Children with SM stay mute in anxiety-causing situations throughout their childhood and even into adulthood without proper treatment. SM is highly treatable – 90% of those who obtain treatment become verbal. For this reason, it is critical that parents seek treatment at the first sign a child is becoming non-verbal outside of the home. Studies show that misdiagnoses of SM as a speech or language disorder leads to incorrect treatment and leaves the psychological problems associated with SM untreated. In fact, once diagnosed with SM a child may require continued therapy and intervention for shyness and social anxiety into adolescence and adulthood in order to reduce instances of being unable to speak due to anxiety and to develop better communication skills later in life.
