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Shy kids are still shy kids. When you can't absorb it naturally on your own even given a normal level of exposure and it's negatively impacting your life, that'

• DoreenMichele 6y ago
  A friend of mine had a child diagnosed with selective mutism. This means she literally couldn't manage to speak in some social settings, something that might more prosaically be called being tongue-tied. Telling coaches, teachers, etc the diagnosis made things so much worse that she went back to saying "She's just shy." to explain her daughter's social challenges. That word was not chosen at random. I was involved in a voluntary health and welfare organization for a time and had a spiffy title, though no pay, and lots of people turned to me for support or advice or to share their stories and just talk with someone who would understand. At one time, I was getting referrals. People would say "You should email this lady about your difficult child." and give them my address. It never turned into paid work but it is the reason I began blogging.