Top 5 Ways SMA Made a Difference in 2021

From our first-ever virtual annual conference to launching a new website, 2021 was quite the year.

Together, we have accomplished much this year to raise awareness, educate and support those impacted by selective mutism. Here are the top 5 ways that the Selective Mutism Association, with your help, made a difference in 2021:

• Through our first-ever virtual annual conference, we had more registrants than ever (over a 100% increase from last year) and had participants from at least 16 different countries. For the first time, in addition to our professional and caregiver tracks, we also offered a track for individuals with selective mutism.
• We trained 60 professional and 30 caregivers through participation in one of our three virtual Selective Mutism Training Institutes that were offered.
• We launched a new website with improved content, improved functionality and improved user experience. We hope this helps our community to access reliable information more easily about selective mutism.
• We offered 9 free webinars to parents, professionals, and school-based professionals, and 8 kid-to-kid tip videos.
• We expanded our support for multilingual and international families. We hosted numerous webinars including one for professionals on the cultural formulation interview and two on bilingualism and selective mutism, and wrote SMA newsletter articles on this topic. Our virtual events allowed for a greater number of international participant opportunities—over the year we had representatives from more than 20 countries (Taiwan, Finland, Afghanistan, and even Jordan to name a few!)

In addition to continuing to offer our annual conference and Selective Mutism Training Institutes, SMA 2022 plans include the development of a web course for educators, further expansion/translation of resources into different languages, offering continuing education for professionals who want to learn more about selective mutism, and further support for parents and communities of color.

SMA is so very grateful for your partnership which allows us to continue our mission to raise awareness, and to educate and connect individuals, families, and professionals impacted by selective mutism. Your donations help us to change the lives of those who are affected by selective mutism. Make a donation today to support the Selective Mutism Association in these ongoing efforts.