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Diagnosis of Selective Mutism: Simple Parent Guide and Steps to Take.
In this post, you will learn about: the steps towards the diagnosis of selective mutism some of the symptoms and behaviors of children with selective mutism the diagnostic criteria for selective mutism Before my child was diagnosed with selective mutism, I saw nothing as a warning sign, let alone I knew that selective mutism anxiety disorder even existed. In retrospect, it is possible now to pinpoint many observations that allow me to evaluate my child’s behaviors patterns and health profile against the diagnostic criteria that would point to her having selective mutism. These are some of the behaviors my daughter displayed consistently before she received a diagnosis of selective mutism:…
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What Is Selective Mutism?
Selective mutism is “a complex childhood anxiety disorder characterized by a child’s inability to speak and communicate effectively in select social settings, such as school. These children are able to speak and communicate in settings where they are comfortable, secure, and relaxed”, according to Dr. E. Shipon-Blum from Selective Mutism, Anxiety & Related Disorders Treatment Center. Selective Mutism Association characterizes children affected by selective mutism as being able to”...understand language use and, although they have the physical and cognitive ability to speak, they demonstrate a persistent inability to speak in particular settings over a particular period of time due to anxiety.“ Commonly, a child with selective mutism may appear “shy.” However, while shyness is…
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Tips for Self-Care: How One Teacher Doesn’t Have it All.
Self-care Sunday tips don’t work for me. I’m a teacher. I work Saturdays and Sundays to make sure that my week goes well, with no stress, self-pity, and self-imposed exhaustion. I searched dozens of self-care activities, practices, and lists. Too many of them either did not match my lifestyle or did not consider that I also have kids. Despite my skepticism for many of the self-care procedures, rituals, and self-care deficit, I do believe in the transformational power of self-care habits. In this post, I’m sharing self-care examples to convey the idea that instead of following self-care lists, we should try to build self-care habits however unconventional, inconvenient, and impossible…
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What Mindfulness Is In a Classroom: Must-Have Activities.
When I think of what mindfulness is in a classroom, I think of the place where students are driven by their own goals and interests, are in charge of the creative space, believe and know they can tackle difficult things, support each other, and grow physically and emotionally. Mindfulness is that classroom vibe where a teacher facilitates, not dictates. Mindfulness is taking mental pauses and breaks for a teacher and students when the day gets tough. Mindfulness is being aware of the limitations and the possibilities for students and a teacher. Mindfulness is challenging the limitations and attempting bigger things following small, consistent steps. In fact, it’s pretty hard to…
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Selective Mutism: How to Beat Crisis, Screaming, Fear.
Where do I start to share the story of selective mutism with you and how it has framed the past three years of our lives? Since my daughter was diagnosed with selective mutism at the age of 4, I’ve been a curious fighter, a mom-protector with the purpose to share my struggles and the knowledge about selective mutism with other families. There is power in knowing your enemy, or this is at least how I felt about selective mutism when the search for answers started in 2018. My initial enthusiasm to know-it-all would lead me to various selective mutism Facebook groups where I hoped to find the “remedy” and, maybe,…
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How to Use Get To Know You Questions to Build Self-Awareness.
When a new school year begins, get to know you questions and activities become a prerequisite for building a strong classroom community. Even though it might seem unnecessary to spend time on get to know you questions and worksheets, the opposite is true. By being engaged with get to know you questions and activities, students develop strong bonds and robust connections and establish their place in and belonging to a social group. A teacher can design get to know you questions for purposeful communication in a classroom to teach various vital goals, such as allowing students to: talk about their interests discover their values reaffirm their strengths. Through simple but…
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What Is Self-Awareness and How To Teach It?
What’s Self-Awareness? Growing emotionally, academically, and professionally from early ages and later in life is necessitated by the present-day world’s demands for strong social skills, emotional IQ, decision-making, deep thinking, and rethinking. Self-awareness, unlike other SEL competencies, has been taken on seriously because by nurturing self-awareness, we can identify our limitations and capabilities. Multiple self-awareness definitions testify to the inherent complexity of the construct. Because the self-awareness construct is hard to capture, measure, or detect, there is plenty of definitions for self-awareness depending on the field (ex. psychology vs. education) and the medium that presents the information (blogs vs. scientific articles vs. dictionary). According to the APA Dictionary of Phycology, self-awareness is “self-focused attention…
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The Value of TpT Membership.
Teaching didn’t click with me as a creative profession. When I became a public school teacher, I stopped all my hobbies because I had so little time to myself due to stress and the new adjustments to a teaching profession. I stopped reading, drawing, sport. I ended spending time on what used to give me so much energy. I thought once I become efficient and productive in my teaching career, I will provide time to the things I’m passionate about. But time flew, efficiency was a hard thing to catch; stress and overwhelm were always present. When I transitioned into elementary education, I found myself having to create resources for…
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Support Literacy at Home.
Are you a teacher-mom who buys TpT products for your kid?! I’m the one, don’t judge me. Well, it doesn’t happen often, but if there is a need, I shop on TpT like in the pharmacy, trying to choose the best product for my child. My daughter is in kindergarten. Seeing how this little one develops her writing and reading skills is impressive. Because I’m a teacher, early literacy is a big deal to me. I painstakingly check all the homework, and if there is a gap, I go out of my way to practice with Milania and include my husband in the teaching process. I’m not going to lie.…
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That’s NOT Me!
To many good and great things in life, I tend to say, “That’s not me!” I don’t go to manicure salons. That’s not me. I don’t have girls nights out. That’s not me. I don’t wear red lipstick. I don’t go to school social gatherings. No Dr. Seuss-themed posters in my classroom. No yoga studios. No housewives of Beverly Hills. That’s not me! “That’s not me!” has become quite convenient to eliminate things I have to participate in, places to go to, people to meet. I’ve been living 30 min from New York for more than ten years, and I’ve never been to a Broadway show. While many times it…
