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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,[1] tested multiple times for deafness and labeled disturbed throughout childhood, before treatment for gut, immune and sensory perceptual disorders in adulthood.
[edit] BooksWilliams' first book was the autobiographical Nobody Nowhere: The Extraordinary Autobiography of an Autistic Girl.[2] It was an international bestseller with fifteen weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List.[3] It was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Prize for Literacy in 1992.[4] Somebody Somewhere (1994)[5] 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:
and a collection of her poetry and prose:
[edit] Diagnosis controversyIn a 1996 radio story, Kathy Gollan (a producer for Australian Broadcasting Corporation) raised questions about whether Williams is autistic or characteristic of persons with autism.[6] 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",[6] 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".[6] Gollan herself stated that there was "serious doubt about whether Donna Williams is autistic, and her books should be read with that in mind".[6] Williams, who was diagnosed in person by leading Australian autism expert Lawrence Bartak, has responded that Gollan's claims were part of a persistent, painful attempt to discredit her. She sought and received clarification from Professor Volkmar on his comments.[1] [edit] Television documentariesWilliams was in several television documentaries:[7]
[edit] MusicWilliams' first album, Nobody Nowhere was published in 2000 with Paul Farrer,[8] two tracks from which (Sometimes and Beyond The When) feature in the TBS international TV series Things You Taught Me.[9] 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.[10] [edit] ArtWilliams 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.[11] [edit] Consulting and public speakingDonna became a qualified teacher[12] international public speaker[13] and autism consultant[14] 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.[15] [edit] MarriageOn 9 December 2000, she married Chris Samuel while living in England. In 2002 they moved back to her native Australia.[16] He helped Donna create the auties.org website, for people on the autistic spectrum seeking to work towards self employment.[17] Donna writes about him in her book Everyday Heaven.[18] [edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: 1963 births | Living people | Australian non-fiction writers | Australian memoirists | Outsider artists | Australian singer-songwriters | People on the autistic spectrum | Australian bloggers | Artists from Melbourne | Australian women writers | People from Victoria (Australia) | Australian female singers |
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