Economies are going down the spout, there is enough OPEN instruction out there to start training yourselves so you can spend your income on a trampoline, a pool, some horse riding, drums or anything else that you’d have had no money for if you were PAYROLLING the professionals who are living off the one size fits all PATENTED products they are selling you. 2012 is the year to stop bleating like a sheep. Take back the power. I have empowered parents to do this since 1996. Step up to the plate. Test your own potential and be part of your own solutions. Read the rest of this entry »

What do you think of the term ‘Naturally Autistic‘? I think it depends on what made you so autistic in the first place Read the rest of this entry »

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE, PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, AND QUALIFICATIONS

I was two years old in 1965. It was a time when autism was deemed ‘childhood psychosis’. After three days observation at St Elmo’s Private Hospital, I was diagnosed as ‘psychotic’. I was diagnosed with language processing disorder in late childhood around 1972 then later diagnosed with the tidier label of autism in 1990 by Australia’s most eminent autism experts, Dr Lawrie Bartak.

In the same year I built on my existing post graduate degree in sociology and degree in linguistics and did a Dip Ed, becoming a qualified teacher whilst progressively going on to author 9 published books in the field of autism, become an international public speaker since 1994, and an autism consultant since 1996. My text books are used in courses on special education & psychology. I have been hired by health services, human services and education departments to work with people in their care and provide training.

WHAT I DO

My job as a consultant is perhaps closest to being a ‘specialised case manager’ for hire. I assess ‘developmental fruit salads’ and I have worked with over a thousand families. I look at a person’s current communication, interaction, behavior, development. I then look at which low or no cost strategies might help that person lead a fuller life, better reach their potential and establish more harmonious relationships with those in their life. Read the rest of this entry »

Thank you so much to those who supported my earlier Art-Not-Cancer sale in August. Now as I sweep aside the cancer adventures of 2011 and face the brave new world of 2012, I’ve made a new art space and finally I will have a ‘real’ art studio with space, light, storage – awesome. No more stacking up the walls in a room too small to get as crazy as required to get really experimental with art. To celebrate I’m having a December 2011 Christmas Art Sale. All paintings and sculptures will be 30% off the listed price. You can visit my online gallery to view the available paintings here. If you find a work you like, take 30% off the listed price. That would be the price, plus postage and packing (which varies from $10 upwards depending on the size of the work). You then email me and I’ll tell you the postage cost for what you’re interested in and if you’re still happy, I invoice you via PayPal for the art work you are interested in. You pay for the art work and it would be with you within 7-10 days (hopefully not delayed by Christmas post). I’ll even include 10 free art cards. Read the rest of this entry »

I officially finished adjuvant chemo for breast cancer on November 24th. I had endured all the challenges of chemo and was certain I had had a spring clean and got my new expiry date and I felt I’d be cancer free for at least the next 5 years. I was looking forward to getting hair back on my pale bald head and growing new nails where my damaged brown ones were ravaged by chemo. Seven days later, on 31st of November I noticed I’d developed a 2mm ‘black freckle’ on my scalp Read the rest of this entry »

Sick of attracting needy, greedy, me me me types? Then….
Read the rest of this entry »

We Pollyanna types have done it a hundred times. We meet s Sociopath, Psychopath, Narcissist, or a cling monster with Borderline Personality Disorder any of whom may also have a series of addictions or untreated bipolar or Schizo-affective disorder and we sweep aside all this ‘other stuff’ because we see their inner loveliness, their humanity, their potential… or do we? Read the rest of this entry »

Autism is a medical diagnosis according to DSM criteria. AUTistic, however, is not only a description of those with autism, it is an adjective describing self orientation/containment and there are so many roads and reasons why a person may become entrenched in an AUTistic state that its no surprise the range of people who come to identify with the term ‘autistic’. Read the rest of this entry »

Please know that every person’s journey with chemo is different. For some its a doddle, for others its a war, for others its a spiritual journey or any combination thereof. Every person’s body responds differently to chemo, you can go into it and get rid of arthritis instead of finding it exacerbated, you can find life long conditions suddenly amplified, you can find you get the extended warranty/expiry date you’re looking for, or you can find its a real tough road on the way out. I’m doing adjuvant chemo, 4 lots of 3 week cycles for breast cancer. I have a life long history of immune and autoimmune dysfunction, a history of brain injury effecting my autonomic nervous system, a daunting family cancer history on one side and inbreeding on the other. I am doing my journey as someone with Autism and DID and I bring all that to the table. With cancer there is no ‘Mary Bloggs’. Every person’s body and brain, personality, environment, baggage and support, identity/identities and orientation, hopes and pessimism come to the table. I wish any of you well on your own journies with cancer or supporting those with it. Here’s the chemo part of my journey. Read the rest of this entry »

Through September, October and November I will need to exercise to manage chemotherapy side effects.

Those who exercise throughout chemo tend to do better and I suffer from Dysautonomia which is aggravated by the chemo. This interferes with my brain’s ability to regulate things like heart and breathing, messes with circulation, interferes with bladder and bowel function, causes brain fog, reduces brain function during acute episodes and is generally pretty awful. Exercise is one of the most important parts of working with Dysautonomia. I also live with immune deficiencies and of course exercise is really important in keeping what immune function one has.

Our post office is a 10 min walk there and back. Those buying a pack of my art cards throughout September to November will be encouraging me to do this walk and I’ll pop in 5 extra cards including a signed one from me. You can purchase 10 of one design OR specify in the comment box that you’d like me to send 10 varied cards and mention some you like. Here’s the link for those interested.

Warmly,
Donna *)

Donna Williams, BA Hons, Dip Ed.
Author, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter.
Autism consultant and public speaker.
http://www.donnawilliams.net

BIG THANK YOU TO:

Nikki Yokoyama
Anita O’Flynn
Marisol Villamil
Suzanne Ayres

for so far supporting this program.