Unspoken Words: A Selective Mutism Podcast by Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum

SMart Center
  • 5.0 (26)
  • Mental Health
  • Monthly

Selective Mutism is more than “not talking”—and helping someone with SM starts with understanding why communication is difficult and what to do next. Welcome to Unspoken Words, the podcast dedicated to helping parents, educators, professionals, and individuals better understand and navigate Selective Mutism. Hosted by Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum (Dr. E), a world-renowned Selective Mutism expert with more than 30 years of experience, each episode turns real-life challenges into practical guidance you can actually use. Contact Email: DrE@SMartCenter.us Website: www.SelectiveMutismCenter.org

  1. Oct 26

    EP85: This is why your child is refusing to go to school…

    Episode 85 of the Unspoken Words podcast features Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum and Dr. Jenna Blum on a back-to-school pattern they keep hearing about: the child who melts down every morning at home while the teacher insists they’re “fine” at school. Parents often ask, “How do we get them to go?” The better question is “Why does school feel so hard?” Tantrums, avoidance and refusal are information, not defiance.The core point: “fine” means nothing until someone defines it. Many kids with SM hold it together at school and let it out at home. A child who sits quietly and never joins in isn’t disruptive, but that isn’t progress either. Talking with the teacher and using the SM School Evaluation Form reveals what’s happening and points to the supports a child needs: a warm handoff at the door, a buddy process with three to five peers, and structure for recess, lunch and other unstructured times.A comfortable, connected child can still struggle. One 8-year-old was chatty with friends but rarely started conversations and dreaded school mornings. An independent evaluation found dyslexia and inattentive-type ADHD that everyone had put down to SM. With accommodations, her mornings improved. Along the way: lunch and recess bunches, why small groups need facilitation, the 3 C’s of comfort, connection and confidence, and the four pillars of social, emotional, academic and communicative functioning. Plus listener questions on friendship, unstructured time, and a teen who struggles to start assignments.The episode closes on expectations. A plan should match where the child is developmentally, not where we wish they were. That isn’t enabling or rescuing. It’s how a child comes to feel comfortable, connected and confident, and communication follows.--Chapters: (03:05) Melting Down at Home, “Fine” at School: What Morning Struggles Are Telling Us(10:09) Behavior Is Information: The Underlying “Whys” and Why Consistency Isn’t Rigidity(17:30) Don’t Wait, Facilitate: Buddies, Lunch Bunches, and Why “Fine” Needs a Definition(26:21) When the “Why” Is Academic: Small Groups, the 3 C’s, and a Case of Hidden Dyslexia and ADHD(35:15) Listener Questions: Feeling Alone at School, Unstructured Time, and the Teen Who Can’t Get Started -  ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: https://selectivemutismcenter.org/resources/ SUGGESTED RESOURCE: Understanding School Refusal in Children with Selective Mutism Ask Dr. E a question of your own!  Learn more about the host, Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum  Explore our SMart Center success stories!  Get started at the SMart Center  Listen to other Unspoken Words episodes here.  For the best clips from every episode, follow the podcast on Instagram & YouTube  Learn more about CommuniCamp, our 3+ day intensive group treatment and ALL DAY parent training & support program Learn more about our 6-week, virtual social skills series, which are skills-based groups designed to help children, teens, & young adults build social communication, comfort, and connection with similar aged-peers in a supportive setting. -  For all podcast inquiries, please contact Dakota Hornak at ⁠dhornak@selectivemutismcenter.org⁠  This podcast was produced and published by New Edition Productions (neweditionconsulting.com)

  2. Oct 13

    From Silent at School to Rock Band at 16: A Parent’s Selective Mutism Story

    Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum (Dr. E) reunites with Maureen, a parent panelist at CommuniCamp whose son Lucas began treatment at age three and is now a social 16-year-old who plays in bands. Maureen remembers finding out at a preschool conference that Lucas, chatty at home, had never spoken at school. She shares how “comfort before communication,” addressing his sensory sensitivities, school supports like spot work and a classroom buddy, and stepping back from speaking for him made the difference. Her advice to parents: there is hope, so trust the process.

  3. Oct 7

    BONUS EPISODE: Dr. E on Medication 💊

    In this BONUS EPISODE of Unspoken Words, Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum answers common medication questions from families in treatment, by email, and at CommuniCamp. Medication isn’t necessary for everyone with Selective Mutism. When appropriate, it can reduce anxiety and support therapy, but it cannot replace skill building, parent and school staff training, as well as  Dr. E looks beyond whether someone is speaking to consider social, emotional, academic, and communicative functioning. She explains her “low and slow” approach to SSRIs, aiming for the lowest effective dose, and discusses: • Why medication should never be called “talking medicine”• Positive behavioral changes versus disinhibition to report to a prescriber• Why new distractibility doesn’t necessarily mean ADHD• Early signs of progress• Tapering, missed doses, and why medication should never be stopped suddenly without prescriber guidance. The key question is: What is making communication difficult? Supporting comfort, connection, and confidence helps communication grow. This episode is educational only. Medication decisions should be made with a qualified prescribing clinician. For more on medication, listen to EP6 of the Unspoken Words podcast.

  4. Oct 5

    EP84: Stop asking "why isn't my child talking?" and start asking this instead…

    Episode 84 of the Unspoken Words podcast features Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum and Dr. Jenna Blum on a question they hear all the time from families: "We've been in treatment for years and tried everything, so why isn't it working?" They argue that a lack of progress isn't failure. It's information, and a signal that it's time to reassess. At the center of the episode is a key shift. The question isn't "how do we get this child to talk?" but "why is communication difficult for this particular child?" Selective mutism is rarely one thing. It's usually a mix of factors, such as a timid temperament, speech-language challenges, sensory sensitivities, ADHD, learning and processing issues, or stress at home. When treatment focuses on speech alone without understanding those whys, progress stalls. They go through the most common barriers: asking a child to do what they aren't ready for yet, skipping the "missing link" between nonverbal and verbal, and progress that happens in therapy but never carries into the real world. They also cover schools that haven't been trained, treatment that has become too comfortable to move anyone forward, and parents measuring the wrong kind of progress. Along the way: the ritual sound approach, verbal intermediaries and the SM triangle, and why every outing needs a "roadmap." They also discuss the SM School Evaluation Form, and share the story of a teen who spoke for the first time outside her home after crossing the bridge step by step. The episode closes with an eight-question reset for parents. If several answers are "I don't know," it's time to step back and rethink the plan instead of doing more of the same. Stalled treatment doesn't mean a child can't make progress. It means the right why, the right starting point, or the right strategy hasn't been found yet. -- Chapters:  (03:29) "Lack of Progress Is Information": Uncovering the Whys When Treatment Stalls (14:47) Apple Maps and the Missing Link: Why Kids Need a Roadmap Before They're Asked to Speak (21:23) Sounds to Words: Stage 2, the Ritual Sound Approach, and Letting Kids In on the Plan (32:30) Talking in Therapy but Nowhere Else: Implementation, Untrained Schools, and the SM School Evaluation Form (44:29) Too Comfortable to Move Forward: Measuring the Right Progress and an Eight-Question Reset -  ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: https://selectivemutismcenter.org/resources/  SPECIFIC RESOURCE: https://selectivemutismcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/smart-center-social-comm-bridge.pdf  Ask Dr. E a question of your own!  Learn more about the host, Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum  Explore our SMart Center success stories!  Get started at the SMart Center  Listen to other Unspoken Words episodes here.  For the best clips from every episode, follow the podcast on Instagram & YouTube  Learn more about CommuniCamp, our 3+ day intensive group treatment and ALL DAY parent training & support program Learn more about our self-paced virtual conference, designed for School Psychologists, Psychologists, Physicians, Speech and Language Pathologists, Nurses, Social Workers, Counselors, Marriage & Family Therapists, Educators, Graduate Students, and Families. Eligible for 6.5 credit hours. -  For all podcast inquiries, please contact Dakota Hornak at ⁠dhornak@selectivemutismcenter.org⁠  This podcast was produced and published by New Edition Productions (neweditionconsulting.com)

  5. Sep 28

    From Freezing in Silence to Performing on Stage: Rachel Gordon's Selective Mutism Story

    Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum (Dr. E) reunites with Rachel, who was diagnosed with selective mutism at three and is now a confident young magician who performed at CommuniCamp. Rachel remembers freezing up outside her home and having her silence dismissed as shyness. She shares how scripts, Dr. E's Big Five, and performing magic helped her find her voice. Her advice to parents: progress takes time, so don't give up.Unspoken Words is hosted by Dr. E and the SMart Center and produced by New Editions Productions. Submit questions at SelectiveMutismCenter.org/askdre. Follow @UnspokenWords_Podcast on Instagram and Unspoken Words by Dr. E on YouTube. New episodes release every other Monday at 6am Eastern.

  6. Sep 14

    EP83: The First 30 Days of School Check-In

    Episode 83 of the Unspoken Words podcast features Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum and Dr. Jenna Blum tackling the first 30 days of school. They make the case that the question most parents fixate on — "Is my child going to talk?" — is the wrong one. The better focus is whether a child is becoming comfortable, connected, and confident, since communication follows those pillars, not the reverse. At the heart of the episode is a simple truth: a 504 or IEP is only as good as the interventions written into it. What separates a plan that just seats a child near peers from one that teaches teachers how, when, and with whom to facilitate connection is understanding a child's underlying "whys" — from ADHD to speech-language delays — before the plan is written. The SM School Evaluation Form is what makes that baseline visible. They also unpack why even verbal kids can still lack the initiation and elaboration skills that come from a well-facilitated peer connection, and why a child's high interests — chess, robotics, Peppa Pig — are often the fastest route to friendship at school. Along the way: the "big shot" role, verbal intermediaries, choice questions, and a case study of an older child with speech-language challenges who progressed to verbal — and learned to advocate for his own needs — through nothing more than a few circled choices. The episode closes with a clear marker: thirty days isn't a magic number, but it is a checkpoint. If there's no movement forward by then, it's time to ask not "why won't they talk," but what underlying why might still be missing — because when comfort, connection, and confidence are in place, talking follows. -- Chapters:  (04:12) Stop Asking "Did You Talk?"— the Real Goals of Month One of School (12:27) Screening for the "Whys"—The SM School Evaluation Form and Building a True Baseline (20:07) Chess Clubs and Peppa Pig —Becoming the "Big Shot" and Finding Peers Through High Interests (28:12) Look, Listen, and Learn—Verbal Intermediaries, Seating Charts, and Kids Who Are Verbal But Not Really Communicating (35:47) Circle Your Answer—Meeting a Child Where He Is and Why the 30-Day Check-In Matters

  7. Sep 2

    1 on 1 w/ Christie (a mom whose son was diagnosed with Selective Mutism at 3 years old)

    In this Unspoken Words Short, Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum (Dr. E) sits down with Christie, whose son was diagnosed with selective mutism in 2022 at three and a half years old.Together, they look back on his journey. Christie's son is now a thriving eight-year-old who talks to anyone, rather than the small handful of people he once could. Selective mutism isn't fully behind them, Christie says, but it's something they continue to overcome, thanks to what she's learned at the SMart Center.Christie takes listeners back to the moments that reshaped how she saw her son: learning to look at him as an individual rather than who she expected him to be, and holding onto Dr. E's "look, listen, and learn" approach even when progress didn't move in a straight line. She shares the rose story that has stayed with her ever since — Dr. E's metaphor comparing children to a dozen roses, some blooming right away and one, like her son, tightly closed at first but guaranteed to open in its own time — and how it helped her stop expecting him to share her own outgoing temperament.Christie also describes the turning point that convinced her progress was real: the day her son spoke to a friend's mom during a playdate they'd carefully arranged, which snowballed into him adding more kids, then more adults, into his circle. She talks about the biggest shift she had to make as a parent — slowing down and reflecting on how her son interacts with people before deciding how to help him — and closes with encouragement for any parent who feels discouraged: you're not alone, the resources are there, and while it won't happen overnight, the work pays off.

  8. Aug 24

    EP82: Live Chat w/ Parents @ August CommuniCamp

    Episode 82 of Unspoken Words brings listeners inside CommuniCamp for a roundtable between Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum and three families raising kids with selective mutism, each at a different stage: a couple whose 13-year-old is nearing full recovery after an early setback, a mom whose 8-year-old has progressed everywhere except the classroom, and a couple starting treatment days before their 6-year-old begins a new school. Together they explore not how to make a child talk, but how to prepare them for school — and the world — on their own timeline. The conversation moves from nervous, bracing parents to real hope, anchored in a reframe Dr. E keeps returning to: this isn't "selective mutism," it's "words that get stuck," and that shift in language changes how a school or classmate responds. She traces the idea to her daughter Sophie, whose bat mitzvah project — writing down the unspoken words behind her own silence — gave the podcast its name. The lesson: acknowledging a child's fear instead of dismissing it, and handing them control of their own story, does more than any script. The heart of the episode is practical. Parents and Dr. E trade strategies for the weeks before school starts — walking the halls, meeting teachers early, sending an "about my child" worksheet — plus two mental models for breaking big moments down: the "train ride," which adds one buddy at a time, and the staircase reminder that nobody leaps straight to the second floor. One mom traces her son's path from near-total silence at home as a toddler to being the class clown who still can't speak at school — illustrating "speech phobia" and the ritual sound approach built to treat it, down to the detail that he can say "hop" all day but freezes on a real word like "cat." The group also touches on 504s, IEPs, and homeschooling. The episode closes on one thread: progress isn't measured by how quickly a child starts talking, but by how well the adults around them learn to meet them where they are — one micro step, one unspoken word at a time. -- Chapters:  (01:47) Meet the Families: "Don't Wait, Facilitate" and Walking the Halls Before Day One (11:03) Know Your Strengths: Playdates, Video Calls, and Finding Words for Other Parents (18:13) Words Get Stuck, Not Choices: Sophie's Bat Mitzvah Project and Giving Kids the Pen (27:15) The Train Ride and the Staircase: Breaking Groups Into Steps (and the Truth About Homeschool) (35:00) From 504s to "Cat": Micro Steps, the Bridge Stages, and Cracking Speech Phobia ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: https://selectivemutismcenter.org/resources/  Ask Dr. E a question of your own!  Learn more about the host, Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum  Explore our SMart Center success stories!  Get started at the SMart Center  Listen to other Unspoken Words episodes here.  For the best clips from every episode, follow the podcast on Instagram & YouTube  Learn more about CommuniCamp, our 3+ day intensive group treatment and ALL DAY parent training & support program Learn more about our 6-week, virtual social skills series, which are skills-based groups designed to help children, teens, & young adults build social communication, comfort, and connection with similar aged-peers in a supportive setting.

See All (102)

Trailer

5
out of 5
26 Ratings

About

Selective Mutism is more than “not talking”—and helping someone with SM starts with understanding why communication is difficult and what to do next. Welcome to Unspoken Words, the podcast dedicated to helping parents, educators, professionals, and individuals better understand and navigate Selective Mutism. Hosted by Dr. Elisa Shipon-Blum (Dr. E), a world-renowned Selective Mutism expert with more than 30 years of experience, each episode turns real-life challenges into practical guidance you can actually use. Contact Email: DrE@SMartCenter.us Website: www.SelectiveMutismCenter.org

Information

You Might Also Like