Being Brave with Selective Mutism: A Step-By-Step Guide for Children and Their Caregivers

If you’ve picked up this book, talking is probably pretty hard for you. Maybe you really want to talk but feel too nervous to do it when lots of eyes are on you. Perhaps you can talk to certain people but not others or you can only speak a few words in a soft voice. No matter what you are going through, the tips and activities in this book can help you to feel braver about talking.

Selective mutism can be tricky to manage. This workbook helps you and your child formulate a plan for exposure activities, and breaks down talking into attainable steps. It includes examples of games to play while practicing talking and offers sample dialogues to illustrate how to do exposures. Pairing a system of rewards along with the exposures helps your child through the challenge of dealing with those uncomfortable feelings. It discusses different situations and places where talking can be difficult and introduces two children, Emily and Jackson, who are both working hard to tackle their selective mutism.
Packed full of activities, worksheets and helpful strategies, this book makes putting in the work of being brave around talking fun!

Rachel Busman is a Clinical Psychologist and Senior Director of the Child and Adolescent Anxiety and Related Disorders Program at Cognitive Behavioural Consultants in White Plains, NY. She created Voices Rising, an intensive group based therapy program for SM. She is certified in Parent Child Interaction Therapy for Selective Mutism. Prior to joining CBC, Rachel was the Senior Director of the Anxiety Disorders Center at the Child Mind Institute and the director of Brave Buddies, an internationally recognized program for children with Selective Mutism.