Her first word

Most of you know at least a little bit about my daughter, Paige. Paige is cute and sweet and very smart, but Paige does not talk at school. Paige has a social anxiety disorder called Selective Mutism. This means that she doesn't talk in situations where speaking is expected, like at school. This is a genetic disorder that many member of my family have experienced, but none quite as severely as Paige. We always new Paige was shy, but it wasn't until a discussion with her preschool teacher that we learned the extent of it and did some research and had her diagnosed. When Paige started Kindergarten, I requested that she be put in a class with her friend who lived across the street. For awhile, Claire, was the only one that she talked to at school. But, Paige made 2 other very good friends that year. She never said a word to her teacher. In first grade, Paige was in class with one of her new friends and by the end of the year was talking to a handful of girls in her class. She never said a word to her teacher. In second grade she was with still another friend and by the end of this year she was speaking to all of the girls in her class. She never said a word to her teacher. By third grade Paige had several friends in her class and by the end of the year was speaking to most of her classmates. She was also put in a gifted program one day a week. She never said a word to her teachers. Now she is in fourth grade and has four teachers. She talks to all of her classmates. Paige loves all of her teachers, past and present. Yesterday, as Paige was leaving her gifted class she whispered to her teacher, "bye".