You can have things to say when speaking feels hard. You can point, draw, write, type, or use a communication tool on this page. You do not have to speak to finish it. Choose a helper who will give you time and listen to the way you communicate.
How to use this page
Choose one place. Show which ways of communicating feel possible there and what help you would like.
Choose a way to answer
Think about class, a club, or another place. You might point to a choice, write a note, or use a picture. Your helper can offer options and wait. You can also choose to pause.
Tell the helper what helps
Maybe fewer people, less attention, more time, or an agreed way to ask for a break would help. Your helper can share the plan with the right adults, following privacy rules. Nobody should surprise you with a demand to speak for this activity.
Reflection prompts
Use these questions in conversation, on paper, or in the downloaded PDF. You may adapt or skip a prompt.
Where would I like it to be easier to communicate?
How can I show an answer or a need there?
What makes that place easier or harder for me?
What would I like my helper to understand or change?
Facilitator notes and adaptation
Coordinate with an appropriately qualified mental-health and speech-language team. Do not interpret silence as defiance or require speech, public praise, or surprise performance. This page offers access while individualized treatment is planned; it does not prescribe exposure or diagnose selective mutism. Check language, hearing, development, and context.
Sources behind the concepts
These sources inform the concepts in this original resource. They do not validate or endorse this specific page.
Selective MutismAmerican Speech-Language-Hearing Association · n.d.
Communication access, coordinated assessment, and reducing speaking pressure; the original worksheet is not a selective mutism treatment protocol.