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Our Brave Voices

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Our Brave Voices

Empowering school teams & families across New England with expert support to help children with selective mutism find their brave voices.

Book your free intro call today: https://ourbravevoices.com/contact/

10/23/2026

Thank you so much to MSLHA for inviting me to present and for another wonderful conference this year! I appreciate you all so much!! 🙏

10/10/2026

💚🌱 It’s Selective Mutism Awareness Month! Let’s see beyond the silence.

Selective mutism is not a choice to be silent. It’s an anxiety related barrier to speaking.

Behind the silence is a child with thoughts to share, friendships to build, ideas to contribute, and a voice worth hearing. 💚

A child with selective mutism may talk freely at home but find speaking incredibly difficult at school or in other social settings. This isn’t defiance. It isn’t a lack of ability. And it isn’t something a child can simply overcome by being told to “just talk.”

💚 So, what helps?

✨ Connection before correction. Build a trusting relationship that helps a child feel supported as they work toward brave talking.

✨ Structure instead of pressure. Plan intentional, manageable, opportunities for speaking rather than relying on spontaneous questions or encouragement alone.

✨ Small steps that build big skills. Use gradual exposure to help children practice speaking with new people, in new places, and for new purposes.

✨ Support that moves forward. Understanding a child’s anxiety doesn’t mean leaving them stuck. It means helping them build the skills and distress tolerance needed to move through it.

🌱 With the right support, children can learn that speaking in new settings is possible—even when it feels hard.

Brave talking is built, one brave step at a time.

To the educators, school teams, and families supporting a child with selective mutism: your role matters. You don’t have to have every answer on day one. Start by understanding the barrier, building connection, and creating a thoughtful plan for progress.

💚 This Selective Mutism Awareness Month, let’s move beyond awareness toward action.

Let’s build environments where children are understood, school teams feel equipped, and brave voices have opportunities to grow.

🤝 At Our Brave Voices, we partner with school teams to turn understanding into action through evidence-based support, practical strategies, and individualized plans that help students build brave voices.

💬 What is one thing you wish every educator understood about selective mutism? Share below to help us spread awareness and understanding! 🌱

09/30/2026

🌱 What does evidence-based support for selective mutism actually look like at school?

It’s more than giving a student “time.”

And it’s more than simply encouraging them to talk. 💚

For students with selective mutism, meaningful progress is built through relationship, trust, and intentional gradual exposure.

A supportive school team creates a pathway that feels manageable for the student while still providing opportunities for steady forward movement.

That might mean:
🌱 building a trusting relationship with a keyworker
🌱 identifying a just-right challenge
🌱 practicing small, structured exposures
🌱 gently building distress tolerance
🌱 expanding listeners, settings, and communication demands
🌱 monitoring progress using meaningful benchmarks

And this is an important distinction:

Manageable does not mean indefinite.

We don’t rush a student through exposure—but we also don’t want to leave them waiting for anxiety to disappear on its own.

Evidence-based support gives the student a structured pathway forward, grounded in relationship and guided by measurable progress. 💚

When school teams work together with intention, we can move from:

“How do we get this student to talk?”

to:

“What is the next brave step we can help this student take?” 🌱

That is where progress becomes possible.

09/19/2026

🌱 **What if we started with understanding?**

A student with selective mutism has **so much to say.** 💚

They talk freely at home. 🏡
They laugh, joke, tell stories, ask questions, and share their biggest ideas with the people they trust. 🗣️✨

And then they arrive at school…

…and suddenly, using that same voice can feel incredibly difficult. 🌿

**Selective mutism is not a choice not to speak.**

It is an **anxiety-based fear of speaking** that can create a very real barrier to using the voice with certain people, in certain places, or during certain situations.

And for school teams, this understanding can be such an important first step. 💚

A student who is quiet isn't necessarily unwilling.
A student who doesn't answer isn't necessarily refusing.
A student who speaks comfortably at home isn't simply “choosing” not to talk at school.

They need **connection, safety, and carefully planned opportunities to gradually build tolerance for brave talking.** 🌱

This is where a trusted adult can make such a meaningful difference. 🤝💚

A familiar person.
A safe relationship.
A comfortable starting point.
A just-right challenge.

Then…a small brave step. 🌱

Over time, those small experiences can help a student gently expand what feels possible—moving from comfortable talking toward new people, new places, and new situations.

**We can move forward gently and intentionally.** 🌱✨

With connection.
With gradual exposure.
With carefully supported opportunities to practice tolerating the discomfort that comes with brave talking.
With steady, meaningful steps that build confidence and capacity over time. 💚

And school teams, you don't have to have every answer on day one. 🌿

Sometimes the most powerful place to begin is simply:

**“I see you. I understand that this is hard. And I'm here to help you take the next brave step.”** 🤝

At Our Brave Voices, we believe:

🌱 **Brave talking is built, one brave step at a time.**

When we understand the barrier, we can begin building the bridge.

And there is so much possibility on the other side. 💚✨

09/07/2026

🌱 The work that matters most isn’t always the work that gets noticed.

This Labor Day, I’m thinking about the teachers, SLPs, school psychologists, school counselors, paraprofessionals, and other school staff who show up every day and do the quiet work of helping children feel safe, capable, and understood.

The staff member who sits beside a child instead of putting them on the spot.

The teacher who notices a tiny brave step that no one else saw.

The SLP who celebrates progress that may look small to someone else—but is enormous to the student.

The school team that keeps creating opportunities, adjusting expectations, and believing that more is possible.

That work matters. A lot.

Supporting a student with selective mutism often means being patient without being passive, encouraging without pressuring, and celebrating progress that happens one small step at a time.

So today, a little appreciation for the people doing that work. ❤️

Thank you for showing up.

Thank you for noticing.

Thank you for believing.

And thank you for helping children find their brave voices. 🌱

Brave talking is built, one brave step at a time.

Happy Labor Day! 🇺🇸

08/31/2026

Five Things Teachers Can Do on Day One to Support a Student with Selective Mutism
You don’t need a complicated plan.
You don’t need to make the student talk.
And you definitely don’t need to “wait and see.” ❤️
On Day One, start here:

☐ 1. Take the pressure off talking.
Warmly welcome the student. Talk to them without requiring a response. Let them know they belong.
☐ 2. Create opportunities for communication without the spotlight.
Think comments, choices, shared activities, and partner opportunities—not a string of questions.
☐ 3. Notice brave steps—not just brave talking.
Entering the classroom. Sitting near a peer. Joining an activity. These can all be meaningful steps toward brave talking.
☐ 4. Have a plan before you need one.
Know who will support the student, what strategies the team will use, and how adults will respond when the student doesn't speak.
☐ 5. Be ready to address questions from other students.
The goal on Day One isn't to get the student talking.
The goal is to make school feel safe enough for brave talking to grow. 🌱
Save this for the first day—and share it with a teacher who supports a student with selective mutism.
Brave talking is built, one brave step at a time.

08/22/2026

Every Student with Selective Mutism Needs a Keyworker 💛
For a student with selective mutism, school can feel like a place where everything is unpredictable.
Who will talk to me?
Who will ask me a question?
Will someone call on me?
What happens if I can’t answer?
That’s why one predictable adult matters so much.
Every student with selective mutism needs a keyworker—a trusted adult who understands their communication needs and becomes a consistent, safe anchor at school.
The keyworker doesn’t need to be the person who “gets the student talking.”
They need to be the person who understands:
🌱 How to reduce pressure without reducing expectations
🌱 How to recognize the student’s just-right challenge
🌱 How to create opportunities for brave talking
🌱 How to respond when anxiety shows up
🌱 How to communicate consistently with the rest of the team
🌱 How to celebrate brave steps without making them feel BIG
And perhaps most importantly…
The keyworker helps make sure the student doesn’t have to start over with every adult, every classroom, and every new situation.
Predictability creates safety.
Safety creates opportunity.
And opportunity is where brave talking begins. 💛
School teams: Who is the keyworker for your student?
If you can’t name that person yet, that may be your next important step.
Brave talking is built, one brave step at a time. 🌱

08/07/2026

📚 Before a student with selective mutism walks through the classroom door…

Schools prepare for:
🍎 Food allergies.
💊 Medical needs.
📋 Behavior support plans.
🚌 Transportation. student

But what about communication anxiety?

Students with selective mutism don’t need us to “wait and see” if they’ll talk.

They need a team that’s ready before day one.

✨ A communication plan
✨ A keyworker
✨ Opportunities for successful brave talking
✨ Adults who understand that silence is anxiety—not defiance

When we prepare proactively, we’re sending a powerful message:

“We already know how to support you. You don’t have to figure this out alone.” 💙

The best time to plan for brave talking isn’t after weeks of silence…

It’s before the student arrives.

Because every student deserves access to learning, friendships, and the chance to find their voice.

💙 Brave talking is built, one brave step at a time.

07/25/2026

🍎 The Biggest Mistake Isn’t Asking a Child to Talk…

As educators, we all want the same thing.

❤️ We want students to feel included.
❤️ We want to hear their ideas.
❤️ We want them to find their brave voice.

So when a student isn’t speaking, our natural instinct is often to encourage them to “just answer this one question” or “say hi.”

But here’s what many people don’t realize…

💛 The most common mistake well meaning adults make isn’t asking a child to talk.

The most common mistake is asking them to do something they’re not yet ready to do.

When a challenge is too big, a child’s anxiety—not their ability—takes over. Even when everyone has the very best intentions, that experience can unintentionally teach the brain:

“Speaking here isn’t safe.”

The good news? There’s another way.

Taking the pressure off does not mean lowering expectations.

It means creating just-right challenges that are achievable enough for success while gently stretching a child’s comfort zone.

Maybe today, brave talking looks like:
✨ Whispering to a trusted adult.
✨ Saying one word.
✨ Speaking to one peer.
✨ Using a brave voice in a small group.

Those moments aren’t “less than.”

They’re exactly how confidence grows.

As we prepare for a new school year, let’s remember:

Our goal isn’t simply to hear words.

Our goal is to help students feel safe enough to take one more brave step.

Every whisper.

Every one-word answer.

Every new listener.

Every brave conversation.

They’re all building something bigger.

💚 Brave talking is built, one brave step at a time.

07/18/2026

✨ WHAT MAKES THE DIFFERENCE?
Last week, I shared the idea that more may be possible for students with selective mutism than many teams expect.
So what changes?
It usually isn't that a child suddenly becomes "ready."
It isn't that they simply outgrow it.
And it isn't because someone finally found the perfect reward.
💚 More often, progress happens when we stop waiting... and start planning.
When we understand that selective mutism is an anxiety related disorder, our approach changes.
Instead of asking:
❌ "Why won't they talk?"
We begin asking:
✅ "How can we make talking feel safe enough to try?"
That shift changes everything.
Brave talking doesn't usually appear all at once.
It grows through:
🌱 One successful interaction.
🌱 One carefully planned exposure opportunity.
🌱 One supportive adult.
🌱 One small challenge repeated enough times that it becomes easier.
Meaningful progress is rarely accidental.
It's built—step by step—with an evidence-based plan, consistency across environments, and adults who know how to support anxiety rather than unintentionally increase it.
This school year, instead of hoping brave talking happens...
✨ Let's create opportunities for it to grow.

Address

45 Portland Road STE 7 #124
Kennebunk, ME
04043

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 6:30pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

https://ourbravevoices.com/

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