Improving Communication Ability of a Child with Selective Mutism Through “Kita Semua Sahabat” Training

Selective Mutism (SM) is characterized by failure to speak at some period of time in specific social situations (e.g., at school), but can talk in other familiar situations (home). This study aimed to determine the effectiveness of ‘Kita Semua Sahabat’ in improving communication skills in children with SM. The subject was a 5 year-old boy who had been diagnosed based on DSM-V. The research design was a single case experimental design. Interventions were performed using the technique of stimulus fading and contingency management which were packed through the training of ‘Kita Semua Sahabat’. The result showed that there was a significant increase, and communication with stimulus (prompts) had a greater increase than communication without stimulus (child’s initiation). The research showed that Training ‘Kita Semua Sahabat’ is effective to increase communication among children with SM, and more frequent verbal communication happens if more stimuli were given to the child.

Assessing and Treating Anxiety in Individuals with Autism

Anxiety is a cluster of responses that can involve both operant and respondent behavior, which can be both public and/or private in nature, and occurs when an upcoming aversive stimulus is signaled. Despite the reported high comorbidity of autism and anxiety, there has been very limited research on how to directly assess and treat anxiety, especially with individuals who have limited communication skills. In Study 1, anxiety was assessed in five individuals with autism, ranging in age from 10 to 19 years old. Anxiety was assessed by measuring behavior during (1) a baseline (with no putative anxiety-provoking stimuli present), (2) signals for an upcoming aversive event, and (3) exposure to that aversive event. Anxiety presented in several different ways, as both conditioned activation and suppression, and both with and without problem behavior during the aversive event. In Study 2, individualized treatments involving differential reinforcement of alternative responses and stimulus fading were used to successfully reduce anxious responding in all four participants who displayed anxiety. These studies demonstrated a potentially useful means of assessing anxiety in individuals with autism which may not only help to measure anxious behavior and identify anxiety-provoking events, but may also lead to effective treatment.

Intervensi behavioral berbasis sekolah pada anak selective mutism: Penerapan stimulus fading dan prompting

Children with selective mutism have persistent failure to speak in certain social situations that expect them to speak. It is can affect academic performance, social relations, and lead to the development of more serious psychological disorders. Based on these conditions, necessary to reduce the symptoms of selective mutism with an intervention program. This study used a behavioral intervention with fading and prompting in a school setting. This intervention involves the collaboration of teachers and parents. The study was conducted with a single case experimental study on subjects aged 4 years who were indicated selective mutism symptoms. An observation, interviews, and the Selective Mutism Questionnaire (SMQ) used as diagnostic and examination tools. The results showed that the provision of intervention with fading and prompting stimulus techniques had a significant effect on increasing speaking and social interaction of selective mutism child.Key words: selective mutism, stimulus fading, prompting, selective mutism, parents-school collaboration

METODE STIMULUS FADING UNTUK MENURUNKAN GEJALA SELCETIVE MUTISM DISORDER PADA ANAK

The symptoms of selective mutism disorder in children cause it to be less able to speak in social situations where children are expected to speak. Interventions in the form of fading stimulus are expected to teach children new behaviors so that they are more adaptive in social situations. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of stimulus fading methods in reducing symptoms of selective mutism disorder in children. This study uses a single case experimental design with treatment in the form of the application of fading stimulus intervention in one 4-year-old boy who experienced symptoms of selective mutism disorder. The instruments of data collection were observation techniques of tallying behavior and rating scale, selective mutism questionnaire, and school speech questionnaire and analyzed descriptively. The results showed that after giving intervention within 10 days, the subject experienced significant progress, the subject became more expressive, could mingle and interact with others. Therefore, it can be concluded that the stimulus fading method can be used to reduce the symptoms of selective mutism disorder in children. Keywords: Children; Stimulus Fading; Selective Mutism Disorder Abstrak. Gejala selective mutism disorder pada anak menyebabkannya kurang mampu berbicara dalam situasi sosial dimana anak diharapkan dapat berbicara. Intervensi berupa stimulus fading, diharapkan dapat mengajarkan anak perilaku baru sehingga lebih adaptif dalam situasi sosial. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui efektivitas metode stimulus fading dalam menurunkan gejala selective mutism disorder pada anak. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode single case experimental design dengan perlakuan berupa penerapan intervensi stimulus fading pada satu orang anak laki-laki berusia 4 tahun yang mengalami gejala selective mutism disorder. Instrumen pengumpulan data berupa teknik observasi behavior tallying dan rating scale, selective mutism questionnaire, dan school speech questionnaire dan dianalisis secara deskriptif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa setelah pemberian intervensi selama dalam waktu 10 hari, subjek mengalami kemajuan yang signifikan, subjek menjadi lebih ekspresif, dapat berbaur dan berinteraksi dengan orang lain. Oleh karena itu, dapat disimpulkan bahwa metode stimulus fading dapat digunakan untuk menurunkan gejala selective mutism disorder pada anak.Kata kunci: Anak; Stimulus Fading: Selective Mutism Disorder

Video self-modeling, fading, and reinforcement: An effective treatment package for children with selective mutism

Three children aged 8 with selective mutism were treated with an intervention package that consisted of video self-modeling, stimulus fading, and reinforcement behavioral techniques for up to 8 weeks. Parents, teachers, and the researcher conducted a comprehensive assessment of participants’ verbal behavior across multiple settings and throughout baseline, intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month follow-up phases of the study. Findings indicated participants’ verbal communicative behavior increased significantly during post-intervention, and their progress was maintained at 1-month follow-up.