Polly's pages (aka 'Donna Williams')

Ever the arty Autie

Autism to ARTism … the ‘Donna Williams’ journey

December14

Field of Dreams by Donna Williams I heard from Nupur. She was from Boston USA and had recently I have started online community for children with special needs called ‘Special Children’s Art Work’. Her passion is to give special needs children and their families some place where they can come and submit their creativity. She thought I would be an inspiration for them and asked me for an interview. Here it is: Read the rest of this entry »

Lets Stop Calling it ‘the autism’: Autism and Trauma – what’s the connection?

January10

donna williams Recent studies in reputable medical journals have linked Autism to seemingly farfetched things like being born to mothers with pre eclampsia, being born prematurely, being born to older fathers, being born to smokers, being born by cesarean, being circumcised under the age of 5. Read the rest of this entry »

Stephen Hinkle: Autism, Aspergers and the Hidden Curriculum

January11

Got It by Donna Williams

Got It by Donna Williams

Stephen Hinkle wrote to me saying “I am writing a book about the social challenges of having autism. I was curious if I could interview you about your hidden curriculum experience”. It became a very interesting interview. Here’s how it went. Read the rest of this entry »

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ARTISM – an interview with art student Tilly Snaith

January24

This Much by Donna Williams Hello Donna,
My name is Tilly and I’m an A-level art student from a UK secondary school called Ruislip High.
While searching through the Internet for inspiration, I came across your website and was completely inspired. Read the rest of this entry »

Open letter to Wikipedia about THAT ‘controversy’

September14

Donna Williams diagnosis controversy

Dear Wikipedia, Read the rest of this entry »

Under The Banana Moon – by Kimberley Tucker

July11

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 »

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Dissociative Identity Disorder, Autism and a conversation

June7

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 »

Rosemary Crossley defends her methods – what the Herald Sun kept from the public

May25

Hanging out with Anne Mc Donald

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 »

Thanking Marcia Devlin for the Higher Education

May16

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 »

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The Tale of Rosemary’s Baby, Part Four – why Anne McDonald was nobody’s ‘baby’

May16

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 »

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