In 1996 my first text book, Autism; An Inside Out Approach was published, in which I discussed strategies for meaning deafness, meaning blindness, lack of body connectedness and lacking simultaneous processing of a sense of self and other. To most people, that may sound like something from a Sci Fi novel, but in my world it’s just part of everyday life.
I recently heard from a blind woman on the autism spectrum who was looking forward to meeting me. I found her perspective on her ASD interesting so thought to share how our dialogue went. Here it is….
My definition of autism has evolved through my experience as an autism consultant with hundreds of children since 1997 together with my own experience as a person assessed as a psychotic infant in 1965 at age 2 and later diagnosed with autism.
I was born into a very challenged and challenging household of unusual, eccentric, personalities.
On an Australian TV show, Lateline, last night, Tony Jones talked to US energy and environment consultant, Terry Tamminen. They discussed our embarrassingly sycophant Prime Minister‘s relationship to the US president, George Bush, regarding climate change.
My father used gestures and characterisations as far as I could remember. He had a repertoire of stories and he’d insist on telling them no matter how many times anyone had heard them.
I often write of object blindness, context blindness and face blindness as part of delayed visual processing. This is not a problem with the eyes but with the part of the brain which processes what the eyes see. And I have tinted lenses which cut out certain light frequencies, reducing incoming visual information to allow my brain more time to process what I see. Or perhaps I should say, I DID have tinted lenses.
In this internet age the word ‘friend’ has become progressively watered down. Today it can mean any acquaintance who adds themselves to your list. Read the rest of this entry »
I recently had someone challenge the degree of my autism on the basis of not having been a poo smearer. Well, whilst Temple Grandin (known as ‘The Woman Who Thinks Like A Cow’) has spent decades entertaining audiences with tales of being a poo smearing toddler, it seems that poo smearing is yet another autism stereotype.
When I was 9 my younger brother was 3. Whilst I had lots of stored language I had just began to acquire functional communication. He had 6 words, none of which were understood outside of the house. We made a great pair, being surreal, kinesthetic, sensory and a pair of buzz junkies. 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 .