GP uses past silence to help others find their voice
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Sohail Ahmed, a general practitioner and community activist in Bradford, England, is speaking publicly about his childhood experience with selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that prevented him from speaking, to help others overcome similar challenges.
As a child, Ahmed was mislabeled as shy, awkward, or even arrogant because adults didn’t understand his inability to speak.
It took over 20 years for him to learn he had selective mutism, a condition where people can speak in some settings but not others due to anxiety. Ahmed initially suppressed this knowledge, but it resurfaced when his own daughter began showing signs of the same condition.
He secured speech therapy for her, which helped her thrive, and then used his platform during the Covid-19 pandemic, when misinformation was spreading among Bradford’s minority ethnic communities, to speak out and address public health concerns. Driven by a desire to empower others, Ahmed founded a public speaking course through his work with Bradford for Better and established a local branch of Toastmasters International.
He now mentors people to overcome their fear of public speaking, helping them share their voices and ideas. Experts estimate selective mutism affects about one in 140 young children, but believe the true number may be higher, particularly within multilingual and immigrant communities.
