Differences between autism/asperger's and selective mutism

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Please help, I can't find the information I'm looking for. If anyone has any good information I would appreciate it tremendously. I could relate to both of these conditions because as a child I was mute at school and somewhat at home. I couldn't communicate, not even with my own family. I would still interact with my family by joking around and playing, but I often loved alone time. I've never liked for them to hug me and even talking about emotional things made me feel uncomfortable. I was paralyzed with fear at school and refused to speak unless I was spoken to. When a teacher would ask me a question I would answer, but it was difficult for me because I felt my anxiety spike up the roof whenever I was asked a question and I felt like I had to force the answer out from the pit of my stomach. Most of the time I felt like I couldn't speak or express myself (both at home and school). I could go on and on about my childhood but I really want to know what is the difference between the two of these conditions because they are so similar.

There happens to be a good article that explains the difference quite clearly, at Child Mind Institute. What you are describing from your childhood, does not sound at all like selective mutism to me.

I've read up on selective mutism and it's very similar to autism/aspergers:

http://www.theselectivemutism.info/symp ... /index.php

All of the symptoms in that article are also symptoms of autism/aspergers, which is why I am really confused. I think what I described earlier can very well be either one of the two or even both.

Thank you for the article, it was very helpful! Ok it think it's definitely possible I may have had both AS and SM as a kid...not sure I still have selective mutism anymore but I know I definitely have Asperger's. The way that people describe the words as being "stuck", being a loner and not knowing how to interact with kids, wanting to be left alone in my bubble, and being so quiet and paralyzed with fear. I was such a miserable kid :c I'm much happier now as an adult kid LOL

Glad to hear you're happier as an adult. I think most people who are miserable as kids are happier as adults.

The article you posted does make the two syndromes sound very similar. I'm glad the other article was helpful.

Yeah it does make them seem almost identical, it's confusing but now I can see the difference between the both.

I'm pretty certain it must be possible to have both. I suspect I'm on the spectrum. As a young child, I was very outgoing and chatty, but when I was round 7yrs, I suddenly became incredibly shy and selectively mute. I'm not fully sure of the reasons, but I remember becoming aware that I was being made fun of, etc, and lost my confidence. I seldom spoke in class, never answered questions and sometimes spoke via other children. I was 32 before I overcame the shyness and the selective mutism. But, I still have a degree of social anxiety (which is not at all obvious to anyone), which is no doubt connected to perhaps being on the spectrum. The selective mutism is a separate issue, but connected, for me anyway.

Thanks fo rthis topic. I suspected an ASD as a teen (diagnosed at age 20/21), but also thought I might have slective mutism because I would get mute in certain situations. The thing is, selective mutism is an anxiety disorder similar to social phobia, while autism means someone does not know how to communicate. I know anxiety is widespread in autistics, so it's quit epossible to have both. In fact, the DSM-IV criteria for selective mutism say that if an ASD is present, the mutism does not occur exclusively during the course of that. What this means is that, while you can technically be diagnosed with both, the DSM also acknowledges that selective mutism can be part of an ASD.