
What is Selective Mutism?
Selective mutism is an anxiety disorder, whereby a child (or adult) is unable to speak in specific situations or with specific people....

Helping children with Selective Mutism during the Coronavirus pandemic
How life has changed so drastically in the last couple of weeks. Only a couple of weeks ago I was in schools in Ireland, busy delivering...

Selective Mutism: Why Certain Words are Trickier (hello / goodbye / please / thank you / sorry)
Certain words are particularly hard for children with selective mutism to say. Words such as, 'hello', 'goodbye', 'please', 'thank you',...

Selective Mutism: How to manage a transition to a new class
StartFragment As we approach the end of the academic year, I have had a lot of parents asking me about how to manage the crucial...

How to help a child with selective mutism cope with family gatherings
The festive period, Easter and other family gatherings can be lovely, but can also be very anxiety inducing for children with selective...

What parents want others to understand about selective mutism
I recently posted a question on the Confident Children Facebook page asking parents what they wish others understood about selective...

Helping a child with selective mutism return to school after the holidays
Returning to school after the holidays is often anxiety inducing for children with selective mutism. Having been at home for an extended...

Selective Mutism Is Not Control
I often deliver school training on selective mutism and something I frequently hear is: "It really is unbelievable how (he/she) can have...

BBC documentary clips 'Why can't my child speak'
BBC documentary on the BBC News channel 'Why can't my child speak?' Here are some clips that I feature in. (shared with permission from...