We are now just a small push away from 1,500 signatures, and I keep coming back to the power of one more. Can you help us reach this milestone, today?
One more person who cares.
One more voice saying “this isn’t good enough”.
One more signature that helps protect a child who can’t speak up for themselves.
Because behind every “one more” is a child who is struggling.
Over the past few days, my inbox has been flooded with messages from parents whose children are at breaking point. Children who are shutting down, withdrawing, refusing school, losing friendships, and losing themselves — not because they don’t want to speak, but because their anxiety has been left untreated for so long that their Selective Mutism has generalised into more and more situations.
This is what happens when there is no pathway, no early intervention, and no specialist support.
And families are telling me the same heartbreaking thing:
“There is nowhere for us to turn.”
This week has been a turning point, and I want to share what’s been happening behind the scenes:
• The BBC shared our story, and even more families came forward.
• My daughters SPOA referral to CAMHS was declined, despite WSCC and NHS Surrey & Sussex issuing a joint statement telling families to use this route and stating that they are working with families to connect them to relevant services. No one from CAMHS has ever spoken to me or met her.
• I contacted the new Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Learning, who now holds responsibility for SEND and CAMHS commissioning.
• I submitted an updated briefing to Scrutiny, so they are aware of the BBC coverage, the SPOA contradiction, and the number of families now reaching out.
• I filed a Freedom of Information request to find out what SM‑specific training has actually been provided to Mental Health Liaison and CAMHS teams — because families are being told this is the “pathway”.
• I updated my MP again, asking her to raise this urgently with WSCC and NHS Sussex.
• I’ve continued gathering evidence from families across the county who are living the same story. The West Sussex Parent Carer Forum are working with me to collate these stories and submit them to NHS Surrey & Sussex and WSCC.
• I also contacted the Mental Health Liaison team directly and suggested that as a team, they be honest with families — to stand with us in saying they are not the right pathway for Selective Mutism. They have been placed in an impossible position: expected to support a condition they have likely not been trained in, with no tools, no interventions, and nothing to offer beyond what a parent could Google themselves. That isn’t fair on staff, and it certainly isn’t fair on the children who are being referred to them in desperation. Thanks to the joint statement issued - more families will be expecting this team to be able to help them.
We are still waiting for a response from senior leaders within the local authority, after previous correspondence suggested that Selective Mutism was a ‘choice’ — a statement that demonstrates a serious misunderstanding of the condition and the reality families are facing.
Every step matters.
Every voice matters.
Every signature matters.
We are so close now.
💛 Call to action: If you can share this petition with one more person — a friend, a colleague, a family member, a group WhatsApp chat — it will help us reach the next milestone quickly and show West Sussex that these children cannot be ignored any longer. 💛
Thank you for standing with us.
Thank you for believing that anxiety shouldn’t steal childhood.
And thank you for being one more voice for children who cannot use theirs.
💛
Joanna
Copy & paste template below;
Hi, could you sign this petition for us? It’s about getting proper support for children with Selective Mutism in West Sussex. Many children are now at crisis point because their anxiety has been left untreated for so long that their SM has generalised into more and more situations. We’re really close to 1,500 signatures and every name helps. Thank you 💛
🔗 https://www.change.org/Helpwestsussexchildren