Nursery World - Speech & language: part 1 - Can’t talk or won’t talk?

Selective mutism and being a reluctant talker are different conditions, explain Anne-Marie Tassoni and Penny Tassoni, who offer advice to practitioners on what to do

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QUESTION…

I am the key person at a nursery and am worried about a child. She is three and a half years old and has been at nursery for three months. She is very quiet and does not talk to me or any of the adults.

I have seen her talk to other children, but if an adult approaches her, she stops talking. We have tried to encourage her to join in activities, but she often seems to freeze or avoids them.

Her mum tells me that she talks all the time at home but has noticed that she doesn’t talk if they are out and about. Mum thinks she is just very shy and might be a bit stubborn. I am wondering if she has selective mutism.

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