ABSTRACT
For every child who has selective mutism (SM), helping them to face and overcome their fears about talking starts in the home environment. This chapter shows that there are some parents with whom the child is more withdrawn, and suggest thats they are eased into the child's comfort zone in the same way as other adults. Graded exposure is the recommended approach for managing fears and phobias. By facing, rather than avoiding their fear, both adults and children can learn to overcome anxiety. Parents are ideally placed to carry out graded exposure. The child sees them every day in the settings that trigger anxiety. Most importantly, the child associates parents with positive feelings, rather than anxiety. Practitioners and educational mentors may consider individual sessions, group work or summer schools for older children and teenagers with SM, focusing on assignments in community settings which involve talking to strangers.
