Life Stories

Selective Mutism has almost always been a part of my life since I was around 6 years old. I used to hardly be able to speak to anyone, only my friends and my parents and my grandparents and my dog. I could barely even speak to any of the teachers, so I couldn’t ask for help or put my hand up in … [Read more...] about Catherine’s story

Below is a link to the blog 'Diary of a Selective Mute - My experiences living with selective mutism and social anxiety'. Diary of a Selective Mute Shared with permission from the blog owner. … [Read more...] about One person’s life with selective mutism – Diary of a Selective Mute

Imagine you are on the bus and not sure where to get off, imagine you are unable to ask anyone to help you. Imagine you got lost somewhere, imagine you cannot ask passers-by for directions. Imagine you want to go to the cinema but you are unable to say that you would like to buy a ticket. … [Read more...] about Imagine by Antje Bothin

I am 23 and I was diagnosed with Selective Mutism about 20 years ago. Initially, my mum worked on techniques with me at home, in conjunction with support from professionals. These techniques were gradually brought into the school environment and public places, where the anxiety would be higher … [Read more...] about Selective Mutism by Christina Kim-Symes

by Matt Holdback As far as I was aware I had a pretty normal childhood, we started off just me and my older brother who is about 18 months older than I am. Then about 3 years later my younger sister arrived and everything was great, the perfect family. We lived in a nice big detached house in … [Read more...] about Mental Health Awareness: Selective Mutism – My Story

by Lindsay Whittington, Co-ordinator and founding member of SMIRA Looking Back 35 years. It’s a long time, but that’s how long my involvement with selective mutism has been, both as a parent and through my work with SMIRA. My daughter was just 18 months old when, on reflection, the problem … [Read more...] about Looking back… and moving forward

Hi, my name’s James, it’s July 2013 and I’m 23 years old. This is the first time I’ve ever put my thoughts on selective mutism into words. I realise this won’t be the same for everyone; this is simply my own view of it. I’d like to share my story. I’m not sure of all the details, but this is how … [Read more...] about Thoughts on Selective Mutism by James Redrup

Every morning I catch the bus to work. I smile and chat with various familiar faces I see every day. We talk about all kinds - the weather, history, family trees, days out, holidays. When I arrive at work I wave, smile, laugh, gossip, chat about anything and everything. That's before I've even taken … [Read more...] about Jennifer Anne’s Story