My name is Eliza and I don't talk at school

My 9 year old daughter and I read this book together and I asked her the questions listed at the end of the introduction. She was enthralled and we sat there and read everything in one go. I asked her "What did you think of the book?". She isn't a child able to describe emotions well but she instantly said "I liked it". I asked her what about it did you like and she said "The only answer why I can say is because the character is similar to me". My daughter has struggled with expressing emotions for years so this response is a big deal. As a child with Selective Mutism she has spent years sitting isolated and silent in school classrooms and school playgrounds. To hear her recognize another child like herself is profound. Working through the questions she also seemed to gain insight into her own situation. As a parent I loved this book. I loved the opportunity to get inside my kid's experiences and also for her to learn that she is really not alone and the courage she already possesses is something she can use to find her voice again. Lucy Nathanson's approach to Selective Mutism is compassionate, non-judgemental, practical and optimistic. From this simple little book we gained so much. I highly recommend this book to families with kids in elementary school. There are plenty of insights for parents with older kids but I think the audience is more directed at kids in the 3 to 11 years age range.

If your child isn't talking at school or in public but has no problem talking and communicating at home, Get This Book! Your child may have Selective Mutism. In this short, easy to read children's book the author presents a section for the parents which breaks down the basics of Selective Mutism and gives you tips and techniques in which to use the book to aid your child. The second section is the children's story which can be read to the child, by the child or both. Also included are some optional discussion questions about the story that one may choose to use.I think the author did a great job in taking the confusion out of Selective Mutism and explaining it in a clear and easy way for both children and adults to understand. And with this understanding, both parents and children will have additional tools to be able to make significant progress in working through Selective Mutism.

Very good book. My daughter didn't speak at school and We implemented the brave chart and constantly reward her with stickers everytime she is able to articulate herself with an unfamiliar person.

Great book about selective mutism. Very little literature out there. Helps my daughter!

My daughter is almost 6 and has told me she’s too nervous to speak at all school, so we bought this book. She related to the character and pointed out they were similar. It was nice for her to see others feel like her, but the suggestions haven’t been successful for us yet to help her be brave and speak in class. She will play with kids outside school and order her food at restaurants, but class settings give her anxiety and she won’t speak to even classmates. She had no interest in a bravery chart, but maybe other child would respond better.

This is not just a great story to read with your SM child, the book also includes two other sections for parents and carers to help get the best out of it. The first section gives advice on how to use the book and the second section breaks down the elements of the story to show how they fit in with an SM therapeutic approach. After you have read the first two sections the third story section really makes sense and gives great examples of the techniques which will help your child including sliding-in/fading-in and brave charts. The story section of the book has lovely colourful pictures on each page.My daughter (8) really enjoyed reading this with me and could easily relate to Eliza's situation. The examples used in the story are ones we have now adopted to help her overcome SM. We will definitely be keeping this book in rotation on my daughter's bedtime reading list and will carry on practising the techniques as often as we can.I cannot recommend this book enough. This is a very accessible way for the whole family to get some fantastic SM advice from one of the country's leading experts in the field.

I just want to say how wonderful this book is. I initially bought it for myself and MY Eliza who has recently been diagnosed with SM. I found it really useful and my daughter loves the story (we read it every. single. night!). The first part of the book is aimed at parents and professionals and describes the condition and how best to help the child. The second part of the book is a story to read to the child and is very insightful. My daughter's class teacher is incredibly supportive but had no experience of SM so I bought her a copy. Her SENCO also had no practical experience, so I bought her a copy. Then a family friend that loves my daughter and wanted to know how to support her better asked me to get a copy for her too. Haha, I think we are a 2 girl 'My Name is Eliza' distributor! Also, the feedback from everybody that has read the book is that they have found it really useful and gave them a good insight in to how my daughter feels.

This book is excellent and written by an expert! The first part of the book has got really useful information and tips for adults to read about selective mutism. The book could be used by a wide variety of people for example parents, family members, school, nursery.Since reading this book I have implemented the strategies mentioned in the book and I have had great success with my child.The second part of the book is for the child. The writing is clear and the pictures are lovely and colourful. It is written in a way that a child can easily understand. This book is brilliant at describing what it is like for Eliza and it is very encouraging for a child with selective mutism to know that they are not on their own and they can overcome this.

This is a brilliant and very informative book written in a very easy way and it capture the reader very quickly.I bought this book last year when my boy was diagnosed with SM but he was only 3.5 at the time which is a bit young so I held off reading it until just before he started school ages 4.5 which was perfect timing for him.As per instructions in the book, the advice is not to compare your child with the girl who is scared of talking but instead talk more about the friend who was scared of dogs. The book had a a real effect on my boy, and after reading the book we went to the supermarket to practice being brave with strangers, I kept referring to the book and said “remember the girl who was scared of dogs, what did she do to overcome being scared” and it really encouraged him to take small steps asking strangers for things in the shop, first day using one word by end of week he asked full questions and every day I used the book as reference.Highly recommend this book

I’ve just read the book... and also I’ve read it to my daughter. She was so excited and asked if Eliza is her (at the first page). The Eliza’s actions are exactly the same my daughter’s actions. This was essential for get her attention.She wants to go a shop tomorrow, to buy a Braver Chart and practice her confidence... now, I’M so excited :-) Thanks a lot, Lucy!! Excellent job. I really recommend this book.