Book Review of A Day With No Words by Tiffany Hammond

Short Version

**For a longer discussion of this book, see here.

A Day with No Words, by Tiffany Hammond is beautifully written, lovingly illustrated by Kate Cosgrove, and fills parts of a void that some of us didn’t even realise existed.

In short rhymes that flow so effortlessly they read like prose, Tiffany Hammond’s A Day with No Words invites us into a day of a Black non-speaking autistic young person and his Mama as they do some of the things he like. Throughout it all, they communicate through communication devices/talkers (his orange, hers green), as Mama checks what he wants to do next or how much space he needs, as they visit the park when there is no crowd or when they order his favorite fries.

This book is a first in several ways. It may well be the first children’s book about an autistic young person that’s written by a Black autistic author. It might also the first visualised story about a main character who is non-speaking and who is casually shown using his talker, sometimes showing the actual words and images he presses on the screen, at other times carrying it strapped across his shoulder or spread out on the park bench next to his Mama’s talker. And it’s the first fictional depiction of a Back autistic non-speaker and his family having a mostly good day, with loving interactions between them.

You may notice that there seems to be quite a lot of fuzz about the book as so many readers and supporters are actively promoting it, it already hit all-time-bestselling lists and is beginning to sell out by the day it officially came out (today). Perhaps you may wonder if this is more due to some sort of trend than to the qualities of the actual book itself, but allow me to reassure you that the book does it all more than it’s share of justice.

I look forward to a future where there will be lots of books like this, including by (Black) non-speakers themselves. In the meantime, I wholeheartedly recommend this unique and important book.
If you can afford it – or can get libraries to stack it – I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

Neurodivergent scheduling

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Neuronormative scheduling can set us up for failure – but what are the alternatives? Dear neurokin,   when scheduling an appointment or a social engagement and someone proposes a specific time/date, you ARE allowed to ask for a time that suits you better. You are allowed to say „can we do it a week/month, two/three…

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Book Discussion of „A Day with No Words“ by Tiffany Hammond (long version)

13. Mai 2023

*See here for a shorter version. Today is the day: The children’s book „A Day With No Words“ by autistic author Tiffany Hammond is officially out. Today is also the day I get to review „A Day with No Words“ the book for the official the book tour. Because I live on another side of…

Book Review of A Day With No Words by Tiffany Hammond

12. Mai 2023

Short Version **For a longer discussion of this book, see here. A Day with No Words, by Tiffany Hammond is beautifully written, lovingly illustrated by Kate Cosgrove, and fills parts of a void that some of us didn’t even realise existed. In short rhymes that flow so effortlessly they read like prose, Tiffany Hammond’s A…

Bild mit Titel des Blogbeitrags in schwarzem Text auf hellem Hintergrund. Unten rechts das Logo von Autvocacy – Farbflecken in blau, magenta, grün und gelb, die mich an Bilder von menschlichen Gehirnen erinnern. Dahinter der Text: Autvocacy – Empowerment für neurodivergente Personen

„Their overdramatized ’scared jumps‘ they do when they hear my son grunt.“

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This is from a social media response to this important post by Fidgets and Fries whose online work I highly recommend. If you are on Substrack or Patreon, this is one of the pages that really merrits financial support, too, as Tiffany Hammond cuts through lots of intersecting dynamics of discrimination to make some much…

Bild mit Titel des Blogbeitrags in schwarzem Text auf hellem Hintergrund. Unten rechts das Logo von Autvocacy – Farbflecken in blau, magenta, grün und gelb, die mich an Bilder von menschlichen Gehirnen erinnern. Dahinter der Text: Autvocacy – Empowerment für neurodivergente Personen

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Bild mit Titel des Blogbeitrags in schwarzem Text auf hellem Hintergrund. Unten rechts das Logo von Autvocacy – Farbflecken in blau, magenta, grün und gelb, die mich an Bilder von menschlichen Gehirnen erinnern. Dahinter der Text: Autvocacy – Empowerment für neurodivergente Personen

Nose-bubbles, respectful support for building competence and what „child-lead“ doesn’t mean

28. Februar 2023

This was originally a social media response response/addition to a this beautiful post by my friend and neurokin The Peaceful Swim Teacher that merges with things I’ve been wanting to express. Both posts questions adults‘ fear-based ideas around how children build competence. Alex is an exceptionally skilled, childism-informed and respectful swim teacher and swimmer, and…