Muteness
or mutism (from Latin mutus 'silent') is defined
as an absence of speech while conserving or maintaining
the ability to hear the speech of others.[1] Mutism
is typically understood as an inability to speak
on the part of a child or an adult due to an observed
lack of speech from the point of view of others
who know them. Such observers commonly include a
mute person's family members, caregivers, teachers,
and health professionals like doctors or speech
and language pathologists. Muteness may not be a
permanent condition, depending upon etiology (cause).
In general, someone who is mute may be mute for
one of several different reasons: organic, psychological,
developmental/neurological trauma.[2] For children,
a lack of speech may be developmental, neurological,
psychological, or due to a physical disability or
a communication disorder. For adults who previously
had speech and then became unable to speak, loss
of speech may be due to injury, disease, termed
aphasia, or surgery affecting areas of the brain
needed for speech. Loss of speech in adults may
occur rarely for psychological reasons.
Read
More |