Donna Williams (author)
Encyclopedia
Donna Williams 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, tested multiple times for deafness and labeled disturbed throughout childhood, before treatment for gut, immune and sensory perceptual disorders in adulthood.
Nobody Nowhere
: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic Girl. It was an international bestseller with fifteen weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. It was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Prize for Literacy in 1992.
Somebody Somewhere
(1994) 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).
In 2010, Orlai Produkciós Iroda made a monodrama
, Nemsenkilény, monológ nemmindegyembereknek ("Notanobodycreature"), from book of Henriett Seth F.. The text book contains details of Donna Williams' s Nobody Nowhere: The extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic Girl few lines, Birger Sellin
' s Don't want to Be Inside Me Anymore: Messages from Autistic Mind few lines and a few lines by Mark Haddon
' s: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
She has also written several books on autism:
and a collection of her poetry and prose:
) raised questions about whether Williams is autistic or characteristic of persons with autism. In phone interviews, Kathleen Dillon (a Professor of Psychology at Western New England College
in Massachusetts) said she thought "Donna's symptoms owe more to the abuse she suffered as a child than to autism", and Fred Volkmar, an autism expert and director of the Yale Child Study Center
commented " ... 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". Gollan herself stated that there was "serious doubt about whether Donna Williams is autistic, and her books should be read with that in mind".
, two tracks from which (Sometimes and Beyond The When) feature in the TBS international TV series Things You Taught Me.
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.
.
He helped Donna create the auties.org website, for people on the autistic spectrum seeking to work towards self employment. Donna writes about him in her book Everyday Heaven.
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
after being assessed as a psychotic infant in 1965 at age two, 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 autobiographicalAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Nobody Nowhere
Nobody Nowhere
Nobody Nowhere: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic Girl is the award-nominated debut book by Australian Donna Williams. It was initially published in Britain in 1992, and was on the New York Times Best Seller list for 15 weeks in the first half of 1993.Nobody Nowhere covers Williams'...
: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic Girl. It was an international bestseller with fifteen weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. It was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Prize for Literacy in 1992.
Somebody Somewhere
Somebody Somewhere (book)
Somebody Somewhere is a book written by the autistic author, songwriter, screenwriter and artist Donna Williams. It is the 1994 sequel to the bestseller Nobody Nowhere which spent 15 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List....
(1994) 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
Like Colour To The Blind
Like Colour To The Blind is the third in a series of four autobiographical works by internationally bestselling autistic author Donna Williams. Once published in the US using the American spelling 'color', it is now published worldwide by Jessica Kingsley Publishers using the UK spelling 'colour'...
(1998), and Everyday Heaven (2004).
In 2010, Orlai Produkciós Iroda made a monodrama
Monodrama
A monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character.- Monodrama in opera :...
, Nemsenkilény, monológ nemmindegyembereknek ("Notanobodycreature"), from book of Henriett Seth F.. The text book contains details of Donna Williams' s Nobody Nowhere: The extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic Girl few lines, Birger Sellin
Birger Sellin
Birger Sellin was the first functionally non-verbal person with autism to become a published author in Germany....
' s Don't want to Be Inside Me Anymore: Messages from Autistic Mind few lines and a few lines by Mark Haddon
Mark Haddon
Mark Haddon is an English novelist and poet, best known for his 2003 novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.- Life and work :...
' s: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.
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 PublishersJessica Kingsley PublishersJessica Kingsley Publishers is an independent, multinational publishing house headquartered in London, and founded in 1987 by Jessica Kingsley. JKP publishes books pertaining to the social sciences and behavioural sciences, with special attention to art therapy and autism spectrum disorders,...
.
Diagnosis controversy
In a 1996 report, Kathy Gollan (a producer for Australian Broadcasting CorporationAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
) raised questions about whether Williams is autistic or characteristic of persons with autism. In phone interviews, Kathleen Dillon (a Professor of Psychology at Western New England College
Western New England College
Western New England University is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts. Academic programs are provided through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, College of Engineering, School of Law, and College of Pharmacy....
in Massachusetts) said she thought "Donna's symptoms owe more to the abuse she suffered as a child than to autism", and Fred Volkmar, an autism expert and director of the Yale Child Study Center
Yale Child Study Center
The Yale Child Study Center is a department at the Yale University School of Medicine. The center conducts research and provides clinical services and medical training related to children and families...
commented " ... 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". Gollan herself stated that there was "serious doubt about whether Donna Williams is autistic, and her books should be read with that in mind".
Television documentaries
Williams was in several television documentaries:- My Experience With Autism, Emotion and Behavior , 1993, Eye to Eye with Connie ChungEye to Eye with Connie ChungEye to Eye With Connie Chung was a news show that aired on CBS from 1993 to 1995. The show, hosted by Connie Chung as a second project from her time as co-anchoring the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, she hosted and would often report, either on individual stories or doing interviews...
, USA (in English). - Jam Jar , 1995, by Fresh Film in association with BBC FourBBC FourBBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
, aired in the UK and was nominated for the Mental Health Media Award (in English). - Krankheit als Schicksal (also titled Dann Verstehe Ich Auch Nur Bla, Bla, Bla ), 1995, by Spiegel TV, aired 1 January 1997 in Germany (in German).
- Yokosho Watashi No Sekai E "Jiheisho" Donna Williams , 1995, by NHKNHKNHK is Japan's national public broadcasting organization. NHK, which has always identified itself to its audiences by the English pronunciation of its initials, is a publicly owned corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee....
TV, Japan (in Japanese).
Music
Williams' first album, Nobody Nowhere was published in 2000 with Paul FarrerPaul Farrer
Paul Farrer is a British film and television music composer. He is best known for composing the music for the programmes The Weakest Link, Dancing on Ice, Gladiators, The Krypton Factor and the United Kingdom general election debates in 2010.-Early life:Farrer was born in Worcester, England in 1973...
, two tracks from which (Sometimes and Beyond The When) feature in the TBS international TV series Things You Taught Me.
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.
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, DuelDuel (artist)
Duel is a Melbourne-born, Australian graffiti artist and break dancer.Starting out painting trains and walls in the 1980s, Duel was one of Australia's earliest accomplished graffiti artists....
.
Consulting and public speaking
Donna became a qualified teacher, international public speaker, and autism consultant. 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.Marriage
On 9 December 2000, she married Chris Samuel while living in England. In 2002 they moved back to her native Australia.He helped Donna create the auties.org website, for people on the autistic spectrum seeking to work towards self employment. Donna writes about him in her book Everyday Heaven.