@wonder2wonder said:

Raj suffered from an anxiety disorder, a type of selective mutism, where he couldn't talk to (human) females, unless he is under influence - or thinks he is - of an intoxicating substance, like alcohol and certain drugs. Another exception is when he is unaware of their presence. Furthermore he could talk to his female relatives, e.g. mother, sisters, and so on.

In season six finale, S06E24 "The Bon Voyage Reaction", Lucy breaks up with Raj and the shock of the traumatic experience cures him from this psychological condition. From then on he talks non-stop and the girls notice how annoying he really is.

Questions:

• Is it known what the cause was - something that happened in his childhood - of Raj's selective mutism?

• Does the age of the females matter? For example, could he talk to a 8-year old girl or a baby girl?

• Did Kunal Nayyar want his character Raj to be cured, so that he had more lines, or was that decision made by TPTB?

Although Raj's selective mutism started to become 'stale' as a repeating comical situation on the show, it still would've been nice if it had continued, perhaps until the final episode of the show, when from a distance he sees his true love for the first time, realizes in that split second that she is the one and his last chance to find happiness, and the moment she leaves forever, he cries out: "Please don't leave, stay with me!"

My older son had a good friend who had selective mutism as a child. It started basically when he started talking, and he could only talk to the people living under his roof. I remember feeling very honored when he eventually built up enough trust to talk to me. It basically equates to extreme shyness and does not necessarily have a cause.

I suspect Raj could have talked to kids but I guess we'll never know because I don't remember them showing that scenario. I also never heard anything about the actor complaining about a lack of lines. It occurred more in the earlier part of the show before the others had girlfriends and most of the people he was around were men anyway, so I'm not sure it affected his lines that much. Just around Penny.

I like your idea about him finally being able to talk to the woman of his dreams in the finale. That would have been a great way to end his character, as opposed to the lackluster way they did.

On the plus side, the elevator stayed broken until the end.