My little brother Johnny Duel adored me the way my paternal grandparents had… which I knew because they would all light up when they saw me, this was how I knew I brought joy to these people Read the rest of this entry »

In a recent article on the Autism Vaccine Myth, I read a clear summary of what evidence to date has so far found about the causes of autism. And the result is that some of these causes are due to inherited and spontaneous mutations not previously seen in the parents or siblings, some of which do not manifest until early development. Read the rest of this entry »

I have two brothers and my younger brother had a completely different relationship to my autism, seeing it as a wonderful part of his unusual sister. We reflect what is given us and I reflected back the equality and worth he afforded me. But, whilst I’m estranged from my older brother, likely always will be, at least I have been honored by the words he dared to share of who he once was. I have no contact with my older brother, Shane. We had different carers, different worlds, different histories, different neurologies. But in 1997 he wrote an autobiographical piece about his first 6 years and it will always remind me of the foundations of this older brother and who he could have been. Read the rest of this entry »

First published in 2009, Baloombawop, is an illustrated 51 page off the wall hilarious adventure story by Donna Williams told in Dr Seuss/Roald Dahl/ Lewis Carroll like rhyme from start to finish. It was written and performed as a children’s rock musical by Donna and The Aspinauts throughout 2009 and captivated both special needs and mainstream alike including ‘kids at heart’. Read the rest of this entry »

I love this… and with autism its similar… we are diverse, we are people with personhood and autism is part of that but whilst some feel it DEFINES them in their entirety, others do not, not because they are in denial or ashamed of their autism, but because their autism is not the sole source of everything they think, feel, do or achieve. Read the rest of this entry »

My paternal grandparents, who were essentially ‘homeless people’, lived in a shed in our backyard until I was 4 and a half years old when I lost them both. Their shed had only a high frosted vent window, virtually no natural light. The walls were brown unpainted masonite, the floor was cement with lino over it and a thin rug. Read the rest of this entry »

Mental health issues effecting 70% on the spectrum… a far cry from the old days where if you had any mood, anxiety, compulsive, dissociative, attachment, adjustment, emotional or behavioural, personality or identity disorders or psychosis you were trolled with you ‘couldn’t possibly ALSO be autistic’. Alternatively people without functional communication who also have mental health issues traditionally have had their mental health issues almost as standard fobbed off as ‘part of their autism’. Read the rest of this entry »

I had an email from an optometrist wanting to find out what tints I’ve found work best for autistic children. I replied: Read the rest of this entry »

Its time we all learned people skills… Read the rest of this entry »

We think of domestic violence as something done by deranged men. But it is something done by everyday people. Sometimes the perpetrator is male, other times female. In our house, growing up, it was my father’s violence that snatched the headlines. My mother’s violence was considered ‘justified’. Read the rest of this entry »