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Selective mutism (SM) is a childhood disorder characterized by failure to speak in social situations, despite there being an expectation to speak and the capacity to do so. There has been a focus on elucidating the differences between SM and anxiety disorder (ANX) in the recent literature. Although children with SM exhibit more symptoms at school than at home, the assessment of SM typically does not involve teacher reports. There is also a lack of research to help us better understand how to best support students with SM in the classroom, and linking assessment to intervention. The "Teacher Telephone Interview: Selective Mutism and Anxiety in the School Setting" (TTI-SM) was developed by a group of researchers across three large children's hospitals in Canada, within specialized ANXs Clinics, with the goal of addressing several of these diagnostic and treatment issues. Child participants (ages 6-11) were referred for SM (n = 19) or ANX (n = 10). Findings revealed that the SM subscale of the TTI-SM has acceptable psychometric properties. Scores on the SM subscale between the two groups of children were statistically significant t(29) = -3.67, p < 0.001, ?[superscript2] = 0.33, suggesting that the SM subscale was able to distinguish between children with SM and ANX. Given the promising findings, and possible uses of this tool for assessment and intervention, the TTI-SM warrants further research. The role of the teacher in the assessment of children with SM and anxiety disorders, and future directions are discussed.

Science textbooks and classes mostly emphasize what are considered by today's standards the "right" or "correct" interpretations of particular phenomena or processes. When "incorrect" ideas of the past are mentioned at all, it is simply to point out their errors, with little attention as to why the ideas were put forward in the first place, or ever gained a following. A strong case can be made, however, for presenting contrasting or even what are considered today "wrong" hypotheses as a way of not only emphasizing the dynamic nature of science (which is punctuated throughout by controversies and contrasting views), but also as a way of helping students better understand the details and workings of contemporary views. This article will illustrate these claims by examining the work of embryologist-turned-geneticist Thomas Hunt Morgan in the early decades of the twentieth century.

This study evaluated a locally developed cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) intervention program in a public elementary school. In the prevention approach, 118 children were randomly assigned either to an 8-week intervention or to a wait-list control. Results of statistical analysis indicated that the manualized CBT intervention did not reduce symptoms of anxiety on either self-reports or parent reports of anxiety symptoms in the general school population. Challenges to translational efforts to public school settings are discussed.

Objectives: To determine whether oral language, working memory, and social anxiety differentiate children with selective mutism (SM), children with anxiety disorders (ANX), and normal controls (NCs) and explore predictors of mutism severity. Method: Children ages 6 to 10 years with SM (n = 44) were compared with children with ANX (n = 28) and NCs (n = 19) of similar age on standardized measures of language, nonverbal working memory, and social anxiety. Variables correlating with mutism severity were entered in stepwise regressions to determine predictors of mute behavior in SM. Results: Children with SM scored significantly lower on standardized language measures than children with ANX and NCs and showed greater visual memory deficits and social anxiety relative to these two groups. Age and receptive grammar ability predicted less severe mutism, whereas social anxiety predicted more severe mutism. These factors accounted for 38% of the variance in mutism severity. Conclusions: Social anxiety and language deficits are evident in SM, may predict mutism severity, and should be evaluated in clinical assessment. Replication is indicated, as are further studies of cognition and of intervention in SM, using large, diverse samples. (Contains 3 tables.)

Objective: A pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral group therapy program for adolescents with social phobia, simplified both in terms of time and labor intensity from a previously studied program (Social Effectiveness Therapy for Children and Adolescents) to be more appropriate for a community outpatient psychiatric setting. Method: Twelve adolescents with social phobia (ages 13-18), diagnosed by DSM-IV criteria and confirmed with Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children assessment, were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 6) and waitlist (n = 6) groups. The waitlist group was subsequently treated, and results were included in the data analysis. Assessments, including Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children interviews and self-report Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory II questionnaires, were performed at baseline and immediately after treatment or waitlist. Results: All subjects completed the treatment program. Compared with the waitlist group, treated subjects showed significantly greater improvement in both examiner-evaluated (Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for Children) and self-reported (Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory) symptoms of social anxiety (effect sizes [d], 1.63 and 0.85, respectively). No significant change was seen in Beck Depression Inventory II scores for treatment or waitlist groups. Conclusions: This study provides support for the use of simplified cognitive-behavioral interventions for adolescents with social phobia that are practical for community psychiatric settings. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 2005;44(3):258-264. Key Words: social phobia, cognitive-behavioral group therapy, community intervention.