 For anyone who has been a Baa Baa Black Sheep, you can hear this gothic blues version by Donna Williams and The Aspinauts on our music page. Read the rest of this entry »
 Following the recent incendiary theatrics surrounding international autism expert and author, Tony Attwood, I invited him to a Skype interview. I recorded the hour long interview in which I asked Tony about his involvement with FAAS, his take on CAAD, his view on autistic culture and the autistic pride movement, about the concept of hate groups and whether he does farcical characterisations of non-spectrum people too. The result was an amusing interview over on my podcast site, Odd Pod. Read the rest of this entry »
This month’s art work is titled ‘‘At The Typewriter“.
And it was at the typewriter that I began to find I could express something more than echoed speech. I was about 9 years old when a typewriter was left in my room for my discovery. Being a child with extreme Exposure Anxiety, I was reticent about it. Surely it was an attempt to test me out, to get me to accept it, and clearly it was of ‘their world’, not mine. Read the rest of this entry »
 Christophe Pillault produces some of the most moving art by people with autism in the world. Severely autistic, functionally non-verbal and with extremely limited self help skills he produces faceless, figurative works of soulful figures interacting. The works are full of movement, passion, yet also great grace Read the rest of this entry »
This month’s featured art work is titled “Eleanor“. It’s title comes from the Beatles song Eleanor Rigby which I feel is a song that captures aloneness. I have rarely felt lonely but I experience aloneness all the time. I’m solitary by nature and by choice and I cherish my solitude enormously, often too much Read the rest of this entry »
  Welcome to the May 2009 poetry challenge. Tou can send in your poetry challenges for the April 09 poetry jam. So off you go – feel free to send me a TITLE or THEME to write to in the comments section and up to the end of April, you’ll find I’ve responded by posting a poem here addressing it.  Come on, give it a try. And don’t forget, any of you coming to see us at any of the upcoming gigs for Donna and The Aspinauts may actually see some of the poems performed, complete with gestural signing and characterisations.
Here’s the poems so far… Read the rest of this entry »
 The stereotype of Aspergers is of relatively emotionally unexpressive people who lack empathy and imagination. When I met Anthony, he struck me as the closest thing to a walking cartoon. He’s a formally diagnosed Aspie, a fellow ticcer, and one of the most surreal humans I know. His capacity for imagination is broader than most humans can get without psychedelic drugs. He’s also someone naturally empathic whose quick to help or lend an ear. Here’s our interview. Read the rest of this entry »
 Welcome to the April 2009 poetry challenge. Who knows, any of you coming to see us at any of the upcoming gigs for Donna and The Aspinauts may actually see some of the poems performed, complete with gestural signing and characterisations. But right now, you can send in your poetry challenges for the April 09 poetry jam. So off you go – feel free to send me a TITLE or THEME to write to in the comments section and up to the end of April, you’ll find I’ve responded by posting a poem here addressing it.  Come on, give it a try.Â
Here’s the poems so far… Read the rest of this entry »
 As governments worldwide put economy before climate let me quote from , New Scientist cover story, from 28th Feb 09 issue from article “Surviving in a Warmer World” by Gaia Vince, who on page 33 quotes Crutzen in conclusion:
“I would like to be optimistic that we’ll survive, but I’ve got no good reason to be. I order to be safe we would have to reduce our carbon emissions by 70 per cent by 2015. We are currently putting in 3 percent more each year”.
Want to help change that? Lets stop over glorifying the replication process we call populating, get over ourselves, give the planet a rest and speak out to make the changes needed for us to be a planet that can still feed ourselves in 2015.
Donna Williams, Dip Ed, BA Hons
author, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter
http://www.donnawilliams.net
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 .
