“That gap between who she is at home and who the world gets to see is the hardest part of all of this,” Ava’s mother, Chelsea Jenkins, tells PEOPLE ...

When we think of anxious children, we might think of kids clinging to their parents at drop-off time or terrified by clowns at birthday parties. But there's another kind of anxiety that affects young ...

With no nearby specialists in Montana, the family has relied on virtual coaching and at-home therapy techniques while fighting for coverage Now, the 33-year-old is speaking out about the lack of ...

Lisa Fosello first recognized that her son, Joseph, was acting differently than most children when he was in preschool. Then three-and-a-half years old, Joseph played alone and would not speak to his ...

Many years ago, early in my clinical training, a couple brought their 7-year-old daughter to see me. The parents were perplexed. The girl, whom I'll call Emily, was rambunctious at home, but would ...

Belle* is six years old. Like many children, she is a playful and often boisterous child at home with her family. Unlike many children, she has an anxiety disorder which renders her speechless and ...

Parents fear children stuck at home for almost a year during the coronavirus pandemic, will lose critical social skills. And children with selective mutism, a severe form of anxiety, will lose even ...

Selective mutism is a rare childhood anxiety disorder in which a child experiences a trigger response and is unable to speak in certain situations or to certain people. It is not a form of shyness, ...

With the clock ticking, Chelsea Jenkins tells PEOPLE that “early intervention matters more than most people realize,” especially with selective mutism ...

Q: My five-year-old daughter started kindergarten this year and I have been getting a lot of calls from her teacher about issues in the classroom. Her teacher keeps telling me that my daughter does ...