#selective mutism

me when i lose the ability to speak after a seizure (aphasia) due to the severity of them and my oxygen levels dropping and need to practice speech and be very deliberate with it when i wake up and once i can think after an episode but i also am more prone to being overwhelmed after my neurological events and can go selectively mute. i have not spoken since i came out of it and i do not plan to. using your voice is for losers do not interact with me or do anything at all for the next 12+ hours and i might not explode. till then i’ll be in my nook with my headphones on and sleeping thanks

Normalize not asking people who openly hate talking and are burned out by it to call more than a few times a week if at all. Normalize telling people who think calling someone who suffers from social burnout is in any way an appropriate response to them not responding to your message when it’s not a genuine emergency that they’re being extremely rude and should never do that. Normalize scolding people who try to call someone (especially someone who doesnt like talking for any reason) before noon or past 9pm without it being scheduled (ideally multiple days beforehand). Normalize sending people who think using calling instead of messaging as a main form of contact with someone who openly has vocal dysphoria and/or hates/is burned out by talking verbally to secluded islands with no internet connection until they learn to treat people nicely. Normalize telling people who pressure others to call or verbally talk for any reason they’re assholes. Normalize not letting people whine about how you guys “haven’t talked in x amount of time” because you haven’t called even though you’ve been available to text or DM.

Sometimes you’re mute as a kid and then nobody likes you ever again

As someone with selective mutism having a somewhat major character who is mute and communicates primarily through writing and nodding brings me so much joy actually. They're just a normal person who's given the same respect as everyone else we love Green in this household 💚