Apologies – this page is for a seminar that is not currently running. If you are looking for the parent webinar ‘Advanced Strategies for Parents of Children with Selective Mutism’ please click here: 

 

 

 

 

Treatment for Selective Mutism in Schools and Preschools

Evening Seminar – Date tbc, 5.30pm-8.30pm (Sydney time)

This evening seminar about treatment for selective mutism is for school psychologists and learning support teams, primary and preschool teachers who have a child in their class with selective mutism, and parents of children with selective mutism or extreme shyness.

Selective Mutism is a condition that severely restricts a child’s capacity for communicating verbally outside the home and typically occurs at the rate of 1 in every 200 children in primary school and much more frequently in preschool-aged children. It is a treatable anxiety disorder, but generally requires 1 to 2 years of treatment in order to resolve. An intensive treatment program at preschool/school is an essential part of treatment for most children with selective mutism. At the selective mutism clinic we work closely with the classroom teacher and support staff to help them deliver this program. The classroom teacher is generally the key person required to implement the strategies at school.

Topics that will be covered in the evening seminar:

• What is Selective Mutism
• Understanding Selective Mutism as an anxiety disorder
• Understanding how to apply a graded approach to treat anxiety
• Factors that affect a child’s ability to communicate
• Specific treatment strategies to use at preschool/school and in the classroom including ‘Sliding In’ to build the child’s talking with their classroom teacher, and strategies to generalise the child’s talking to all peers and staff
• Common issues and questions

The seminar is recommended for:

• Primary school and preschool teachers or caregivers who are currently teaching or caring for a child with Selective Mutism or an extremely reluctant talker
• School psychologists or Learning Support staff who provide support to children with Selective Mutism
• School staff who wish to attend a professional development opportunity and learn about a rigorous behavioural method of treating an anxiety condition
• Speech therapists who are working with a child with selective mutism or would like to understand more about the condition
• Family members of a child who has Selective Mutism, or other key figures in the child’s life who want to gain a better understanding of specific strategies for selective mutism
• If you are seeking information about children with selective mutism in high school please see details about our high school seminar here.

About the presenter:

Dr Elizabeth Woodcock is a Clinical Psychologist and Director of the Selective Mutism Clinic and also MindBox Psychology in Sydney. She has a Masters of Clinical Psychology and PhD from the University of NSW with over 20 years’ experience in treating child and adult mental health issues across both private practice and the public sector in research and clinical settings.

Elizabeth has a special interest in treatment of Selective Mutism and has seen or supervised close to 1000 cases of Selective Mutism in clients ranging from late 2’s to adulthood. She is first author of the chapter ‘Treatment Programmes for Children with Selective Mutism’ in the book ‘Innovations and Advances in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy’ edited by D. Einstein (2007). Elizabeth runs a series of training webinars about Selective Mutism each year to suit a range of audiences, including teachers, parents, speech pathologists, and psychologists.

Cost:

The webinar price is $150 (Earlybird price for payments received before 24th July 2020 is $120). Each additional person in the same booking (needs to be within the one payment) costs $50 per person. Cancelled bookings can be transferred but not refunded.

Location:

 

Registrations:

To register, click on the link below to pay via Paypal or pay via credit card. This will add the relevant items to your basket, then navigate to the basket and follow the links. If your school or organisation is paying and you would like an invoice to be sent to the school, click here to email the clinic and provide your name and phone number and request an invoice. Alternatively, you can call the clinic on 02 9438 2511.