YOUR QUESTION. A CLEARER NEXT STEP.
Selective Mutism at 6–9 months: should you worry?
Selective Mutism cannot be identified at 6 to 9 months — it is an anxiety-related condition recognised only once a child can speak and social speech is expected, usually from around 3 years. At this age a baby isn't yet talking, and going quiet around strangers is healthy, expected behaviour. The gentle focus now is babbling, responding to your voice, and shared eye contact; any general concern about hearing or communication deserves a calm developmental check, never a mutism worry.
In this answer 5 sections
If your baby is happy and babbling at home but goes quiet around others, it's natural to wonder — but at 6 to 9 months, this is far too early for Selective Mutism.
In short
Selective Mutism (ICD-11 6B06) is an anxiety-related condition where a child who can speak comfortably in some settings — usually home — consistently does not speak in specific social situations, such as nursery or with unfamiliar adults. It is recognised only once a child has developed spoken language and a pattern of social speaking is expected, typically from around 3 years and most often noticed when starting preschool or school. At 6 to 9 months your baby is not yet talking, so Selective Mutism cannot be identified — and a quiet, watchful baby around strangers is entirely normal at this age.
What is actually appropriate to watch at 6–9 months
Rather than speech, this age is about the building blocks of communication and connection. Lovely, expected things to see include:
- Babbling — strings like "ba-ba", "da-da", and experimenting with sounds
- Responding to your voice — turning towards you, calming to a familiar tone
- Eye contact and shared smiles during play and feeds
- Reacting to their name beginning to emerge around 9 months
- Stranger wariness — quieting, watching or clinging with new people is healthy and expected
Going quiet or solemn around unfamiliar faces is not mutism — it is a sign your baby knows the difference between you and a stranger, which is exactly as it should be.
When speaking concerns become meaningful
Worries about not speaking in certain settings become clinically meaningful only from around 3 years, once language is established and group settings make social speech expected. Before then, the gentle focus is on overall communication milestones. If at any age your baby shows little babbling, doesn't respond to sound, or you feel hearing or connection isn't developing, a general developmental check is the right, calm step — not a Selective Mutism worry.
The Pinnacle way
A clinical AbilityScore® and any diagnosis are formed only at a Pinnacle Blooms Network centre, under qualified clinician care — never from an online form or a checklist. For your little one, our focus is reassurance and watching the natural unfolding of communication. If you'd like peace of mind, gentle speech and language therapy and a developmental review can confirm your baby is on track, and you can read more about Selective Mutism for the years when it actually applies.
Trusted sources
WHO ICD-11 (6B06, Selective Mutism); American Academy of Pediatrics communication milestone guidance (healthychildren.org); ASHA guidance on early speech and language development (asha.org).
Next step — There's nothing to worry about regarding Selective Mutism at this age, but if you'd like reassurance about your baby's overall communication, book a developmental check with a Pinnacle clinician.
This is general information, not a diagnosis — individual assessment and diagnosis require an appropriately qualified healthcare professional.
CONNECT THE ANSWER TO YOUR CHILD’S DAY
Something to notice. Something to discuss.
What to notice
At 6–9 months, watch the building blocks of communication, not speech: babbling and sound play, responding and calming to your voice, shared eye contact and smiles, and beginning to react to their name near 9 months. Stranger wariness is normal and healthy. Seek a general developmental check if there's little babbling or your baby doesn't respond to sound.
In everyday life
Talk, sing and pause for your baby to 'reply' with sounds during nappy changes and feeds — these back-and-forth turns are the true seeds of speech. Following their babble with a warm echo builds the conversation muscles long before words arrive.
Bring your observations and questions to your child’s professional. Choose activities that suit your child’s comfort, abilities and agreed plan.
Bring your questions to a first visitQuestions families ask
Can a 6-month-old have Selective Mutism?
No. Selective Mutism is identified only once a child can speak comfortably in some settings but consistently does not in others — usually noticed from around 3 years. A 6-month-old isn't yet talking, so it cannot apply at this age.
My baby goes silent around strangers — is that a sign?
Not of Selective Mutism. Going quiet, watchful or clingy with unfamiliar people is healthy stranger wariness, showing your baby recognises you as their safe person. It is an expected and reassuring part of development at 6–9 months.
When does Selective Mutism actually become recognisable?
Typically from around 3 years, once language is established and group settings — like preschool — make social speaking expected. It is most often noticed when a child speaks freely at home but consistently stays silent at nursery or with unfamiliar adults.
What should I focus on for my baby's communication now?
Babbling, responding and calming to your voice, shared eye contact and smiles, and beginning to react to their name near 9 months. If babbling is absent or your baby doesn't respond to sound, a general developmental check is a calm, sensible step.
FOLLOW THE SOURCE
References behind this answer.
- Organisation website · further readingWHO ICD-11 — Selective Mutism
- Organisation website · further readingAAP — early communication milestones
- Organisation website · further readingASHA — early speech and language development
References are supplied with this answer. An organisation homepage offers further reading; it does not establish an independent review of this page.
Content attribution: SETU Consortium · Pinnacle Blooms Network.
PEOPLE, TOPICS & DEVELOPMENT
See the connections.
Browse the wider question collections connected with this answer’s audience, developmental area and stage.
FROM UNDERSTANDING TO PURPOSEFUL SUPPORT
One question. Your child’s whole life.
Your child’s self-sufficient, mainstream-included life is the purpose from the beginning. At Pinnacle, that purpose shapes what we understand, the goals we choose, the people we bring together, everyday practice and review.
Connect this question with the right support.
Start with your child’s strengths, your observations and what you want everyday life to become.
Make the next conversation useful.
Bring the situations you notice at home or school. We’ll explain a suitable service, centre and first visit, including availability and fees, before you decide.
How PinnacleAI® connects the journeyExplore the seven stages
- 1Understand abilities
A starting picture of your child’s capabilities.
- 2Choose meaningful goals
Readiness and a plan shaped around the child.
- 3Bring the right support together
Suitable therapies and people for those goals.
- 4Carry practice into everyday life
Guidance for family, home and school.
- 5Track and correct
Use observations to adjust the plan.
- 6Reassess and review
Decide what to continue, change or do next.
- 7Grow independence and participation
The child’s life gives each step its purpose.
Explore the whole PinnacleAI® system → · Participation at school and in the community →
PINNACLE’S EVIDENCE, OPEN TO YOU
Look at the evidence behind our work.
Read our research, inspect the original regulatory documents and check what each institutional measure means.
General information supports a conversation with an appropriately qualified professional. Advice, goals and support depend on the individual child.