Linguistic and psychological perspectives on prolonged periods of silence in dual-language learners

In this paper, we present an examination of the literature on prolonged periods of silence in children from the perspective of two different scientific fields. The aim is to call attention to the inherent complexity of the factors that may be involved in the etiology of mutistic behavior during child development. Medical and linguistic literature on the subject is sparse and an integrated view by both disciplines on this phenomenon is lacking. A framework for research is proposed, pointing out the urgent need for interdisciplinary approaches to understand prolonged periods in dual-language learners in order to overcome under- or over-referral for selective mutism and the current lack of reliable evidence-based recommendations for practitioners.