Selective Mutism: When Your Child Can’t Speak

While many students may act out at school by refusing to talk in class, some children simply can’t talk in school or in public. Children with selective mutism, a disorder that usually surfaces when a child first enters school, suffer from anxiety far beyond normal shyness. While shy kids may not talk a lot, kids with selective mutism could be chatterboxes at home but literally unable to function in more social situations. This Good Morning America report explores one family’s experience with selective mutism.