For Tammesha Cox, her journey into the world of writing was born out of her love and a desire to help her daughter, Dominique, understand her younger brother Malachi’s autism. When Cox couldn’t find the right book to explain the condition to her child, she took matters into her own hands—writing her first book, Autism Through Isabelle’s Eyes.
Speaking with Barbados TODAY about the 2024 publication, Cox recalled the moment that set her on this path. Her daughter, who was six at the time, struggled to comprehend why her four-year-old sibling did not interact with her the way her friends did at school. Malachi had been diagnosed with autism at two years old, and his preference for playing alone left Dominique feeling confused and hurt.
“My daughter was having a challenge; she was having difficulty understanding my son, who is two years younger than her; she was trying to understand why he didn’t want to interact with her or play with her, how her friends would usually interact with her at school, and I was trying to explain to her autism because he was diagnosed with autism at two years old,” she explained.
Determined to bridge this gap, Cox initially penned a simple poem to explain autism to her daughter. However, after discussing the idea with her husband, she decided to expand it into a book that could benefit other families as well.
Cox admitted that writing had always been a personal interest of hers, but never something she intended to take seriously. However, the experience with her children changed her perspective.
She noted that in writing Autism Through Isabelle’s Eyes, she recognised the importance of making the book informative for parents. She included a special section explaining autism-related behaviours, such as stimming.
She said, “I learned that I should not only write the book for autism in kids, but I should also have a segment on appearance. Who are reading to kids who don’t know what stimming is, and I have a section for parents explaining what stimming is, where he’s flapping his hands and he’s moving up and moving his hands. He’s spinning or moving his hands up and down. So I have a section in there for parents.
“You need to be inclusive and not see autism in a negative light. I had to just say things in a way that persons who are reading, who are autistic, you know, wouldn’t be offended, and I just basically had to learn that aspect of writing for an audience. I had to change up things because I have to remember I’m not writing for my daughter anymore, but I’m writing for an audience.”
Dominique, the original focus for the book, has fallen in love with the piece, according to Cox.
She said: “She loves the book; I went to her school to read the book to her classes—at that time she was in grade one or kindergarten—and I read the book to her friends and you know, like a number of classes, and it was a really great experience because the kids were asking questions about autism, and she was very proud that she was featured in the book because the book is Autism Through Isabelle’s Eyes and her middle name is actually Isabelle. So it’s like a personalised book.”
The book has been number one on Amazon for a number of weeks for two categories: ‘Peer Pressure’ and ‘Prejudice and Racism’, and it also won the Golden Wizard prize in 2024.
Autism Through Isabelle’s Eyes is currently available on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca, with local bookstores expected to carry it within the coming weeks.
“My daughter was having a challenge; she was having difficulty in understanding why my son, who is two years younger than her, she was trying to understand why he didn’t want to interact with her or play with her, how her friends would usually interact with her at school, and I was trying to explain to her autism because he was diagnosed with autism at two years old,” she explained. shamarblunt@barbadostoday.bb
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