\u201cMy oldest daughter almost drowned in a neighbour\u2019s pool because of her SM. She couldn\u2019t ask for help even though she wanted and tried to,\u201d says Bork, a Senior Lab Instructor in Brock\u2019s Department of Computer Science. \u201cNo matter how shy a child is, in an emergency, they can talk and cry for help. What happens to kids with SM if they become separated from their families at a mall or an amusement park?\u201d<\/p>\n
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Keynote speaker Poling Bork is the founder of a non-profit foundation to support families and research into selective mutism.<\/p><\/div>\n
Bork\u2019s children all experienced the condition even though they were fluent in three languages and able to speak around trusted individuals.<\/p>\n
She now has nearly two decades of experience treating children personally and professionally and is currently researching the use of virtual reality technology in the treatment of SM.<\/p>\n
Bork will also soon publish a book detailing the 130-minute method she uses to successfully treat children even in cases where previous interventions have failed.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost researchers and clinicians use similar techniques to treat SM, which can take weeks, months or years, if they work at all,\u201d says Bork. \u201cMy goal is to help other parents so they don\u2019t have to go through the same daunting journey that my kids and I went through.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clinical Neuropsychologist and Associate Professor Dawn Good in Brock\u2019s Department of Psychology and the Centre for Neuroscience says the past 10 years have seen an increase in targeted research and practice in the area of SM.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely timely to begin to promote and share this knowledge in order to both inform the community of their treatment options and to accelerate interest in moving this research forward,\u201d says Good.<\/p>\n
The conference is designed for children and adults who have experienced selective mutism, as well as family members, educators, child and youth workers, health-care professionals, mental health care providers, researchers and those developing technology to support treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am excited to share research with respect to our current understanding of SM and the technological advances regarding effective treatment options targeting this otherwise \u2018invisible\u2019 pediatric challenge, and to do so within the Canadian context,\u201d says Good.<\/p>\n