Our guest today is Elisa Shipon-Blum, or Dr. E, as her patients call her. She is the President and Director of the Selective Mutism Anxiety and Related Disorders Treatment Center (SMart Center). Dr E is an expert on Selective Mutism (SM) and has helped to treat thousands of patients over the past three decades. She speaks with Mai Ling about how she started her work in the area of SM, the genesis of the Selective Mutism Association and the SMart Center, as well as various treatment methods. She also answers the question, Is alternative communication an option for individuals with Selective Mutism?