NPR INTERVIEW: For neurodivergent, non-speaking poets, collaboration is the basis of language

April 29, 2022

By Jeevika Verma

Adam Wolfond says that poetry is part of his body. "It is nature to me," he says through a speech-generating device. "And I think that non-speakers like me dance with language."

Wolfond, 20, identifies as a non-speaking, autistic poet; he types and moves to communicate. He's neurodivergent, which means he has variations from what might be considered "typical" — in how his brain functions and processes information.

In the United States, April is both National Poetry Month and Autism Acceptance Month. This convergence is appreciated by many poets who also identify as neurodivergent, among them Wolfond and Hannah Emerson. When Wolfand says poetry is in his body — he's pointing to a diversity of language that exists beyond the common speaking world.

Read the full article here: https://www.npr.org/2022/04/29/1095206261/for-neurodivergent-non-speaking-poets-collaboration-is-the-basis-of-language