Dear Wikipedia, Read the rest of this entry »

In one of my books, The Jumbled Jigsaw, I presented a range of conditions commonly collectively occurring in those with autism and Aspergers. I was asked about the differences between an Aspergers (AS) ‘fruit salad’ and an Autism ‘fruit salad’. Read the rest of this entry »

It was 1995. Kimberly Gerry Tucker first entered my life quietly through a door in a cute living doll’s house in Connecticut. I was a newly published author on a publishing tour in the US and in Connecticut for my first ever public lecture at Trinity College. Kimberly was an undiagnosed Aspie with Selective Mutism and severe social anxiety. She was towering and I felt very short in her presence. Read the rest of this entry »

As an autism consultant with an encyclopedic mind for systems and lists of information I often found myself perceived as something of a walking textbook, a mine of information. Read the rest of this entry »

Dissociative Identity Disorder is on the same spectrum as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They are both DISSOCIATIVE disorders. Those who develop DID have over developed abilities in dissociating, a skill very commonly overdeveloped in children with autism. Dissociation is a natural process in children under the age of 5 but most children grow out of it. Those with developmental disabilities may have stronger motivations to dissociate from what they find sensorily overwhelming or too hard to process and so those with autism may be predisposed to dissociation but also other dissociative processes, such as depersonalisation and derealisation. Some personality traits can also predispose some children to overdeveloping these dissociative processes. Read the rest of this entry »

In defense of Crossley, McDonald & facilitated communication
Crossley, McKay and Biklen, from ABC Ramp Up 24 May 2012, reporter Stella Young.

Following Andrew Rule’s feature on the relationship between Rosemary Crossley and Anne McDonald in the Herald Sun in recent weeks, Crossley and her supporters want to set the record straight. Read the rest of this entry »

When my first book, Nobody Nowhere, became a major international bestseller, my Australian publisher, Doubleday received a submission from Chris Eipper for his fiction novel he was hoping to get a publisher for. His submission was rejected. I then received a letter from him via my UK publisher (I was now living in the UK) informing me that he was involving himself as a researcher in my case. I also received copies of letters he sent to each of my publishers and to the multitude of journalists who had interviewed me. I also heard from Autism Victoria that he had contacted them to try and discuss my diagnosis with them. Read the rest of this entry »

I remember one night when three of us, me, my husband Chris Samuel, and a friend of ours Kieran, went to dinner at Rosemary Crossley’s house. Rosemary and her partner, Chris B were always great hosts but for me, I felt most compatible with Anne. Anne was feisty, cheeky, star of the flooring one liner. She was an egalitarian, who wouldn’t be having been dumped since age three to spend up to the age of 18 in a Victorian style institution deemed severely retarded where she almost starved to death. It would make any of us rather political, if of course were were credited with the intelligence to be so. Read the rest of this entry »

When my first book, Nobody Nowhere, became a major international bestseller, my Australian publisher, Doubleday received a submission from Chris Eipper for his fiction novel he was hoping to get a publisher for. His submission was rejected. I then received a letter from him via my UK publisher (I was now living in the UK) informing me that he was involving himself as a researcher in my case. I also received copies of letters he sent to each of my publishers and to the multitude of journalists who had interviewed me. I also heard from Autism Victoria that he had contacted them to try and discuss my diagnosis with them. Read the rest of this entry »

Finally, 16 years of public image damage since the defamatory ABC interview by Kathy Gollan which was initiated by Chris Eipper, the second of the two ‘experts’ who had backed them, US Autism expert, Dr Kathleen Dillon, sent me a retraction. My Wikipedia page continues to stain my reputation with the defamation they started and the hate that continues to inspire, and it seems that will be my legacy. But perhaps the day after I announced I’m retiring, this retraction was at least ‘something’:

Hi Donna,

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to reply.
Not having ever met you in 1996, I was giving my opinion to questions posed to me in a radio interview based on what I had read by and about you at that time. I did not presume to have been able to provide you with a diagnosis.
Much has changed in the field of autism from 1996 to 2012. Although it remains the same that I have never met you and can only offer you, as before, my opinion. In my judgment today, your presentation then and now is much more consistent with those who currently identify themselves as on the autism spectrum. From your autobiographical information, you appear to have had a very complicated history of unfortunate events happen to you regardless of how anyone chooses to label you and yet you have managed to have many accomplishments. For that you are to be commended. I wish you only the best in the future.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Dillon

Send in The Clowns (from Wikipedia):

The “clowns” in the title do not refer to circus clowns. Instead, they symbolize fools, as Sondheim explained in a 1990 interview: I wanted to use theatrical imagery in the song, because she’s an actress, but it’s not supposed to be a ‘circus’…. It’s a theater reference meaning ‘if the show isn’t going well, let’s send in the clowns’; in other words, ‘let’s do the jokes.'[1]

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

I acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the Traditional Owners of this country throughout Australia, and their connection to land and community.