Example Of Muteness: Representation Of “Other” Body Essay

The body is generally designed to allow a person to speak, but my body will not speak because I am mute, which leads to many difficult situations. I do not want to go to new places or meet new people because in front of them I feel so embarrassed. I should not be embarrassed; the people I meet should be embarrassed but that is not what happens. People are shocked and not very polite when I do not talk. They have other negative reactions. Some people don’t believe me and treat me like I am joking. They try to make me talk, which is never going to work (Shipon-Blum, 2008). Their behavior makes me feel more embarrassed and very frustrated; even more than the amount I usually feel (Gilchrist, n.d.).
I’m going to tell you what has happened to me that make me feel frustrated and embarrassed so you can try to imagine my feelings. You One day I went to a meeting about the Science Fair because I was going to put a project in the fair. Other students were there who were going to enter their projects in the Science Fair too. I was not too nervous, because I told myself everything will be fine because we are all interested in science. I was wrong though.
I sat down and smiled at the fellow next to me. He started telling me all about his project and then he asked me about mine. I started telling him by showing him my project and using sign language (“I am Mute” n.d.). At first he laughed at me and pointed me out to everyone; he told
them I was weird. Then as a group they started jeering me and making fun of me. Suddenly I remembered my tablet (“I am Mute,” n.d.). I was going to use my assisted learning software on my tablet to communicate.
But then an angry girl came up to me and said, “You want all the attention don’t you? I bet you think you will win if you pretend you cannot talk because everyone will feel sorry for you.” The other students were acting worse towards me not better, after she gave them the idea that I wanted attention. I was hurt and shocked. I pulled out my tablet but I did not feel like trying to talk to any of them after the way they treated me. You might not believe what I tell, but it is true.
I am happier when I am with my family, friends and when I am alone (Shipon-Blum, 2008). I have the same interests of most people my age. I even think I am an interesting and a nice person. I can communicate with signing. The problem is that not very many people know how to sign. At school lessons should be taught on people with muteness; we are not all the same. Also I feel strongly that sign language needs to be learned by everyone.
I also know how to read lips, but I am not very comfortable reading lips of strangers. I am not very sure about myself because I might misunderstand something. I have learned to pay more attention to my surroundings because of my muteness. I also learn everything I can about body language. I pay attention to everyone’s body language when I meet new people. I learn body language to help me stay calm when I am in new situations.
My parents help me by taking me to therapy with Cognitive Behavior Therapy (Shipon-Blum, 2008). A type of muteness that can be caused by a social functional disorder is called “selective mutism” (Wong, 2010, p. 23). Shyness can cause a child or young person to remain silent for short periods of time until they become comfortable with their environment; but severe anxiety causes muteness in a child who can speak with family but not with anyone else in the neighborhood or at school (Manassis, K. & Tannock, 2008). Selective mutism without a social phobia as a comorbidity will be outgrown as the child develops without any treatment (Manassis & Tannock, 2008; Wong, 2010). Muteness in a child will persist if a social phobia is comorbid with the muteness and the child does not outgrow the social (Wong, 2010).
I have been treated since I was very young with medicine because I was so shy and anxious I did not want to leave the house since I was very young. Depression and selective muteness as comorbidities have been evaluated in a research studyto learn if medications help reduce the muteness symptoms (Manassis & Tannock, 2008). Anti-depressants were found to relieve the symptoms of severe silent muteness for children so other people are having the same experience (Manassis & Tannock, 2008). I am feeling better and less anxious with the medicine, but I still do not have the capacity to speak to people.
However the world is not designed they way I think it should be and I do try to cope. Every time I know I will be around people who do not know I am mute, I start worrying. I don’t know how I will be able to let them know that I cannot speak. But even worse than that is that I do not know how they will react to my muteness. For me, muteness is a normal condition and I am a normal person. My friends who are mute are all normal, too; I mean we all are normal. The only difference between us and people who can speak is that we communicate differently.
I had an idea that I need some way to alert people to the fact that I am mute. My thinking is that when people are alerted that I can hear and see fine, but I cannot speak, they will be more civil. I have thought about the kind of methods I might use. Maybe, a mask would solve many problems for me.
“I am Mute” (n.d.) Experience Project http://www.experienceproject.com/groups/AM-Mute/82570
Gilchrist, K. (n.d.) Keir Presents: Playing a mute: (+ other stuff) a monster-sized Keir guide. Keir Reviews. http://keir-reviews.tumblr.com/post/44978086097/the-word-muteness-is-used-as-an-umbrella-term-to
Manassis, K. & Tannock, R. (2008). Comparing interventions for selective mutism: A pilot study. Can. J. Psychiatry, 53(10): 700-703. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18940039
Shipon-Blum, E. (2005). Understanding Selective Mutism: A Guide to Helping Our Teachers Understand. Selective Mutism.org, http://www.selectivemutism.org/pdf/teachers.pdf
Wong, P. (2010). Selective Mutism: A review of etiology, comorbidities, and treatment. Psychiatry (Edgmont). 7(3): 23-31. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2861522/