Ari Callahan has no idea how to talk to boys -- or how to talk to anyone for that matter. Enter Zac, the cute new guy in town who won't stop texting her. But is his interest real, or does he have a hidden agenda?
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The Transcript (Segment 4)
Broadcast: THE TRUTH FILES
Episode Title: The Mermaid Hypothesis
Air Date: June 28, 2020
COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT OF TELEVISION BROADCAST
HOST: The mind of a teenage girl can be a place of mystery for anyone trying to understand her, and Ariel Callahan was no exception. Ariel's sister, Lucy, has shared with us some details about Ari's psychological state last summer. For a more scientific explanation, I'm joined now by one of the world's leading experts in the field of adolescent mental health. Dr. Valerie Guzman is the director of the National Institute for Pediatric Neuropsychology and Psychiatry in Washington DC. Dr. Guzman, thank you for joining us this evening.
VG: It's my pleasure to be here.
HOST: Just to be clear for our viewers, Dr. Guzman, you are a world-renowned researcher and practicing child psychiatrist, but you never personally treated Ariel Callahan yourself.
VG: That's correct. It would be a grave breach of doctor-patient confidentiality for any of Ariel's treating physicians to comment on the specifics of her case. I'm only here to provide some background information on the types of disorders we sometimes see in our clinic.
HOST: Let's start with the most striking symptom we've heard about so far: the inability to speak. Is that a condition you've come across before?
VG: Certainly. Mutism is a relatively non-specific symptom that may be caused by a range of different underlying conditions. It could result from damage to the larynx or vocal cords; an injury to the parts of the brain and nervous system that control expressive language; or there may be an underlying psychological condition with no organic cause.
HOST: So, in terms that our audience would understand, it may be all in the person's mind?
VG: No. We don't like to use that phrase. It implies that the condition is under the conscious control of the individual, which is certainly not the case. These patients want to speak out loud, but they can't. However, in cases with a purely psychological origin, the distinguishing factor is whether the individual is mute all the time, or only under selected circumstances. There are many cases of what we refer to as selective mutism.
HOST: For example, if a person is capable of speaking normally, but only when she is alone?
VG: Yes, that would be considered selective mutism, although it would be a relatively rare and unusual manifestation of the disorder.
HOST: How rare?
VG: Selective mutism itself is one of the more uncommon pediatric social disorders. We estimate the prevalence at less than one percent among the general population. The consensus in the psychiatric community is to treat it as a form of social anxiety disorder that manifests primarily in young children.
