A 6-year-old boy presented to a pediatrician with persistent mutism following a visit for routine venepuncture a few weeks ago. He communicated by pointing at pictures and words on an iPad “talking board.” His parents informed that he had stopped attending school and that there had been a sudden change in his behavior. History The boy was born at full-term following an uneventful pregnancy to a single mother with a mental health disorder. He had two younger brothers who were normal. He had met all the developmental milestones except for a delay in language acquisition.
He had been examined for autism at the age of five and was not found to be autistic. Six months after the assessment, he was found lying still and unresponsive on the floor. Such episodes occurred repeatedly at intervals of a few minutes to two hours. Each episode ended abruptly with him sitting in an upright position,…
