 Mrs. Gail Kervatt is a retired educational specialist who served in the public school system for twenty-five years. She holds a Master of Education Degree and New Jersey Reading Specialist certification. She has been a teacher for twenty-nine years and a member of the International Reading Association. She has had articles published in various reading and speech and language journals.The Silence Within is a nonfiction teacher/parent resource about her work with a selectively mute child and the process that followed in helping him overcome the disorder after five years of being mute in school and all social situations. This disorder, a current issue, has been discussed on national TV several times in the past few years, including the program 20/20, indicating little hope of recovery without a pharmacological intervention. The book contains a case study, research references and summaries, daily activities that cover seven months, resource listings and reproducible worksheets. The child overcame his speaking disorder during seven months of intervention without the use of medication, a main parental concern. This book would be useful because the majority of school personnel do not have the expertise or experience to deal with a child suffering from this disorder. This lack of knowledge became a reality as the parent and teacher sought help for the child and were denied. Many medical personnel are also not aware of the condition or have found that traditional psychotherapy has been disappointing. A letter from a parent asking for help was published in a parenting magazine a few years ago and many cases of selective mutism have since surfaced. The school system that Gail Kervatt works in now has a second child in Kindergarten who is selectively mute (which makes four children within five years in one small suburban town). In addition, Internet sites over the past two years have grown extensively, most of them visited by teachers and parents, worldwide, asking for help. The audience for the book would be teachers and parents of children who are selectively mute who are seeking materials, resources and activities to use with their children. Most of the technical language has been left out so that the book would be understandable, useful and informative. The chronology of the weekly goal sheets points out the patience, time and flexible activities needed to take one little step at a time. |
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