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Selective mutism support in Chennai.

Shadow teachers, special educators and remedial tutors for children with selective mutism in Chennai, working to the plans your child's clinicians set.

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For Chennai families

Families across Chennai come to us when a child with selective mutism needs more support than the school day or a weekly therapy session can give on its own. A shadow teacher or special educator for a child with selective mutism is often the first adult at school the child can relax with. They take away the pressure to speak, give the child other ways to answer and join in, and help teachers and classmates stop asking the child to talk. Working to the plan from the child's psychologist or psychiatrist, they carry out the small, graded steps towards speaking in new places and with new people, and record each one.

We work with the CBSE, IGCSE and IB schools of Adyar, OMR and ECR, and the city's long-established matriculation schools, and with the developmental paediatricians, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists and psychologists the family already trusts. Families in Adyar, Anna Nagar, Velachery and OMR, and across Tamil Nadu, start the same way: a private conversation, then a written child-support profile that every candidate is matched against.

What usually helps

No pressure to speak, and no rewards or punishments tied to talking
Other ways to take part in the meantime: pointing, nodding, writing, picture cards
Small, planned steps towards speech, set by the child's clinician
One trusted adult at school who understands the plan and keeps to it

We write these into your child's support profile before anyone is placed, so the professional arrives in Chennai knowing the plan rather than guessing at it.

A special educator and a child at a home study table

How we help in Chennai.

ABA therapy in Chennai
Designed and supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, at home, at school or online, with parent coaching.
Shadow teachers in Chennai
Inside the school day, with the school's agreement, so the strategies that work at home also work in class.
Special educators in Chennai
Structured learning and routines at home, to a written plan reviewed every month.
Remedial tutors in Chennai
Reading, writing and maths support at home or online, where school work has fallen behind.

Every one verified the same way, and every placement reviewed at one week, thirty days and ninety days.

How a placement works

Where our role ends

Selective mutism is an anxiety condition, not shyness or defiance. It is diagnosed and treated by a child psychologist or child psychiatrist, sometimes with a speech-language pathologist involved. Our professionals follow that treatment plan in the classroom and at home; they do not design it.

Questions from Chennai families

Can a shadow teacher support a child with selective mutism in a Chennai school?+

Yes, where the school agrees. We speak to the inclusion coordinator, the principal's office or the class teacher before anyone is placed, and agree how the shadow teacher will work in class, so the support fits the school's own way of teaching.

Is this therapy?+

Our shadow teachers, special educators and tutors are educators, not therapists, and they work to the plans your child's clinicians and school set. The one therapy Special Minds provides is ABA, designed and supervised by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst; we do not diagnose, prescribe, or provide speech or occupational therapy.

Which parts of Chennai do you cover?+

Adyar, Anna Nagar, Velachery, OMR, Nungambakkam, ECR, Besant Nagar, and the neighbourhoods around them. We shortlist by where your child goes to school and where you live, so the same professional can stay for the year.

Do we need a diagnosis before we contact you?+

No. Many Chennai families come to us before there is a diagnosis, with a note from the school or a worry of their own. We tell you plainly whether we can help now, or whether a developmental paediatrician or psychologist should see your child first.

Will the professional speak our language?+

English always, and Hindi or Tamil where the candidate pool allows. Tell us on the brief which language your child is most at ease in.

How soon can support start in Chennai?+

Once the child-support profile is written, a shortlist usually follows within two to four weeks, and a trial period comes before either side commits.