By Sandra Davie, Senior Writer

At school, though, she is known as 'the girl who doesn't talk'. She freezes when a stranger speaks to her and stares blankly when asked for her name or age.

Corrine's parents took her to a child psychologist, who diagnosed her problem as selective mutism, a little-known anxiety disorder.

A child with this can understand what is being said and speak normally at home but becomes unable to talk in specific situations, such as in school or in public.

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