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About Us Our Impact Helping Paige’s Bright Light Shine

Star of the Show

Helping Paige’s Bright Light Shine

How Paige got the support she needed for selective mutism.

Helping Paige’s Bright Light Shine
A Wake-Up Call

A Wake-Up Call

One day, Paige’s parents were picking her up from daycare. When her teacher overheard Paige talking to them in the hallway, she was shocked. “We didn’t even know that Paige could talk,” she said.

Paige was two at the time. Her teacher’s comment was a wake-up call. Her parents began to notice that although Paige talked to them at home, she barely spoke at school, at the library, at the store.

“Before I went to the Child Mind Institute, it was hard to do things at school.”

– Paige

The Next Step

The Next Step

This is exactly what selective mutism is: an anxiety disorder where a child might not speak at all in school or other settings, for months or even years. As Paige’s family researched more about selective mutism and what their options were, one name kept coming up: the Child Mind Institute.

Brave Talking

Brave Talking

Paige started treatment at the Child Mind Institute when she was three. In family therapy, her parents learned the skills to support her. At Brave Buddies®, the Child Mind Institute’s intensive program for selective mutism, Paige made new friends and built the confidence to practice “brave talking.” Her family got resources that they could share with Paige’s teachers, swim coaches, and camp counselors.

Taking the Stage

Taking the Stage

If you had told her family that one day Paige would come home from school and say that there’s a holiday concert coming up and she wants to do the introduction in front of an auditorium full of students and families, they wouldn’t have believed it. But that’s exactly what happened — and only a few years after her diagnosis, Paige stood onstage in front of all those people and she used her brave voice, loud and proud.

“Another parent at the Child Mind Institute once said to me that when you have a kid, you see this bright light in them. And all you want is for the rest of the world to see it, too.”

– Drew, Paige’s dad

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About Your Donation

About the Child Mind Institute

Millions of children – as many as 1 in 5 – struggle with mental health or learning challenges. Fully 70% of U.S. counties do not have a single child and adolescent psychiatrist. Due to stigma, misinformation, and a lack of access to care, the average time between onset of symptoms and any treatment at all is over 8 years. Our children deserve better.

That’s why the Child Mind Institute was created.

We’re dedicated to transforming the lives of children and families struggling with mental health and learning disorders by giving them the help they need. We’ve become the leading independent nonprofit in children’s mental health by providing gold-standard evidence-based care, delivering educational resources to millions of families each year, training educators in underserved communities, and developing tomorrow’s breakthrough treatments.

Together, we truly can transform children’s lives.

Donation Match

To find out if your employer will match your donation and for other enquiries, please contact our development team via phone 646.779.1779 or email [email protected].

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Donation Information

Child Mind Institute is a tax-exempt charitable organization (tax identification number 80-0478843) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Every donation made to the Child Mind Institute is tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. We do not accept funding from the pharmaceutical industry.

Donor Privacy Policy

We will not sell, share or trade our donors’ names or personal information with any other entity, nor send mailings to our donors on behalf of other organizations. This policy applies to all information received by the Child Mind Institute, both online and offline, as well as any electronic, written, or oral communications. To the extent any donations are processed through a third-party service provider, our donors’ information will only be used for purposes necessary to process the donation.

The Child Mind Institute comprises a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Child Mind Institute, Inc., and two clinical programs, Child Mind Medical Practice, PLLC and Child Mind Medical Practice, PC. Donations to the Child Mind Institute are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. The Child Mind Institute does not accept funding from the pharmaceutical industry. Upon request, a copy of our latest annual report can be obtained by contacting the Child Mind Institute at Attention: Development Office, 215 East 50th Street
New York, New York 10022 or by contacting the Charities Bureau of the Office of the Attorney General at 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

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