What are /r/selectivemutism's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Speech therapy is helpful (so I've heard). I plan to use in the future. If you have insurance go for it!

Right now I use some apps: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jeroendebusser.aspiemeltdown

Emergency chat for those sudden times I get non verbal because of anxiety or if I have a panic attack and need to be left alone.

I also use Speech Assistant for everyday stuff. I like it because I can customize responses.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.asoft.speechassistant

To test out pitch and volume, I use Voice Tools (I can't seem to link it here but it helps me judge volume, how deep or high my voice it and let's me play a section of it back without recording anything)

PS: I don't talk to my family much because we don't get along. That might be because of sm, or it just might be because our personalities clash

Hey it sounds like you've made some major progress being able to speak at school so congratulations on that!!

I'm not very qualified to give friendship advice tbh, but I wonder if you have/have been treated for social anxiety? It's pretty reasonable for someone with SM to end up with a lot of anxiety from it and that might be hiding you back still, or it might be leading you to underestimate your friendships. The other thing that comes to mind is that building friendships takes spending a lot of time together (getting this from a book called Frientimacy by Shasta Nelson). Sometimes you can be friends with a group of people but not really good friends with any individual person in the group (I've experienced this before), so it might help to really prioritize getting to know one or two other people? Sorry I can't help more! I never really managed to have friends till senior year of high school so

This is hands down the best book I’ve read about how to help people with SM:

Overcoming Selective Mutism: The Parent's Field Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732599602/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_EMV9B1MEEMWXQ2AFYSJX

If you can, order that book and do your best. If you can’t afford the book, check your local library for it, and if they don’t have it-request they carry it and then check it out when they get it. We did a group therapy at our local Childrens hospital and they did basically everything in this book. It’s written by a specialist and worth every penny.

Good luck! You can do this!

In my understanding, SM Is a cycle that is learned and is a pretty sensical response to anxiety.

Child feels anxious speaking -> child doesn't speak -> adult rescues -> anxiety goes away, cycle is reinforced that talkin is stressful and avoiding is good.

This resource was life changing for our family if you might be able to access at a library or for purchase! : https://www.amazon.ca/Overcoming-Selective-Mutism-Parents-Field/dp/1732599602/