Mini-Calendar

A day to recognize autism and to celebrate the strengths children with ASD bring to their families, schools, and communities. The Stanford Neurodiversity Project, founded by Dr. Lawrence Fung at Stanford Medicine, advances a strengths-based model of neurodiversity — asking educators and families to focus on what children with ASD CAN do, rather than on what they cannot (Stanford Neurodiversity Project, Stanford Medicine, 2018–present).

Selective mutism and ASD are distinct conditions, but the science recognizes a real overlap. In a Norwegian national registry study, around 11.7% of children with selective mutism also met criteria for ASD (Steffenburg et al., 2018). That figure rises as high as 63% in autism-specialized clinics, though this reflects selection bias — families typically reach those clinics already suspecting autism (Muris & Ollendick, 2021). Clinicians often notice the reverse, too: many children with ASD fall silent in unfamiliar social settings, though this pattern is usually understood as part of the social communication profile of autism rather than diagnosed as selective mutism on its own.

The conditions are not the same. But they share something both research and lived experience confirm — communication unfolds at its own pace, and the right setting changes what is possible.

Mini-Talks stands with this strengths-based, community-based view of neurodivergence — that what a child can do matters more than what they cannot, and that every voice deserves a setting where it can be heard.

A day organized by IBBY (the International Board on Books for Young People) to celebrate children’s literature, held each year on April 2 — Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday.

Children’s books are often a child’s first encounter with feelings, friendships, and the wider world. Through stories shared at bedtime, in classrooms, or in libraries, children meet characters who feel what they feel — including the courage to speak, the comfort of staying quiet, and everything in between. For children with selective mutism, autism, language differences, or any other way of experiencing the world, the right book at the right moment can become a quiet companion.

Mini-Talks honors the long tradition of children’s literature — and every story that makes a child feel a little more seen, a little more brave, a little more at home.

A WHO-led day to recognize that health is more than the absence of illness — it is, in WHO’s own words, “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being” (World Health Organization, 1948).

Mental and physical health travel together for everyone, and especially for children. Anxiety in children — including selective mutism, which is part of the family of childhood anxiety disorders (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) — can show up in many places: a quiet body, a tight stomach, restless sleep, or simply a child who needs more time to settle. Recognizing these signals is part of caring for the whole child.

Mini-Talks stands with the broader recognition that mental and physical health travel together — and that for many children, the path to wellbeing passes through both.

A day to honor the brothers and sisters who walk beside us.

Mini-Talks began with a sibling story. Its founder built the project for his little sister, who found her voice through minifigures long before she found it in the world. For many children, including those with selective mutism, autism, or other ways of communicating, siblings are some of the very first people who hear them, understand them, and play with them as they grow.

Mini-Talks stands with every sibling who has waited patiently, played gently, and translated quietly for a brother or sister whose voice was still finding its way.

A day to celebrate the human voice in all of its forms.

A child with selective mutism can speak fluently at home and go quiet the moment they enter a classroom. The DSM-5 classifies selective mutism as an anxiety disorder, not a voice or speech disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) — meaning the child has the words, and the setting affects whether they can use them. Voices come in many forms — loud, soft, fluent, slow, sometimes with words and sometimes without.

A Turkish national day dedicated to children, established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1920 and offered as a gift to the children of the world.

“Küçük Hanımlar, Küçük Beyler! Sizler hepiniz geleceğin bir gülü, yıldızı, bir mutluluk parıltısısınız.”

“Little ladies, little gentlemen — each of you is a rose, a star, a shining spark of happiness in the future.”

— Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Every community is built on the children growing up within it. Atatürk’s belief — that a country becomes stronger when its children are seen, heard, and given a place — is the foundation of this day.

Mini-Talks shares the conviction at the heart of this day: that every child has a place in their community, and a voice that belongs in it.

A UNESCO day to celebrate stories, reading, and the worlds we step into between pages.

Books give children a vocabulary larger than their everyday life — words for fear, for joy, for the things that are sometimes hard to say. For children who are still finding their voice, whether because of selective mutism, language delays, autism, or simply being young, a story is a place where they can practice feelings and words at their own pace.

Mini-Talks stands with every book that hands a child a word they did not know they needed — and with every reader whose first sentence aloud was someone else’s.

An annual event organized by the Psychology Coalition at the United Nations to recognize the role of psychology in mental wellbeing and human behavior. (The official date varies each year; we mark it on April 24.)

Psychology helps us understand how children grow, communicate, and find their place in the world. Approaches like graduated exposure, play-based intervention, and child-led pacing are well-established in the treatment of childhood anxiety, including selective mutism (Cohan et al., 2006; Muris & Ollendick, 2021). When clinical research and clinical care work together, children make their way through difficulty more gently than they could alone.

Mini-Talks stands with the long, careful discipline of psychology — and with the children, parents, and clinicians who, together, turn what science knows into something a family can use.

A week each May dedicated to children’s mental health, observed in countries and communities around the world.

Children’s mental wellbeing shapes how they learn, play, and connect with others. Selective mutism, social anxiety, autism, depression, attention differences, and many other ways children experience emotional life are part of the same wider conversation about how to recognize, understand, and support a child’s inner world. Research suggests that mental health conditions affect roughly 1 in 7 young people worldwide, with most beginning in childhood or adolescence (World Health Organization, 2021).

Mini-Talks stands with the global effort to bring children’s mental health out of the shadows — believing that every child deserves not just to be cared for, but to be understood.

A day to celebrate mothers and the everyday care they offer.

For many children, a mother is the first person to hear their voice, name their feelings, and listen patiently to what they want to say. For children with selective mutism, autism, social anxiety, or other ways of communicating, mothers are often the first translators of a quiet world — the ones who notice when something is wrong before any words are spoken.

Mini-Talks honors every mother whose patience helps a child find their words — and every mother whose love is heard before it is ever spoken.

A UN-led day to recognize the role of families in raising and supporting children.

Families come in many shapes and sizes, and the rhythms of each family build the world a child first knows. For children with selective mutism, autism, language differences, or any other way of experiencing the world, the home is often the first place where they feel free to fully be themselves.

Mini-Talks stands with every family that creates a quiet, patient space where a child can become — at their own pace, in their own way.

A UN day to recognize the role of parents around the world.

Parents are the first people to listen, the first to wait, and often the first to notice when a child is finding things harder than they look on the outside. Whether they are parenting a child with selective mutism, autism, anxiety, or simply a tender child still figuring out the world, parents do the slow, daily work of love that no one keeps records of.

Mini-Talks honors every parent whose patience makes room for a child’s voice — exactly when, and how, that voice is ready.

A day celebrated in many countries to recognize the lives, rights, and futures of children around the world.

Childhood looks different in every country, every home, and every classroom — but in every one of them, children deserve to be seen, heard, and understood for who they are. This includes children with selective mutism, autism, language differences, hearing differences, anxiety, and every other way of being.

Mini-Talks shares the conviction at the heart of this day: every child, in every place, has something the world needs to hear.

A day declared by the United Nations in 2024 to celebrate play as a fundamental right of childhood.

Play is one of the oldest and most powerful ways children learn about themselves, others, and the world. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 31) recognizes play as a basic right for every child (United Nations, 1989). For children who are still finding their voice — whether because of selective mutism, autism, language delays, or social anxiety — play is often the first language they speak comfortably with the wider world.

Mini-Talks stands with every child whose first sentences are spoken through play — and with every educator, therapist, and parent who joins them on the floor, with the toys, where the real conversation happens.

A day to celebrate fathers and the steady, quiet work of fatherhood.

For many children, a father’s voice is the first deep tone they remember. Fathers play, listen, build, and sit beside their children through small daily moments — and for a child who finds words hard in the wider world, those quiet moments at home are often where their bravest words are first spoken.

Mini-Talks honors every father who waits, listens, and makes space for a child’s voice to grow — at home, on the floor, in the small games that mean everything.

A UN day to celebrate friendship as a force for understanding between people.

Friendships are how children try out being themselves with someone outside their family. For children with selective mutism, autism, anxiety, or any other way of communicating differently, making a friend can feel both wonderful and harder than it looks. Sometimes friendships begin with a shared toy, a quiet smile, or a moment of side-by-side play long before they begin with words.

Mini-Talks stands with every quiet friendship that begins long before the first conversation — and with every child who is patient enough to wait for someone to be ready.

A UN day to recognize young people and the future they are shaping.

Young voices are the ones that ask the questions adults stopped asking. Some young people speak loudly from the start; others — including those with selective mutism, social anxiety, autism, or simply quieter natures — find their voices through writing, art, music, or one-on-one conversation. Every one of them is part of the future being built right now.

Mini-Talks celebrates every young voice — loud, quiet, fluent, finding its way — and the worlds they will build with what they have to say.

A UN day to recognize peace as both an outer reality between nations and an inner reality between people.

Peace begins in small places — in classrooms where every child is welcomed, in homes where every voice is patient with every other voice, in friendships where differences are met with curiosity rather than judgment. For children with selective mutism, autism, anxiety, or any other way of being, an environment of peace — quiet, predictable, kind — is often the first thing that allows them to communicate freely.

Mini-Talks stands with the everyday work of peace — in the small kindnesses, the patient listening, and the spaces where every child feels safe to be themselves.

A full month each October dedicated to raising awareness about selective mutism, observed by clinical communities, families, and advocacy groups around the world.

Selective mutism is a childhood anxiety disorder in which a child can speak comfortably in some settings — usually home — but consistently cannot speak in others, especially school (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). It affects roughly 1 in 140 school-age children (Bergman et al., 2002), is diagnosed in girls at about twice the rate of boys (Sharkey & McNicholas, 2008), and typically begins between the ages of 2 and 5 — though it is often not recognized until a child enters school. With supportive environments and evidence-based care, most children do find their voices in wider settings (Cohan et al., 2006; Muris & Ollendick, 2021).

Mini-Talks was built for this month — and for the eleven months around it. We stand with every child whose voice is still finding its way into the world, every family who has waited patiently for a sentence they have never heard before, and every clinician, teacher, and friend who keeps the room safe and the expectations gentle.

A UNESCO day to honor teachers around the world.

Teachers spend more waking hours with our children than almost anyone else, and the small choices they make — to wait an extra moment for an answer, to invite a quiet child without forcing them, to notice the child in the corner — shape what school becomes for that child. For students with selective mutism, autism, language differences, anxiety, or simply quieter natures, a thoughtful teacher can change the story of their school years.

Mini-Talks stands with every teacher who creates a classroom where every child can learn, contribute, and belong — at the pace and in the way that fits them best.

A WHO-led day to focus on mental health for everyone, of every age.

Mental health is part of every life and every age, and it begins in childhood. Children’s mental health includes anxiety disorders like selective mutism (American Psychiatric Association, 2013), depression, attention differences, autism, and many other ways of experiencing emotional life. Around 1 in 7 young people worldwide live with a mental health condition, and most of these conditions begin in childhood or adolescence (World Health Organization, 2021).

Mini-Talks stands with the global effort to make mental health a part of every conversation about childhood — and to make sure every child knows their inner world is welcome, named, and understood.

A week recognizing conditions and differences that are not always visible to others.

Many of the most important parts of who a child is are invisible from the outside. Selective mutism, anxiety, autism, ADHD, chronic pain, hearing differences, and many other conditions can shape a child’s daily experience without showing up in any photo. When invisible differences are not understood, children can feel unseen even when they are surrounded by people.

Mini-Talks stands with every child whose differences are quieter than the eye can catch — and with every family, teacher, and friend who learns to recognize the world through their child’s experience.

A day to raise awareness about stuttering and the people who experience it.

Stuttering is a way the voice sometimes finds its words — repeating sounds, pausing, or stumbling on the path to speech. Like selective mutism, autism, and many other ways of communicating differently, stuttering is often most challenging not because of the condition itself, but because of how others respond to it. With patient listening, stuttering becomes simply one of many natural rhythms of speech.

Mini-Talks stands with every speaker whose words come at their own rhythm — and with every listener who learns that the most important part of speaking is being heard, not being smooth.

A WFOT-led day (World Federation of Occupational Therapists) to honor occupational therapists around the world.

Occupational therapists support children — and adults — across an enormous range of needs: sensory differences, motor challenges, anxiety, autism, attention differences, and more. For children with selective mutism, autism, or sensory sensitivities, OT often helps with the parts of daily life that affect communication indirectly — feeling regulated in one’s body is often the foundation that lets a child feel ready to speak.

Mini-Talks stands beside occupational therapists and the often-invisible work they do — the kind of work that teaches a child’s body to feel at home before their voice does.

A day to celebrate kindness as a daily practice.

For children, kindness often arrives in small forms — a teacher who waits an extra moment, a classmate who saves a seat, a parent who hears what is not said. For children with selective mutism, autism, anxiety, or any other way of being, these small kindnesses shape whether a place feels safe enough to enter, to speak, to belong.

Mini-Talks stands with every small act of kindness that helps a child feel welcome in the world — the kind that costs nothing and changes everything.

A UN day marking the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) — recognizing that every child has rights, simply by being a child.

Every child has the right to be safe, to learn, to play, and to be heard (United Nations, 1989). For children with selective mutism, autism, language differences, hearing differences, or any other way of communicating, being heard sometimes takes a different shape — through quiet conversation, through play, through art, through patience over time.

Mini-Talks stands with the global commitment that every child — without exception — has the right to be heard in the way that fits them.

A UN day to promote the rights and inclusion of people with disabilities.

Around 1 in 6 people worldwide live with some form of significant disability (World Health Organization, 2023), and many disabilities — including those affecting communication, learning, hearing, sensory processing, and mental health — are invisible to others. Children who experience the world differently, including those with selective mutism, autism, language differences, hearing differences, and beyond, deserve environments designed with them in mind.

Mini-Talks stands with the global work of making the everyday world more accessible — believing that designing for every child, in every form, is what makes the world better for all of us.

A UN day marking the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

Among the rights named in the Universal Declaration is freedom of expression — the right of every person to hold opinions and share them in their own way (United Nations, 1948). For children, this right shows up early. A child who speaks easily and a child who finds speaking hard both deserve to be heard, in whatever form their expression takes.

Mini-Talks stands with the global commitment to every child’s right to be heard — and with the patient, daily work of building places where every voice can be expressed, in any of its many forms.