Selective Mutism and Special Education: How to Get Support for Students

Find out about special education eligibility for students with selective mutism

Since communication is a key component to learning, children with selective mutism (SM) often struggle in school. Their struggle to effectively communicate with teachers and peers can get in the way of an ideal educational experience. So how can you help set them up for success in the school environment? One way is to seek out special education support and services. Within the school setting, students with Selective Mutism may qualify for a wide range of supports organized under either a Section 504 accommodations plan or an Individualized Education Program (IEP).  

• 504 Accommodation Plan
  • The two primary purposes of Section 504 are to remove barriers for students in school, thus allowing them to access their educational environment, and to prevent discrimination against children and adults with disabilities in programs or activities that receive federal funding.  Qualification for a 504 plan requires both a diagnosed, or suspected, disability and that this disability adversely impacts a major life activity, such as their educational progress and performance (i.e., academic achievement, behavior, communication, and/or social-emotional functioning).  
  • Accommodations are minor changes, not to what is being learned, but how the material is being presented (e.g., student provided with both verbal and written directions), how the student is able to demonstrate his/her learning (e.g., student allowed to give oral presentation 1:1 with teacher instead of in front of entire class), how the learning environment is structured (e.g., student allowed to take tests in a small group setting), and the timing of instruction (e.g., student may have access to frequent breaks or extended time on tests).  
• IEP
  • The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a federal (national) law that requires public schools to provide Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to students with disabilities. This means that children from birth through the age of 21 who qualify are entitled to receive special education services to meet their needs. The goal is to ensure that students with disabilities are prepared for independent living, employment, and/or further education. 
  • The term, “special education,” often elicits concern and hesitancy from parents, because in past years it has carried some negative connotations. However, “special education” today refers to the process by which children with specific needs who attend public schools receive the support and services necessary to make progress in the general education curriculum. This may include physical needs, social-emotional needs, mental health needs, needs related to learning skill deficits, or others.

Here’s more specific information on selective mutism and special education (or IEP) eligibility and resources. 

How can a child with selective mutism get special education support?

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children with documented disabilities, including those with SM, may be eligible to receive special education support and services. In order to get this documentation, a Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team (MET), or something similar depending on the state, must conduct an evaluation. Then, a child’s Individualized Education Program (IEP) team reviews the evaluation results and makes decisions regarding the special education support and services needed for the student. Typically, parents can start the evaluation process by speaking with their child’s teacher and requesting a special education evaluation. Special education staff will provide guidance through the process—from providing the necessary forms to scheduling meetings with parents along the way. See more about requesting an evaluation below!

What does the special education evaluation process look like?

There are 13 disability categories outlined by IDEA under which a child may qualify to receive special education services. Each state has established its own related regulations and guidelines. Therefore, federal legislation, state legislation, and any relevant case law will guide evaluation teams when making eligibility decisions. To request an evaluation, you may ask that your child’s teacher reach out to special education staff in your school/district and/or contact your IDEA state coordinator. 

During a special education evaluation, the team must evaluate the whole child and consider any and all relevant disability categories. Children with selective mutism are often evaluated for one or both of the following eligibility categories: Emotional Disturbance (ED) and Other Health Impairment (OHI). While arguments can be made for both or either category, parents typically advocate for the OHI category for their child with SM because SM symptoms more closely align with the OHI characteristics, and most children are classified as such. 

Emotional Disturbance

Children who meet the criteria for Emotional Disturbance display at least one of the following characteristics listed in the table below, and characteristics must be present for a long period of time. Evaluation teams must also determine that the identified ED characteristics result in an adverse impact on the child’s educational performance. Depending on the state, this category may also be referred to as an Emotional Behavioral Disability (EBD) or an Emotional Impairment (EI).

In the table below, each characteristic of ED is paired with questions that evaluation teams might consider when determining which symptoms of SM may be impacting a child’s functioning in school. Note that these are not legal requirements under IDEA, but recommendations for evaluation teams.

[Special Education Category: Emotional Disturbance (ED) Characteristics

Characteristic of ED	Questions the evaluation team might consider
An inability to build or maintain satisfactory interpersonal relationships with peers and teachers	Does the student demonstrate age-appropriate skills in the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships with both peers and adults?  Do SM symptoms impact a student’s interpersonal relationships across settings (e.g., classroom, lunchroom, playground) and/or contexts (e.g., large group and small group activities, structured and unstructured activities)?
Inappropriate types of behaviors or feelings under normal circumstances	How does a student respond, verbally and/or behaviorally, under normal circumstances (e.g., being asked a question by a teacher during whole group instruction, the expectation that students will raise their hand and ask a question if they need help, being asked by peers to play together at recess)?
A general pervasive mood of unhappiness or depression	Does a student’s mood, contributed to by SM symptoms, affect their ability to do work?
A tendency to develop physical symptoms or fears associated with personal or school problems	Does the student verbally express and/or physically display symptoms of anxiety? Examples may include, but are not limited to: freezing, crying, shaking, complaints of somatic symptoms (e.g., headache, fatigue, stomachache), avoidance behaviors (e.g., refusal to speak, refusal to enter school building/classroom).

Other Health Impairment (OHI)

Children who meet criteria under Other Health Impairment are noted to have a chronic or acute health problem that results in limited strength, vitality or alertness, especially in an educational environment. Guidelines define these as the following:

• Limited strength — an inability to perform typical tasks at school
• Limited vitality — an inability to sustain effort or to endure throughout an activity
• Limited alertness — an inability to manage and maintain attention, to organize or attend, to prioritize environmental stimuli, including heightened alertness to environmental stimuli that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment

Evaluation teams must also determine if the presence of these symptoms have an adverse impact on a child’s educational performance. When evaluating whether a child with selective mutism meets eligibility criteria under OHI, evaluation teams may consider the following questions listed in the table below: 

[Special Education Category: Other Health Impairment (OHI) Characteristics

Characteristic of OHI	Questions the evaluation team might consider
Limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including heightened alertness to environmental stimuli	Does the student demonstrate heightened alertness to environmental factors due to his/her anxiety symptoms?  Examples may include, but are not limited to, heightened alertness towards: somatic symptoms (e.g., stomachache, headache, shaking, tense/stiff muscles), internal thoughts (e.g., anxious thoughts about what others might do or say, anxious thoughts about the situation), people and things in the environment (e.g., proximity of adults/peers who may overhear the student speak).
Limited alertness with respect to the educational environment.	Does the student demonstrate limited, or lowered, alertness, to the educational environment (e.g., paying attention to instruction, staying on-task and completing work during independent work periods and/or group work)?

Additional factors may impact the child’s functioning and progress at school, such as the presence of a speech and language impairment (SLI), a specific learning disability (SLD), or one of the other eligibility categories. Therefore, the evaluation team may consider multiple areas of eligibility during the evaluation process.

Evaluation teams will collect data to determine whether a child meets eligibility criteria, which often includes specific characteristics above, as well as adverse educational impact. Adverse educational impact considers both if, and to what extent, a documented disability negatively impacts a child’s participation and progress in the general education curriculum. A documented disability impacts a child’s participation and progress in general education in a variety of ways, including but not limited to: 

• Grades
• Attendance
• Ability to meaningfully participate in classroom activities (e.g., asking and/or answering questions, giving oral reports, participating in peer work groups) 
• Ability to interact with peers

During the evaluation process, teams consider how selective mutism symptoms may uniquely impact a child’s performance and functioning in the school setting. For instance, a child with selective mutism may get good grades but struggle to socially interact with adults and/or peers. Or they may perform well academically in classes that primarily focus on independent work samples while struggling in classes that require greater group participation. So a team might consider not only academic skill progression but also adaptive skills and social emotional learning competencies. 

To access more evidence-based resources, information, and SM support, join SMA.