Shy/selective mutism?

[LAM1407]

My little girl is 3 and has been attending nursery since Feb, term time only.
Since starting she very very rarely speaks, in fact shes not said a word while there since around June. She loves going, is a chatterbox at home, loves the staff and getting cuddles from them, has lots of friends, gets stuck in with all the activities they do, plays with the other children really well, eats well, no toilet accidents etc etc. She is a bit shy with acquaintances but always makes eye contact and smiles at them, just let's big sister take the lead in the chatter, but at home shes probably the more outgoing one.
Would you be concerned? Any ideas on how to get her to open up? We have asked for referral to speech and language.

My daughter is diagnosed with selective mutism. She first started showing signs at nursery, where she would only communicate via another child. I was told she was just shy and would grow out of it. She's now 15 and unable to communicate verbally with anyone outside of close family and friends. I wish I had pushed for more help when she was younger. There are intervention programmes (see Maggie Johnson) that can help but they are mostly effective with younger children.

SALT can diagnose but they don't really offer much support as they consider SM to be anxiety-based rather than S&L based. Look at the SMIRA website for more information https://www.selectivemutism.org.uk/