What does it feel like to have Selective Mutism? How you could start a discussion with your child

Guest blog post by Clair Maskell

As an ex nursery nurse, I had done various special needs courses and Selective Mutism was only briefly discussed. I had not encountered it within my 11 years of childcare work and then a few years ago, I was lucky enough to meet E.

E was in my daughters preschool and they started school together. I became friendly with her Mum and through her, I started to get a picture of what life was like for a child with SM and how it effected the family.

It was soon clear that there wasn’t enough understanding of SM. Many teachers seemed to be unaware of strategies to help E and it was also difficult for other children to understand her too.

The more I learnt about E and her anxieties, how she couldn’t cry if she hurt herself at school yet was a live wire at home, how she would bottle up her worries and feelings and leg them all out at home.....I just felt I needed to do something to help people understand her better and also to make her feel like someone somewhere understood.

I had been dabbling with writing for children for a while, self publishing a book in 2013 and wanting to do more. E’s Mum and I had the same thought at the same time.....why not wrote a children’s book??!!!

And that is how The Loudest Roar cake about. It follows the lovely character Angus, the lion who has the most fantastic Roar, but it didn’t work when he left his home. 

I chose a lion because I was so touched by E’s bravery. Imagine getting up every day and going to school without being physically able to express yourself. That’s bravery and what braver animal to portray that then a lion!

I have been so honoured to have E’s Mums support in writing the story, which my husband Dean illustrated for me. The story is really helping to raise awareness not just here in the UK, but in the US, Canada and Australia too!! 

The whole point of the story is to explain to children what having Selective Mutism feels like and not only is it doing that, but it also is resonating with children with SM, who have given feedback to their parents to say Angus is “just like me”

You can get The a Loudest Roar on Amazon and also follow me on Facebook 

Clair Maskell 

Children’s Author.

Can I tell you about SM: an excellent addition to the ‘Can I tell you about..’ series

Title:   Can I tell you about selective mutism 
Author:  Maggie Johnson and Alison Wintgens
Publisher:  Jessica Kingsley Publishers

Selective Mutism (SM) is still a largely unknown and mis-understood condition, and to date the majority of books are written primarily from an academic point of view. ‘Can I tell you about Selective Mutism’ is an excellent addition to the ‘Can I tell you about..’ series of books and has been effectively written in two parts. The first half of the book is written from the point of view of a young girl named Hannah, who describes what it is like to live with SM and how it affects her relationships with other people; creating a sensitive and personalised undertone throughout the book. The second part of the book provides functional and practical strategies that can be used by parents, carers and teachers. Maggie Johnson and Alison Wintgens are pioneers in the world of Selective Mutism and have worked with this unique client group for over 20 years; they currently work with the leading UK charity SMIRA to support families of people with Selective mutism. 

The informal style of this book makes it an accessible and invaluable aid to all readers and I highly recommend it as a fantastic introduction when first learning to understand the condition. I have used it many times with families that I have worked with; as an engaging resource to read with the child when helping them to understand and explain the internal world they experience every day. ‘Can I tell you about Selective Mutism’ helps to dispel common myths that Selective Mutism is a refusal to talk by providing a powerful first-hand insight. There is still much debate about whose professional remit SM falls into and I recommend this book to be read by any professional supporting a child with the condition including speech and language therapists and psychologists.

It is available from www.speechtherapyactivties.co.uk

Natasha Hallam

Natasha Hallam, Specialist SLT, Small Talk SLT
Rating:  5
ISBN-10: 978 1 84905 289 4