Dissociation is the ability to cut off from what is happening around you or to you. In its simplest form it is daydreaming. It is a skill all children have and which children with autism tend to overdevelop in managing a world they find overwhelming for a whole range of reasons. Read the rest of this entry »
As an autism consultant since 1996, and a person diagnosed with autism at the age of two, I am very aware of the wide range of issues that can come together as a ‘toileting drama’ for someone with autism. Read the rest of this entry »
Today non-verbal children and adults with autism are being introduced to iPads. But it was not always so. In fact first attempts to help people with autism communicate via pointing using letterboards, using typewriters and the early hand held communication devices were slammed by most autism experts who claimed everything from these being a threat to the person ever developing verbal speech to insisting entire schools and residential settings had the right to banish the use of communication devices by people with autism. Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s an awesome article which is NOT written by me but is by an anonymous author. I would have written pretty much what they’ve already written but they’ve done it so well I wouldn’t need to do my own version. It is filled with what any scapegoat of a mother with Narcissistic Personality Disorder will relate to. Read it. Read the rest of this entry »
I have childhood photos indicating Rickets from as young as 5 months old. Ricket’s shows itself in the forehead, bulges at the wrists, banana shaped bowed arms and legs and distended belly. But this severe vitamin D deficiency has more extensive impact than just bone development. It impacts the entire immune system, later teeth development, the muscles, the spleen, the liver, the gut, and the nervous system – yes, the brain. Read the rest of this entry »
Donna Williams aged 12
Donna Williams aged 12
DINNER CLUB, MELBOURNE (Belgrave), AUSTRALIA
WHEN: 7pm, 4th Tuesday of the month
WHERE: Honey Thai Restaurant, 1678 Main Rd, Belgrave (just up from Belgrave railway station footbridge)
WHAT: Dinner (meals start from around $17 and special diets can be catered for) with others on the spectrum
WHO: teens and adults on the autism spectrum and their direct support people.
This group has been successfully running since 2006.
Note: we have established 2 important ground rules for attendees
1) this is NOT an opportunity to study people with autism or explore ways to enter the autism field
2) those attending are expected to be self management skills (ie: able to respect other people’s space, have reasonable hygiene, respect the venue etc).
Any doubts whether this group is for you, please contact Donna: bookings@donnawilliams.net
Read the rest of this entry »
Feeling Colors by Donna Williams
However appalling the topic, when it comes to hearing from women sexually abused by fathers, uncles, brothers, grandfathers, society is at least aware of the issue. As a society we have become so used to the potential of men to abuse that men working with children or interested to do so are sometimes instantly under suspicion. Yet up to 40% of those who sexually abuse children are women and around 10% of reported child sexual abuse of girls is perpetrated by the child’s mother. 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 .