Bolton mum wants to raise awareness of selective mutism

Hall i' th' Wood mum Nicolette Rothwell spent years trying to get a diagnosis for her nine-year-old daughter Carrianna, who lives with selective mutism.

The condition means Carrianna has only ever spoken to two people outside her home in her entire life. After first visiting her GP in 2020, Carrianna finally received a diagnosis of selective mutism in 2023, after going to Farnworth Health Centre.

There is no single known cause for the anxiety disorder, which leads to a person having a phobia of talking to certain people or in certain situations. Around one in 150 young people are affected.

If left untreated, the condition can persist into adulthood.

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“When she wakes up in the morning she won’t even talk to me, her mum, for the first two to three hours," Nicolette said. 

"It takes her about two to three hours before she’ll speak, so she is quite severe."

According to the NHS, children with selective mutism don’t "refuse to speak", but are unable due to a panic reaction.

Carrianna and mum Nicolette (Image: Nicolette Rothwell)

The 51-year-old mum-of-three wants to see the name of the condition changed to reflect this.

Nicolette said: “The word ‘selective’ I absolutely hate – people just think ‘ah, so she’s choosing who she speaks to’ – and it’s not that at all. I prefer to say ‘situational mutism’, because it is in certain situations she becomes mute.”

Teachers originally said Carrianna was "just shy", but Nicolette was convinced it was something more – with Carrianna having "meltdown after meltdown" after school.

After looking on the internet, Nicolette found cases of selective mutism, and was convinced her daughter was living with the condition.

She said: “I cried, because I just knew. All my fighting’s come to an end, because I was right – I’d known all along, and part of me, a small part, thought ‘am I wrong’, but I thought ‘no, I know I’m not, I’m right’.

“I did it because we lost my dad, and my dad knew there was a problem with Carrianna as well, and he was the closest person to me, apart from obviously my husband.”

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Carrianna now receives treatment from the NHS for the condition.

Now, Nicolette wants to see more awareness around the condition.

She added: “I just want to spread more and more awareness. I think Bolton should do something about it – an event or something like that, I’ll speak if I have to.

“They just need to make more and more people aware. I’ve deleted so many people on Facebook who have said ‘oh has she still not found her voice yet?’

“I go into a rage when people say this. I’m always going live on Facebook, I’ll do videos and I’ve done TikTok, but I can’t get through a video because it makes me cry.”

Carrianna has only spoken to two people outside of her home in her whole life, mum Nicolette says (Image: Nicolette Rothwell)

A spokesperson for NHS Greater Manchester said: “Where parents or carers have concerns about their child’s speech, their GP or health visitor should be able to refer to NHS speech and language therapy services or another specialist service that can help.

“If a child is not yet known to speech and language therapy, but you feel they would benefit from an assessment, please discuss this with your child’s nursery/school, health visitor or GP. If appropriate, they will then make a referral into the service. Children may also need to see a mental health professional or school educational psychologist for further support.

“It is important to remain patient and build confidence by focusing on your child’s achievements. For further, more specific advice for your child, please speak to your child’s speech and language therapist.”

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.