A child who won’t speak (or sing) due to selective mutism is not being willfully defiant or deliberately choosing to ignore directions. Children with selective mutism may find it difficult or impossible to communicate in situations outside their comfort zone (safe zone).

Moreover, selective mutism can stem from social anxiety disorder, having certain phobias, ASD, PTSD or even separation anxiety. With this in mind, it’s important to remember that a child with selective mutism cannot and should not be pressured into speaking, singing or performing in music class the way other students do. This may seem obvious, but I’m stating this because it was not obvious to me as a first year music teacher.

Encountering My First Student with Selective Mutism

I mentioned that I encountered my first case of selective mutism during my first year of teaching. I will admit that I truly knew nothing about this disorder and leaned heavily on the school nurse for guidance. Here’s a little about how that situation went down.

The First Week of Teaching Music Class

When I first started teaching music, I had procedures and routines in mind for how my classes would operate. A lot of those procedures were inspired by what I had seen my cooperating teacher do with her classes during my student teaching placement.

One routine I was determined to instill in my classroom was having my students sing their first name during an attendance song. My initial thought was to use this attendance song to provide quick feedback to the students on their singing voice and to help them learn to match pitch over time.

For the first few days, this seemed to go well in class. Most of the older students found the song funny, while the younger students were singing along without much issue. 

Here’s the part where I’m going to make myself sound bad, because I definitely made mistakes here.

The student entered my classroom. She was very quiet and was easy to overlook among the rambunctious kids in the room who wanted to know everything from my favorite color to how many instruments I played. I’m not saying it was right, but in the rush of that first week, this student faded in the background and I was not paying attention the way I should have been.

When it was time for the attendance song, I got the usual reactions from the kids. Laughter and a mix of singing that was either timid or completely over the top. Then, I got to her. I sang her name, expecting to hear a timid echo in response.

Nothing.

I probably said something encouraging and prompted her again.

Nothing.

“She doesn’t talk.” Someone in the class tried to explain.

“Everyone can sing, it’s not so bad. It’ll be like 2 seconds and it’s all over! You can do it!” I don’t know if this is exactly what I said, but I know I continued to push this poor student who was completely uncomfortable with what I was asking.

I know at some point I moved on, but the damage had already been done. Thankfully, this didn’t result in an angry phone call from a parent. Instead, I got a much-needed lecture and lesson from our school nurse. Boy, was I wrong! I still regret how I handled that situation to this day, but hopefully my embarrassing mistake will help you avoid making a similar one. It was definitely a humbling lesson for me in the sensitivity surrounding my students. As a result, while I still encourage my students to sing loud and proud, I will never pressure any student to sing before they’re ready again.

My Takeaway

Although I did not have a copy of the student’s 504 plan when this situation occurred, I still believe I could have made a better and less damaging decision in that moment. My takeaway from this case was to never make assumptions about why a student isn’t speaking or singing in my class. I cannot imagine how panicked I must have made that student feel with my initial ignorance, and I never want to put any of my students in that position again. I’ve learned that I would rather err on the side of caution than pressure a child to do something they may not be capable of or ready for.

Supporting Students with Selective Mutism in Music Class

Again, I am no expert when it comes to selective mutism, but I have taught several music students who have had diagnosed selective mutism. After my disastrous first experience, I had to learn how to seriously step back and let the student take the lead. This meant I never pushed, forced, or expected any kind of singing or verbalization during music class. Instead, I learned to allow them to participate at their level of comfort, whatever that may be.

In some situations, this meant that the student seldom (if ever) spoke or verbally participated in my class. That’s okay. For each case of selective mutism, it’s important to carefully review the child’s 504 plan for clarification on how you’ll interact in each case. One child’s 504 plan may permit nonverbal communication if the child is not yet speaking, while another 504 plan may encourage the child to verbalize more in class through choice questions.

One accommodation that I’ve used with success is assigning preferential seating next to a friend or someone they’re comfortable communicating with. From my experience, this has not caused additional disruption or distraction when I’ve implemented this strategy; if anything, it helps the child with selective mutism feel more comfortable in the class environment. You should obviously defer to the child’s 504 plan before implementing this, but in the cases I’ve worked, it’s been helpful.

Another strategy? Patience! If verbalization is a goal of the child’s 504 plan, you need to be patient and allow the child extra “think time” to respond. I’ve also learned that avoiding eye contact can be a good thing in this situation, as it relieves anxiety for the child as they try to answer.

More Support Strategies for Selective Mutism

Here are some additional strategies that have helped me support students with selective mutism while teaching music:

• Never call attention to a child with SM who successfully communicates in music class—it’s best to normalize communication as much as possible instead of overly praising the effort. It may embarrass or cause anxiety to the child if you do.
• Avoid asking a child with selective mutism lengthy (open-ended) questions.
• Never punish, penalize, or criticize a child with selective mutism for a lack of speaking or singing.
• Try to pair the child with trusted peers and/or speaking partners for any group activities you’ll do in music class.

My Own Personal Observation About Teaching Music to Children with Selective Mutism

Huge disclaimer for this section because, as I’ve said, I’m no mental health expert. This is merely what I’ve observed through my students who have had selective mutism over the years.

While I’ve noticed that singing seems to be stressful (or completely impossible) for children who have selective mutism, I’ve often noticed that those same children have absolutely thrived on musical instruments, often playing with more confidence and strength than their peers.

And while that may not be the case for every child with selective mutism, I’ve observed this a few times now, so I thought I’d mention it here. The only explanation I can think of, is that while children with selective mutism may not be comfortable singing and speaking, they may find comfort expressing themselves through a musical instrument. Try it and see what happens. It may be a breakthrough moment for them.

Wrapping It Up!

I hope this post provided you with useful insight on teaching music to children with selective mutism! I wanted to write this post because I noticed there’s not a lot of content out there on the topic of teaching music to children affected by selective mutism. Please remember to always consult with a child’s 504 plan, your school nurse, and counselor whenever you plan accommodations for students with selective mutism. You can also refer to the guidance of licensed music therapists who will have additional experience supporting children with selective mutism in a musical setting.

Every child is unique, and what works in one classroom may look different in another. If you have ideas, stories, or questions about supporting students with selective mutism, please join the conversation in the comments—I’d love to hear from you.

Looking for strategies for supporting students with special needs? Check out my article Solving Rhythm and Timing Issues as a Music Teacher next! Don’t forget to sign up for the Chamber of Freebies for access to my growing library of music education resources! See you there! 😊