A Selective Mutism Arising from First Language Attrition, Successfully Treated with Paroxetine-CBT Combination Treatment.
- Author:
Agostino SERRA
1
;
Paola DI MAURO
;
Claudio ANDALORO
;
Luigi MAIOLINO
;
Piero PAVONE
;
Salvatore COCUZZA
Author Information
- Publication Type:Case Report
- Keywords: Selective mutism; Cognitive behavioral therapy; Paroxetine; Anxiety; Language attrition
- MeSH: Anxiety; Cognitive Therapy; Female; Humans; Immersion; Mutism*; Paroxetine; Self Concept
- From:Psychiatry Investigation 2015;12(4):569-572
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: After immersion in a foreign language, speakers often have difficulty retrieving native-language words and may experience a decrease in its proficiency, this phenomenon, in the non-pathological form, is known as first language attrition. Self-perception of this low native-language proficiency and apprehension occurring when speaking is expected and, may sometimes lead these people to a state of social anxiety and, in extreme forms, can involve the withholding of speech as a primitive tool for self-protection, linking them to selective mutism. We report an unusual case of selective mutism arising from first language attrition in an Italian girl after attending a two-year "German language school", who successfully responded to a paroxetine-cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) combination treatment.
