First published in 2009, Baloombawop, is an illustrated 51 page off the wall hilarious adventure story by Donna Williams told in Dr Seuss/Roald Dahl/ Lewis Carroll like rhyme from start to finish. It was written and performed as a children’s rock musical by Donna and The Aspinauts throughout 2009 and captivated both special needs and mainstream alike including ‘kids at heart’. Read the rest of this entry »
This month’s artwork is titled ‘Emergence’. Read the rest of this entry »
Recent studies in reputable medical journals have linked Autism to seemingly farfetched things like being born to mothers with pre eclampsia, being born prematurely, being born to older fathers, being born to smokers, being born by cesarean, being circumcised under the age of 5. Read the rest of this entry »
This month’s artwork is titled ‘Faith’. Read the rest of this entry »
The Gadoodlborger is a term that denoted a person who could translate different ‘normalities’, a ‘bridgekeeper’ between different worlds. It was the highest compliment I could pay to those who understood instinctually there was no one ‘normality’ and the inherent equality in difference – what it was to be naturally and truly diversity friendly. Read the rest of this entry »
Baloombawop is a kind of Aspergia, a haven for Aspinauts, an land rich in its diversity. It is a contrary place where the most abnormal thing of all is the vehement insistence on a one-size-fits-all ‘normality’. Read the rest of this entry »
There’s is considerable overlap between Exposure Anxiety and conditions such as Pathological Demand Avoidance (first diagnosed in 2008), Oppositional Defiance Disorder (first in the literature around 2002), Avoidant Personality Disorder and Dependent Personality Disorder. Read the rest of this entry »
The concept of a tree of life is a symbol for the interconnection of all life. Read the rest of this entry »
Whilst Temple Grandin is known for her visual thinking, I was known for talking about the opposite – meaning blindness. Read the rest of this entry »
A trick of the light is an optical illusion. We see something that isn’t there, or we see something we think is one thing, then look at it from a different angle and find our perspective is changed, different. My life has been full of such illusions. Often the illusions had me convinced and I indulged and enjoyed the magic, the madness. Other times I surprised myself, finding I was so much more than the first impressions. Read the rest of this entry »
Donna Williams is an Australian born adult with autism who was assessed as psychotic at the age of 2 in 1965, labelled disturbed in the 1970s and diagnosed as autistic in her 20s in 1991.
She acquired functional speech in late childhood and went on to become a qualified teacher with an honors degree in Sociology and a degree in Linguistics. She is the author of two international bestselling autobiographies and has 10 published books including 4 text books widely used in autism education and two books of poetry and prose.
As a screenwriter, she wrote the screenplay to “Nobody Nowhere”, the first book in her 4 book autobiographical series. That screenplay is currently under option to become a Hollywood film. She is an professional artist, singer-songwriter and published poet as well as a world renowned public speaker on autism now living with her husband in Australia. In her presentations she draws not only on her own experiences but on international experience as a professional autism consultant since 1996.
Donna’s is a speaker in demand around the world due to her unique perspective and ability to share her feelings and experiences on a very personal level. More information about her and her life’s work can be found on her website at http://www.donnawilliams.net .