Donna Williams (author)

Donna Williams (author)

Donna Williams (born 1963 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) is a best-selling author, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and sculptor diagnosed with autism after being assessed as a psychotic infant in 1965 at age two, [ [http://blog.donnawilliams.net/2007/09/29/autism-it-aint-all-physical/ Autism; it ain’t all physical. | Donna Williams’ Blog ] ] tested multiple times for deafness and labeled disturbed throughout childhood, before treatment for gut, immune and sensory perceptual disorders in adulthood.

Books

Williams' first book was the autobiographical "Nobody Nowhere: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic Girl". [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE1D7113AF932A15751C0A965958260 A World of Her Own - New York Times ] ] It was an international bestseller with fifteen weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/search/query?query=%22nobody+nowhere%22+%22best+sellers%22&d=&o=&v=&c=&n=10&dp=0&daterange=full&sort=oldest The New York Times: Search for 'nobody nowhere best sellers' ] ] It was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Prize for Literacy in 1992. [ [http://www.awg.com.au/cgi-bin/dbman/db.cgi?db=default&uid=default&view_records=1&sb=1&so=ascend&ID=*&mh=1&nh=31 Australian Writers Guild Writers Directory: Search Results ] ]

"Somebody Somewhere" (1994) [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F00E2DA1E39F937A35755C0A963958260&scp=1&sq=somebody+somewhere+donna+williams&st=nyt New & Noteworthy Paperbacks - New York Times ] ] is the sequel to "Nobody Nowhere" that picks up the story of getting the first book published, and how that changed her life.

Later autobiographical works include "Like Colour To The Blind" (1998), and "Everyday Heaven" (2004).

She has also written several books on autism:
*"Autism and Sensing: The Unlost Instinct"
*"Exposure Anxiety - The Invisible Cage: An Exploration of Self-Protection Responses in the Autism Spectrum"
*"Autism - an inside-out Approach: An Innovative Look at the Mechanics of Autism and Its Developmental Cousins"
*"The Jumbled Jigsaw: An Insider's Approach to the Treatment of Autistic Spectrum "Fruit Salads"

and a collection of her poetry and prose:
*"Not Just Anything: A Collection of Thoughts on Paper" published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

Diagnosis controversy

In a 1996 radio interview, Kathy Gollan (a producer for Australian Broadcasting Corporation) raised questions about whether Williams is autistic or characteristic of persons with autism. According to the Gollan interviews, Dr Kathleen Dillon (a Professor of Psychology at Western New England College in Massachusetts) "thinks that Donna's symptoms owe more to the abuse she suffered as a child than to autism". Gollan said there was "serious doubt about whether Donna Williams is autistic, and her books should be read with that in mind". Fred Volkmar, an autism expert and the director of the Yale Child Study Center said, " ... it's hard for me to know what to make of Donna Williams. Donna Williams' books in my view, while very interesting, are not typical of the experience of at least the 20, 30 or 40 higher functioning autistic people that I have come to know fairly well."cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/8.30/helthrpt/hstories/hr290796.htm |title=Autism - a special report by Kathy Gollan|work=Radio National Transcripts: The Health Report|publisher= Australian Broadcasting Corporation|date=1996-07-29|accessdate=2008-03-11] Williams said that these claims were an attempt to discredit her. [cite web
url= http://www.donna.inuk.com/autie/
title= Is Donna Williams really autistic ?
accessdate= 2008-03-12
author= Williams, Donna
publisher= donna.inuk.com
archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20021210024422/www.donna.inuk.com/autie/
archivedate= 2002-12-10
]

Television documentaries

Williams was in several television documentaries: [ [http://pro.imdb.com/name/nm2362004/ IMDb Pro : Donna Williams Business Details ] ]
*"My Experience With Autism, Emotion and Behavior" , 1993, "Eye to Eye with Connie Chung", USA (in English).
*"Jam Jar" , 1995, by Fresh Film in association with BBC Four , aired in the UK and was nominated for the Mental Health Media Award (in English).Fact|date=July 2008
*"Krankheit als Schicksal" (also titled "Dann Verstehe Ich Auch Nur Bla, Bla, Bla" ), 1995, by Spiegel TV, aired January 1 1997 in Germany (in German).
*"Yokosho Watashi No Sekai E "Jiheisho" Donna Williams" , 1995, by NHK TV, Japan (in Japanese).

Music

Williams' first album, "Nobody Nowhere" was published in 2000 with Paul Farrer, [ [http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnaw CD Baby: Donna Williams: Nobody Nowhere ] ] two tracks from which ("Sometimes" and "Beyond The When") feature in the TBS international TV series "Things You Taught Me". [ [http://pro.imdb.com/title/tt0853079/funfacts IMDbPro.com Free Trial Signup ] ]

In 2005, she followed this album with a second titled, "Mutation" which she made with an Australian music composer, producer and arranger named Akash. Both albums feature music and lyrics by Williams with the second album also featuring spoken word poetry. [ [http://cdbaby.com/cd/donnaw2 CD Baby: Donna Williams: Mutation ] ]

Art

Williams is a painter who is self taught and began painting in adulthood. She is also a sculptor who has completed life-sized sculptures. She is the older sister of the award-winning mural artist and Australian graffiti artist, Duel. [ [http://blog.donnawilliams.net/2006/08/20/akin-to-the-art-of-rafael-villamil/ Akin to the art of Rafael Villamil - the graffiti art of Duel | Donna Williams’ Blog ] ]

Consulting and public speaking

Donna became a qualified teacher [ [http://www.amazon.ca/Somebody-Somewhere-Donna-Williams/dp/customer-reviews/1853027197 Amazon.ca: Reviews for Somebody Somewhere: Books: Donna Williams ] ] international public speaker [ [http://www.autismtoday.com/creative/donnawilliams2.html Donna Williams ] ] and autism consultant [ [http://iod.unh.edu/6-6-07.htm UNH Institute on Disability ] ] She was invited to join the UK's Medical Research Council's review into the causes of autism in 2002, where she was elected to the lay-person's panel. [http://www.mrc.ac.uk/consumption/idcplg?IdcService=GET_FILE&dID=4970&dDocName=MRC002394&allowInterrupt=1]

Marriage

On December 9 2000, she married Chris Samuel while living in England. In 2002 they moved back to her native Australia. [ [http://www.donnawilliams.net/about.0.html Donna Williams: About Donna ] ] He helped Donna create the auties.org website, for people on the autistic spectrum seeking to work towards self employment. [ [http://www.auties.org/team/ Auties.org - Autism Employment: Meet the Team ] ] Donna writes about him in her book "Everyday Heaven". [ [http://www.donnawilliams.net/everydayheaven.0.html Donna Williams: Everyday Heaven ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.donnawilliams.net/ Donna Williams website]
* [http://blog.donnawilliams.net/ Donna Williams blog]
* [http://pro.imdb.com/name/nm2362004/ Donna Williams on imdb]


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