Webinar: Selective Mutism Strategies for Schools and Preschools

Selective Mutism is an anxiety disorder that significantly limits a child’s ability to speak outside the home — most often in preschool and school environments. While it is treatable, progress usually depends on consistent, graded support delivered at school, alongside clinical intervention.

This 3-hour live webinar is designed to give educators, school-based professionals and parents clear, practical strategies they can confidently use to support children with Selective Mutism in real-world settings.

Delivered by Dr Elizabeth Woodcock, Clinical Psychologist and Director of the Selective Mutism Clinic, this webinar shares the same treatment framework used with children and schools across Australia.

What’s covered

• What Selective Mutism is and how it presents in preschool and school settings
• Understanding a graded approach to treating anxiety and communication
• The Selective Mutism Clinic’s 5 Stages of Communication
• Factors that make communication easier or harder for children
• General do’s and don’ts when supporting a child with Selective Mutism
• How to educate all school staff about Selective Mutism
• Practical, school-based treatment strategies, including:
• • Starting-out strategies and whole-school education
  • Building talking with the classroom teacher (including the Sliding In strategy)
  • Supporting communication with peers and small groups
  • Helping children speak in whole-class situations
  • Generalising talking to other teachers and staff
  • Expanding speech so it becomes more spontaneous
  • Supporting transitions to a new school year or teacher

Who should attend

This webinar is best suited for:

• Primary and Preschool Teachers
• Early Childhood Workers
• School Psychologists
• Learning Support Teams
• Health professionals conducting therapy in schools
• Parents of children with Selective Mutism or extreme shyness