Mutism in Autism. A Case Study

An increase in recent years in the number of children diagnosed with mutism, i.e. silent period/dumbness, as well as an increase in the number of children with autism spectrum developmental disorders, may be related to civilizational transformations that determine the biological and social conditions for the child’s development. Autism as a neurodevelopmental disorder is differentiated from mutism – a symptom of social phobia. Diagnosing of the two disorders is the domain of psychiatrists and psychologists; however, the treatment of children with autism and mutism is increasingly often provided by logopedists (speech therapists). The goal of the article is to present the pathomechanisms and symptoms of mutism in the context of autistic disorders and the procedure for logopedic management in the case of a 9-year-old autistic child with developed language skills, in whom mutism occurred as a result of having experienced a trauma. Establishing of the criteria for the differential diagnosis of autism and mutism and developing a strategy for the treatment of the child with combined communication skills disorders requires taking into account the neurobiological pathomechanisms underlying these symptoms.