Meet Liam

When Liam was 3-years-old, his parents noticed he was mute at daycare and every setting than home with family. At age 10, Liam, along with his family, traveled from Alaska to the SMart Center in the Greater Philadelphia Area for a 2-day S-CAT® Individualized Intensive Program and CommuniCamp™.

Afterwards, Liam’s Mom met with his school staff three times, and a plan was implemented based on information provided by Liam’s in-depth assessments at the SMart Center. Liam’s Mom reports that “The school staff has been amazingly responsive in supporting Liam through this process.” With the changes, his teachers say he is participating in class and interacting with his peers!

What S-CAT® strategies worked best for Liam?

  • Choice Questions
  • Frontline
  • Practicing and planning before social encounters

If you are considering enrolling your family in an upcoming CommuniCamp™ Intensive Group Treatment & Parent Training Program with the SMart Center and would like to speak with Liam’s mom about her experience, please email CommuniCamp@SelectiveMutismCenter.org so we can connect you!

To effectively overcome Selective Mutism and all anxieties, an individual needs to be involved in a treatment program, such as those rooted in evidenced-based Social Communication Anxiety Treatment® (S-CAT®), like Individualized Intensives and CommuniCamp. Developed by Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum, this holistic or “whole-person” treatment approach is designed to reduce anxiety, build self-esteem, increase social comfort and communication in all settings.

As a physician, Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum (“Dr. E”) views SM as a social communication anxiety where mutism is merely a symptom. The key to an effective treatment plan is understanding factors that contribute to the development and maintenance of SM as well as understanding a child’s baseline stage of social communication on the Social Communication Bridge®. Then, working as a team, the treatment professional, parents, and school staff members help the child build coping skills to combat anxious feelings and to progress across the Social Communication Bridge©.