[Erin_1712]

My son will not speak. And it is not that he cannot. When he plays with his friends (everyday) he will speak to them ding-dong come in the house. ect. But when I ask him to say anything he will shut down wether it is are you hungry? he will not even nod his head. He will also act as though he does not understand. But he does and it is beyond normal child pretending not to understand. How do I get him to speak. He will just look at me and if I try to get him to say anything he just freezes and may even start to cry. He will not even shake his head no he does nothing he will sit there and stare at you and then after awhile he stares at the floor. I know he can speak but when I am around he will not speak. Even if he is playing and I am close he whispers. I have never told him not to speak and have tried to get him to speak more but with me he will not. With his father he has started saying hello daddy when he comes home. But with me zilch. How do I get him to express himself and not be scared.

[athikers]

How old is he? Some kids will talk with one parent and not the other. My then three year old niece could spend HOURS with my brother and not peep a word. I would do your best to ignore the behavior... maybe even "talk for him" like you might for an infant and see if that helps him loosen up. Try not to pressure him to talk and see if that helps.

I don't know! That is a hard situation.

[ProspectiveSingleMom]

I realize this post is old, but just wanted to chime in in case someone else is in a similar situation. It sounds like this child may have selective mutism, especially if he is equally silent with other adults/authority figures (such as teachers). Children with selective mutism cannot speak in certain situations (usually with authority figures) because of acute anxiety. If the adult then tries to encourage the kid to speak (such as by repeating the question multiple times, saying "answer me," or even becoming angry), the child just becomes more anxious and even less able to speak. Many people mistakenly assume that selective mutism is willful defiance by the child, but in most cases it is not.