Radio Eye

Streaming audio ('Listen Now') is available for the full program, but downloadable audio ('Download Audio') only for 'The Silence of the Cyclists' in the second half of the program.
El is a 27-year-old woman who has a rare anxiety disorder known as selective mutism. Unable to speak to anyone except immediate family, El communicates by writing notes or using a keyboard. In 'El's Story', El's written diary is given a 'voice' by actor Pia Miranda. We hear about El's attempts to obtain and maintain meaningful work: El is given the opportunity to interview a psychologist who specialises in selective mutism in children. This is the first in the Radio Eye series, Stories about Silence.

Our second story, 'The Silence of The Cyclists' examines the silence that Alice Sherlock experienced after a harrowing accident. This silence led her to question and research the definition of Silence as 'an absence of sound' in her doctorate thesis Silence Defined, which she completed at RMIT University in Melbourne in 2005.

Sound Engineer:
Steven Tilley

Producer:
Natalie Kestecher

Further Information

Selective Mutism

Presenter

Brent Clough

Radio National often provides links to external websites to complement program information. While producers have taken care with all selections, we can neither endorse nor take final responsibility for the content of those sites.