 Now the topic might totally turn you off, but a percentage of so called ‘low functioning’ kids with autism engage in this obsessively, occasionally even into adulthood. In fact Temple Grandin cites herself as having been one of those children Read the rest of this entry »
Footsteps of a Nobody is getting a 2nd showing!
Footsteps of a Nobody is a powerful one woman rock-musical from Donna Williams, author of the international bestseller, Nobody Nowhere; Autobiography of an Autistic Girl. Through characterisations, gestural signing, evocative spoken word and song it traces Donna’s pivotal experiences from a meaning deaf, meaning blind feral child to homelessness and life as a domestic prostitute and on to her ultimate fight to claim a place of equality among others.
REVIEWS OF DONNA WILLIAMS’ BOOKS:
THE NEW YORK TIMES: She allows us to understand our own perceptions as never before.
PEOPLE MAGAZINE: By turns fascinating and harrowing…
WEEKEND REVIEW: …evocative, poetic…compelling, shocking, gut-wrenchingly moving…
DAILY TELEGRAPH: Powerful and unique.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL: deserves every superlative a reviewer can muster.
BOOKINGS: 9329 8821
 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 »
 Michael Jackson was a fascinating human. But as much as the autistic community wants to claim him as an icon, he was likely only as autistic or not as most members of the human race. But whether he had Exposure Anxiety, a condition easily confused with (and which commonly co-occurs with autism) is another question, and perhaps he had more of that than most.
As a performer he was fearless, wildly creative, innovative, in his own world and a league of his own. As a person, he was somewhere between painfully shy and extremely vigilant. In his interviews he’d fluctuate between almost autistic in his avoidance of direct touch, eye contact and his voice could retreat to a timid whisper. Then, in the blink of an eye, he could confront before, just as quick, he’d be gone again. Read the rest of this entry »
 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is not Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) but its often confused with it. Read the rest of this entry »
 In an autism fruit salad can be a range of things and two of us in The Aspinauts experience Tourette’s tics Read the rest of this entry »
At one of my UK lectures a warm, solid personality sat not far from the front. She exuded a feeling of stability, peace, acceptance and on the break she came over to my book table and gave me a book of her own. Her name was Phoebe Caldwell. Read the rest of this entry »
 
 When an 18 year old Sky Walker, a severely autistic man, bashed his mother to death he was facing charges of murder even though he couldn’t understand the charges of what he’d done. Read the rest of this entry »
 I had a letter from a mother who wanted to share her letter. Here it is: Read the rest of this entry »
 I have done consultations with those who fit Exposure Anxiety since 1996 and still do online consultations with those wanting to manage this highly problematic condition. This is a snip from an upcoming abridged version of my book, Exposure Anxiety: The Invisible Cage.
If there were a diagnostic criteria for EA it might fit this: 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 .