Speech Freedom

09/10/2026

'Just stay calm'...

If only it were that simple 🩷

When your child is dysregulated and everything in you is fraying too, 'staying calm' can feel impossible.

Because co-regulation isn't about gritting your teeth and pretending you're fine. It's about understanding what's really happening between two nervous systems (yours and theirs) and how one can gently steady the other.

That's exactly what I unpack in The Circle of Co-Regulation 🫶🏼

Not a list of things to try in the moment - but a real understanding of WHY connection calms, and how to become the steady presence your child borrows from.

Built on Calm, Connection & Co-Regulation®, a Nurturing Parenting Approach.

🩷 Pre-recorded so you can watch in your own time, at your own pace
🩷 Instant access
🩷 Yours to keep

Find out more or get instant access here: https://thenurtureprogramme.co.uk/product/the-circle-of-co-regulation-instant-access/

08/10/2026

06/10/2026

02/10/2026

02/10/2026

Where to get help?

SMiRA published this flow chart in 2018 to help those beginning their SM journey.

Have you used it ?

https://www.selectivemutism.org.uk/info-where-to-get-help-with-selective-mutism/

30/09/2026

October is Selective Mutism Awareness Month

This October, we want to do our bit to raise awareness, improve understanding and, most importantly, improve support for teenagers with selective mutism.

Teenagers with SM are still too often misunderstood. Silence can be interpreted as refusal, rudeness, disengagement or a choice not to participate, when the reality can be very different.

So we have two big things happening this October.

Our two-day accredited training course: Supporting Teenagers with Selective Mutism: For professionals and others who want to develop their knowledge and confidence in supporting teenagers, including assessment, diagnosis and practical intervention. We’ll be looking beyond simply trying to get a young person to talk, towards understanding safety, communication, relationships and what actually helps.

And we are releasing Personal Stories of Selective Mutism. This book brings together the voices and experiences of 505 young people who experienced selective mutism in secondary school, alongside my clinical reflections.

What did they wish their teachers had understood?
What made things harder?
What helped?
And what do adults need to do differently?

October seems exactly the right month to put those voices centre stage. Awareness matters—but awareness needs to lead to understanding, and understanding needs to change what we do.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HKMGV8CH/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2ISIJO76A4NAQ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.OdHw5nOyl1tKfbTJgpx37BYCJjgrEpQSon8DbtQn-KCgmWad5XZwjfbgTMgLwsL77DiaR9rOaccRt5DWGLXh4HnqZQGZjf6X3AsJp16AS92pAJ2zTrbIdQDmOasmDlSNvprOJAfigO4Mx1kpnF5tbfDGoDOLgBYDZN4NngA3I9REP48OGF2KHY0nACYDZJlzQruq7zBjQVH9LPpyuIqD-Q4rFXJc2mMHYT-gx8eYL_M.cyRbyHFGOlsEZsfjO94dVB8-_y_na9u-fUw8q_REKQ8&dib_tag=se&keywords=libby+hill+selective+mutism&qid=1790180264&sprefix=%2Caps%2C358&sr=8-2 proceeds to SMIRA
Please share with anyone working with or supporting teenagers with selective mutism.

29/09/2026