To the Gadoodleborgers;
translators, bridgekeepers between worlds.

He spied her in a magic wood,
a sensing creature in need of none

and dreamed of how he’d join her there,
his partner she would soon become.
He lured her back to the place he knew;
a world of hierarchy and of power.

And there she then began to die,
as surely as a wilting flower.

His heart began to break inside,
he knew only one thing to give.

Return her to her sensing world,
that she might find the will to live.
And there as she began to bloom,
she saw something he’d never seen.

That he was not of that world either,
a Gadoodleborger, he had been.
That he walked between two worlds,
he now had finally understood.

And so they made their home in neither world,
at the edges of the magic wood.

The End

NOTES:

The Gadoodlborger is a term that became familiar in my book Somebody Somewhere. It denoted a person who could translate different ‘normalities’, a ‘bridgekeeper’ between different worlds. It was the highest compliment I could pay to those who understood instinctually there was no one ‘normality’ and the inherent equality in difference – what it was to be naturally and truly diversity friendly. Read the rest of this entry »

I AM autistic but I HAVE immune deficiencies, I HAD cancer (apparently I can’t actually un-have it, its called remission) , I HAVE Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome… I also HAVE visual perceptual disorders, I HAVE language processing disorder, I HAVE mild learning disabilities.

I do not feel I AM these things, they are not ME, they walk alongside of me, often as parts of my autism, and whilst I AM autistic, just as I AM immune deficient, and I AM mildly learning disabled, Autism is not the sum total of who I am, it does not define my entire being or personhood, even if my personality traits are achetypally relatively ‘autistic’, I remain a person WITH autism… someone who HAS autism and, ok, IS autistic. The rest is war mongering militant separatist fascist crudola

– says Groucho
“PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION. I DON’T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT PEOPLE LIKE ME AS A MEMBER”. Read the rest of this entry »

This December marks two years in remission from breast cancer and my subsequent retirement… which was not due to the cancer but due to peripheral polyneuropathy making life progressively ‘interesting‘ ever since chemo. Life itself, however, is still well worth celebrating. And to celebrate (and to help me raise money to pay off my own Christmas/birthday present of a $4000 VPAP machine for my Central Apnea I’m having a 2013 Christmas Art Sale. Hoping some of you may seize the opportunity to snap up an art bargain. Read the rest of this entry »

Walking in Autistic Shoes; An autism presentation and question-answer forum with author, lecturer and autism consultant Donna Williams, BA Hons, Dip Ed Read the rest of this entry »

Exposure Anxiety is an ‘Invisible Cage’ that challenges the person to either side with it and identify self with their own compulsive self protection responses. It results in compulsive and involuntary avoidance, diversion and retaliation responses. In its different modes it can be easily confused with Oppositional Defiance Disorder, prompt dependency, Dependent Personality Disorder, Avoidant Personality Disorder or presenting like ADHD. Read the rest of this entry »

Baloombawop, is an illustrated 51 page off the wall hilarious adventure story by Donna Williams told in Dr Seuss/Roald Dahl/ Lewis Carrol 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’.

The land of Baloombawop and its crazy characters – The Gadoodleborger, Dame Grumpty Do, The Brookenstein Fox, Boogerlooger, Charlie Warmton, Bluster Mc Fluster, The Whirly Twirl Girl, The Gimmety Gimme – almost spring off the page and each can easily lend themselves to individual drama activities.

Suitable for kids of all ages and kids at heart, Baloombawop can also be used as a springboard from which to discuss difference, individuality, diversity, and society’s fears of these…. and how our different ‘normalities’ make our world so much more colourful. Read the rest of this entry »

Have just released “Echoes“, a beautiful 58 page full color E-book filled with quotes and illustrated with photography. Read the rest of this entry »

I was diagnosed with Mixed (mostly central) apnea in March 2012. I had complained about waking and finding I was not breathing in 2009. I explained that I wasn’t gasping for air (as happens in Obstructive Apnea), had merely woken to find I was laying there like a dead person, not breathing (usual in Central Apnea), commonly with my hands and feet numb or tingling (usual in sensory neuropathy). But because I was thin, young and didn’t snore, it was presumed I couldn’t have (obstructive) ‘apnea’ so therefore couldn’t have apnea at all. Read the rest of this entry »

Friendship

I breathe, therefore I am. Read the rest of this entry »

Dying in a hospital, unless you have legal paperwork supporting your right to refuse treatment, you could be revived and revived and revived only to continue to spend your last weeks or days suffering.

Read the rest of this entry »