A youth-led awareness campaign
Every Voice Matters.
A friend-to-friend guide to understanding Selective Mutism and helping classmates feel safe, included, and heard.
Children's book
Can you hear my heart?
A children's story about Selective Mutism
Meet Willow, a brave girl learning that even when words feel stuck, her heart is still speaking — and there are caring people ready to listen.
What is Selective Mutism?
It's not shyness — and it's not a choice.
Selective Mutism is an anxiety disorder where someone can talk easily in safe places, like home, but finds it very hard to talk in unfamiliar places like school, where they feel as though their voice is stuck. It is not something kids simply outgrow — it eases over time with kindness, patience and professional treatment.
Three simple ways to help
Learn. Include. Support.
Small, kind steps any classmate can take to help a friend feel safe at school.
Learn
Learn more about Selective Mutism and what it really is — an anxiety disorder, not stubbornness or shyness.
Learn moreInclude
Find gentle, no-pressure ways to welcome a classmate and help them feel part of the group.
Learn moreA Silver Award Project
This awareness campaign was created by a Girl Scout Cadette as part of her Girl Scout Silver Award — a project dedicated to making classrooms kinder and more inclusive for students with selective mutism.