A Day with No Words

A Day With No Words by Tiffany Hammond is a heartwarming and magically illustrated children's book that aims to sheds light on the experiences of families who use alternative communication. The book follows the story of a mother and her child as they navigate their day, both using a tablet to communicate with others and each other. The book is written in a simple and accessible way, making it ideal for young readers.One of the strengths of this book is the way it highlights the importance of embracing different forms of communication. It is a powerful reminder that not everyone communicates in the same way and that we should all should strive to be more accepting and inclusive of those who communicate differently, and learn the different forms of communications that people may use.The book also emphasizes the importance of the unique bond between an Autistic Mama and her Autistic son. It shows how this bond can be strengthened and connected, especially in the absence of verbal communication.The illustrations in A Day With No Words are vibrant and engaging, capturing the readers attention and carrying them into the emotions and experiences of the characters. Done in this way, the story is both relatable and visually appealing. The use of different colors and textures adds depth to the story and helps to convey the mood and tone of each scene.Overall, A Day With No Words is a wonderful book that is sure to resonate with young readers and their families. It is a powerful reminder of the importance of embracing diversity and celebrating different forms of communication. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a heartwarming and engaging story to share with their children, a story that matters.My daughter and I really enjoyed taking turns reading the uniquely beautiful pages.#aneurodivergentnarrative

I preordered several copies of this book before I even knew anything about it. As a speech language pathologist my social media feed is all AAC (augmentative and alternative communication) and speech related things, so when I saw it shared I went and bought a bunch. I literally judged the book by its cover, and I’m so glad I did. At the time I knew nothing of the author, but now that I do, I know just how amazing she is. Rarely have I seen communication that is anything other than verbal speech represented well, or realistically in a book. When I advocate for inclusivity, and for my coworkers and students to see the value in any non-traditional form of communication, it’s tough. It’s tough to teach parents, and educators, and peers that words don’t have to be spoken via mouth to be valuable. The words in this book, and this story are so important. People need to know about gestures, facial expression, vocalized noises, speech generating devices, spelling boards, eye gaze, etc. etc. etc. and know that communication in any form is valuable, and important, and worthy of us taking the time to listen and honor that communication and provide that connection. If this book was just words it would be amazing, especially the important lesson that it holds, but there’s two additional things that make it provoke profound emotions. 1. The illustrations are beyond beautiful, and bring to life this story. The representation of the speech generating device is genuinely gorgeous and I can’t even find the words to express how it impacted me when I first read it. 2. In the last few years lots of speech generating apps have finally added the ability to adjust skin tones so the AAC user can “see” themself represented in their own icons, but representation is still lacking in this field. I think that’s why it was extremely powerful to see not only the AAC representation, but also the representation that children of color get from this book. This is a story that isn’t unique to just one child. I know so many who could be the Aidan in the story, and it is truly a gift to see them be “seen” by the world because of this book. It is also so exciting to share this book with all of my students, my family, my friends. Thank you, Tiffany, for this incredible gift.