Selective mutism (SM) doesn't have to mean enduring years of unnecessary suffering; treatment can be effective and brief. The author demonstrated in one of her research studies how she successfully coached parents and educators and treated children with SM within 130 minutes using the VSR technique. This is remarkable, especially since these children had long-standing SM and had received numerous failed treatments prior to the author’s involvement. The VSR technique used for the rapid treatment of SM in these studies stands for 3 techniques –Video self-modeling, Stimulus fading, and Reinforcement– combined into one treatment methodology which can be implemented at home, in schools, or in other SM-provoking environments.The VSR method is considered more effective than the widely used “anxiety ladder” fading approach because it has the added video self-modeling (VSM) component. The author believes that many SM interventions tend to take months without guaranteed success due to the child's mutism identity (the child who doesn’t speak) and their lack of self-confidence to start speaking. No matter how hard your child bravely works to climb through the anxiety ladder in all contexts, the fading technique alone may not address the challenges posed by this mutism identity. Some of these challenges include: (1) your child lacks the confidence that they can speak because they have never done so in the past; (2) the spokesperson will continue to speak for your child so your child may not get the opportunity to start speaking on their own; and (3) your child’s anxiety may heighten with each attempt to speak because they worry about how everyone will react when they start to speak.Good news is: VSM has demonstrated to be helpful in addressing all these challenges!Vocal begins by equipping readers on how it truly feels to have SM (not merely what it is), and to use that deep understanding to cater to each child’s uniqueness to start speaking with everyone (yes, everyone!). It is filled with real life situations; step-by-step guidelines on how to implement VSR technique on your own. It also includes how to tackle tricky scenarios, helpful tips that are not documented elsewhere, and sample activities that are “guaranteed” to get your child to start responding/speaking within an hour! This invaluable information can only be obtained through years of personal SM experiences and successes from helping other children speak for the first time in their natural settings. It can save parents months, if not years, of time to help their child become verbal in social situations! Dr. Poling Bork personally suffered from SM and all 3 of her children also suffered from it. Her eldest child almost drowned and was almost strangled by a bully due to SM, while another had to endure over 5 years of complete silence away from home. Having witnessed firsthand on how SM paralyzed her children’s daily functioning, Dr. Bork understands the urgency of eliminating SM and it became her mission to explore the most effective treatment approach. This led her to pioneer using technology to treat SM (2010), and the VSR study (2019) may be the most effective SM treatment documented in the research world! Today, Dr. Bork continues to research on how to improve the VSR method. Her current research focuses on using Virtual Reality and artificial intelligence to be part of SM treatment process. Dr. Bork is known as being an effective educator and has received multiple teaching awards for excellence in teaching at university. Like many parents, educators, and professionals who have been coached by her, you will find this book’s material easy to understand and captivating to read. Dr. Bork is also the founder of the Canadian nonprofit Selective Mutism Foundation, and the keynote speaker for the first SM Conference in Canada 2022.
✔ Author(s): Dr Poling Bork PhD
✔ Title: VOCAL: How to help your child be vocal and conquer selective mutism in less than 3 hours with a proven strategy!
✔ Rating : 4.9 out of 5 base on (18 reviews)
✔ ISBN-10: 1738733602
✔ ISBN-13: 9781738733606
✔ Language: English
✔ Format ebook: PDF, EPUB, Kindle, Audio, HTML and MOBI
✔ Device compatibles: Android, iOS, PC and Amazon Kindle
Readers' opinions about VOCAL by Dr Poling Bork PhD
Beata Shepard
What a rollercoaster of emotions! I laughed, cried, and everything in between. The author's ability to evoke such raw feelings is truly commendable. It's a story that will stay with me forever.
Aileen Menzie
The world created in this book was unlike anything I've ever encountered. The author's imagination knows no bounds, and I was completely mesmerized by the fantastical setting.
Laura Hill
The plot was so well-paced that I lost track of time while reading. I was completely immersed in the story, eagerly turning the pages to uncover the next twist.
