As an autism consultant since 1996, I have worked with attachment disordered kids with autism and those who are not. We are often daunted by the idea of attachment disorders in those with autism. It’s a taboo topic and conjures up images of archaic psychotherapy and Refrigerator Mother theory. But attachment disorders can also occur in people who have never experienced abuse, neglect or inconsistency of carers. Read the rest of this entry »
Dissociation is the ability to cut off from what is happening around you or to you. In its simplest form it is daydreaming. It is a skill all children have and which children with autism tend to overdevelop in managing a world they find overwhelming for a whole range of reasons. Read the rest of this entry »
As an autism consultant since 1996, and a person diagnosed with autism at the age of two, I am very aware of the wide range of issues that can come together as a ‘toileting drama’ for someone with autism. Read the rest of this entry »
Today non-verbal children and adults with autism are being introduced to iPads. But it was not always so. In fact first attempts to help people with autism communicate via pointing using letterboards, using typewriters and the early hand held communication devices were slammed by most autism experts who claimed everything from these being a threat to the person ever developing verbal speech to insisting entire schools and residential settings had the right to banish the use of communication devices by people with autism. Read the rest of this entry »
I have childhood photos indicating Rickets from as young as 5 months old. Ricket’s shows itself in the forehead, bulges at the wrists, banana shaped bowed arms and legs and distended belly. But this severe vitamin D deficiency has more extensive impact than just bone development. It impacts the entire immune system, later teeth development, the muscles, the spleen, the liver, the gut, and the nervous system – yes, the brain. Read the rest of this entry »
Donna Williams aged 12
Donna Williams aged 12
Different Natural Selection by Donna Williams
It was always very hard for me to talk about the ‘fruit salad’ of my parents. In the autism world there was MASSIVE taboo to speak of having anything other than wonderful, loving, well adjusted parents… otherwise one was ‘an abuse case’, everything about one’s developmental disabilities was then cast into some ‘pity box’, one couldn’t possibly have be a REAL ‘autistic’ because ‘real autistics’ were only and ever then born to ‘healthy’ parents. Read the rest of this entry »
Schizotypal by Donna Williams
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 .