Is there a difference between social anxiety disorder and selective mutism?

Yes: Selective mutism is typically a facet of an anxiety disorder (social phobia). Other manifestations associated with selective mutism include excessive shyness, dependency on parents, withdrawal, and oppositional behavior.

Social Anxiety: Yes, there are many differences. Selective mutism is most often seen in children, while social anxiety disorder is typically seen from adolescence through adulthood. Social anxiety is related to fear (and sometimes avoidance) of interpersonal interaction in social situations, while selective mutism is a refusal or unwillingness to speak in some or most situations.

Too scared to talk: Social anxiety involves a fear of being judged negatively by others or being seen as inferior 2 them in some way. This leads 2 dreading social situations & social interactions, & thus 2 avoiding them. Selective mutism is tied 2 social anxiety: At times, people w/social anxiety find themselves so fearful in social situations that it's difficult 2 speak. Some simply don't speak in these situ