Being diagnosed with autism and with Dissociative Identity Disorder I reflected on the hundreds of children and adults I’ve worked with as an autism consultant since 1996. Given dissociation is such a natural process in young children that DID cannot reliably be diagnosed in early childhood, was dissociation something only non-autistic children did? If autistic children also farted, yawned, ate, toileted, slept, breathed, did they also have this natural ability to dissociate? Could their autism be complicated by issues of dissociation, depersonalisation, derealisation? And what might these look like in someone with autism? Read the rest of this entry »

Do you have a child self, selves? How old are they? Did they get stuck and why? Are they integrated parts of you or hidden in shame? Do they try and communicate with you and how? Or have they given up? If you have them, how do you try and help them have experiences so they can ultimately get past developmental blocks and ultimately integrate? What could/would you do for them? Read the rest of this entry »

I HAVE DID and I HAVE autism, and I HAVE tourette’s and I HAVE OCD and I HAVE immune deficiencies and I HAVE agnosias, but I AM Donna. Read the rest of this entry »

FRIEND
In memory of Anne McDonald

the eyes in which I saw your mood
the corners of your mouth which spoke one or the other
the laughter grin without the laugh
the repertoire of noises and their musicality
you were in there somewhere between letter boards and i-pads
somewhere between the table banter and my tics
between ice-cream and pills
somewhere between pears, Kahlua and chocolates.
we met
a synchronicity
an understanding,
energy vibrations
a sameness
reaching out
across a dinner table

Donna Williams Read the rest of this entry »

I had an email from Jenn Watzke, a senior at Northshore High School in Slidell, Louisiana. She wanted to ask me about Savant Syndrome so I agreed to be interviewed. Here’s our interview: Read the rest of this entry »

I heard from Sarah Smith (et al), a woman diagnosed with Dissociative Identity disorder. Having a diagnosis of both autism and DID myself, I invited her to interview me on the topic. Here’s our interview: Read the rest of this entry »

“”. This month’s artwork is titled ‘Attachment’.

It is 15cm x 17cm, acrylic on vinyl.

I hope you enjoy the painting. You can see it and others in my online gallery.

Warmly,

Donna Williams *)

http://www.donnawilliams.net

As a parent of a boy with autism, Nancy Bekhor discovered a way of being that assisted her to be more open and available to the non-verbal-realm of her child for their mutual benefit. I invited her to ask me some questions about Nancy Bekhor sensing in the context of autism. Here’s our interview. Read the rest of this entry »

Bouquet by Donna Williams

This month’s artwork is titled “Bouquet”.  It’s a painting about the feeling of happiness.

It is 29cm x 42cm, mixed media on paper (acrylic and pastels).

I hope you enjoy the painting.  You can see it and others in my online gallery.

Warmly,

Donna Williams *)

http://www.donnawilliams.net

A friend on the autism spectrum who deals with mental health issues asked me if I’ve ever suffered the Mental Health system myself.  It was a great question and really the answer depends on what the contrast is.

I was diagnosed in a 3 day hospital observation at the age of 2 as psychotic. In 1965 that would have been a social death knell.  The abuse, degredation, being hidden, paraded etc, the sense I was only temporary and ultimately pegged for an institution… was that suffering due to the mental health system?

7 yrs of the primary school having me observed by Psych and Guidance, studied, evading, being labeled disturbed for my inability to comply, participate, communicate with all the associated 2nd class citizenship that entails in a mainstream.  The teachers going through the motions at best, mostly left alone or stood out in the corridor, later stood in the rubbish bin by the teacher who threw chalk at me to the amusement of the students… is that due to the mental health system? Read the rest of this entry »