‘I had selective mutism for two years – I now know it was autism’

A year before I started school, I developed selective mutism. My mouth felt emphatically numb in situations where I felt uncomfortable. The inability to find any words to speak became even more prominent in my early school days when I turned five.

Selective mutism is classified as an anxiety disorder by the World Health Organisation (WHO). It is best described as the inability to speak in social situations despite having the capability of speaking freely in others..