Over the years, in the juvenile court clinic, my colleagues and I have had several cases where a child referred for evaluation speaks only to select people. It is sometimes noted that the child has ...

MANY children can be shy in certain social situations – but selective mutism is a lot more extreme than the typical case. The severe situational anxiety disorder, which can affect children and adults, ...

"I CAN only describe it as a living hell." The despair in Mark Bambrough's voice is clear, as he describes trying to cope with a daughter who has what is known as a phobia of speaking. Despite living ...

Like many girls her age, Isla loves drawing, swimming and arguing with her sister. She is a boisterous, spirited six-year-old who, at home, is forever being asked to quieten down by her mother, ...

1 in 150 children in the UK suffer with the selective mutism and it is thought to be more common than autism, so why is it still so misundertstood? 'I didn’t know what they were doing in class. It was ...

A Bolton mum is appealing for awareness to be raised of her daughter’s condition. Hall i' th' Wood mum Nicolette Rothwell spent years trying to get a diagnosis for her nine-year-old daughter Carrianna ...

Selective mutism wasn’t a diagnosis in common usage among teachers back in the 1980s when I started school; at least, no one ever used the phrase around me. I didn’t hear it until I was an adult, when ...

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