Until recently because of a personal experience I did not know that mute children were also hearing children. I had made the assumption years ago that if a child didn't speak it must be either a hearing loss problem or something mental. I had no idea that some children choose to be mute and may never speak and others have hearing but are unable to communicate verbally. In one such personal case the child had fooled two doctors into believing that she was deaf and they thought she was lip reading. That turned out to be not the case. The child had a mild hearing loss but never spoke. She laughed, cryed and could scream when she felt pain but didn't seem able to voice verbally in words. As she grew older she began to throw tantrums to get her way or just to communicate her needs.
Her family doctor had her hearing tested first thinking that she may be deaf or hearing impaired. She had only a mild hearing loss but she have been able to vocalize words. At eighteen months the child only said to actual words, Mama and Papa. At this age he felt her vocabulary should have included minimum of fifty words. The child was frustrated when she could not communicate her needs and tantrums that one of his nurses deemed complete meltdowns would ensue. He setup an appointment for the child to be evaluated with EDI (Early Development Intervention).
Again the child evaluated for a hearing loss and this time she was sent to Iowa City University Hospital for a test called an ABR which measures the child's hearing abilities while asleep. A hearing test was preformed first and the child was able to hear fine with only a minor hearing loss. The ABR was deemed not necessary. The child was then sent back to EDI and her family doctor. Next was suggested that the child may have been born mute or could be autistic. EDI did not agree with the possible case of autism as they felt the child showed no true signs of autism.
At this point the child is now two and half years old and still says only two words. Communication is mainly done using ASL (American Sign Language) and any attempts to try and get the child to vocally speak have been met with resistance form the child. A daycare or headstart program was suggested by both EDI and her family doctor thinking that exposure to other children may increase her desire to vocalize. The only result was the child learned to communicate and make friends with the other children but instead of vocalizing the child taught the others her way to communicate, ASL.
After contacting various organizations and doing my own research I was stunned to discover that though this may not be a widely known occurrence it does happen more often than many parents or even teachers may be aware of in the United States. In some cases the child may never speak in their entire life while others may say a few phrases suddenly and silence again or suddenly begin speaking when they decide to. In some cases it is a matter of choice by the individual, others may be from a medical condition they were born with while others may have been induced by some kind of trauma.
As a parent it can be an extremely trying time wondering why your child isn't speaking. Patience, understanding of the situation and finding a way to help your child communicate is the first step that as a parent you should take. If you are frustrated think how frustrated your child is when trying to communicate their needs to you and others. Your child has to have a way to communicate their needs to you and it may come in unlikely forms such as tantrums, crying, yelling or screaming in high pitches, odd tilts of the head, eye contact and pointing, etc. Don't be surprised if your child seems very independent, prefers to play by them self or doesn't seem to understand how to communicate with other children. You have to find the cause of why they are not talking and then discover the next step, communication. Your child may still speak vocally one day but in the mean time he or she still needs a way to communicate not only with you but also the outside world. It is also important for the parent to also realize that their child may remain mute and never speak and be prepared to accept the possibility.