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Created 5/17/2011
Last Visit 5/30/2011

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Donna Williams

Tuesday, May 17, 2011 @7:36:52 PM

 I recently saw Donna Williams in action.  I read her first two autobiographical books when my son was first diagnosed.  I found them fascinating in themselves and helpful in understanding autism.  I find reading books and information by autistic people more helpful than reading books by doctors.  That is not to belittle doctors, but I prefer to read about autism from the inside.  Looking at autism from outside in our neuro-typical world is difficult, as difficult as it seems to be for autistics to look at the NT world and understand it.

 

I found Donna fantastic for explaining what really should be obvious, but to us NTs isn't; that is, that autism is not 'one size fits all' but is a cluster of different characteristics which come together in different ways for each individual autie.  

 

It has helped me to find a way to try and help my son.  Before this I have been trying to fit therapy techniques designed for a generic form of autism, which included things that simply don't suit him (like routines for instance.  How I hate routines!  And my NT daughter hates them too.  And my autie son especially hates them!!).

And it seems so many of these one-size-fits-all characteristics of autism that modern doctors and therapists and teachers talk about seem to be based more on aspergers characteristics rather than classic autism.

Donna addresses this theme in her book on this topic (The Jigsaw Puzzel one).

 

Now I am going to study my son, instead of the books, to try and get to understand him and what it is that makes HIM who he is.

 

And the fascinating thing is, or course, that some of his characteristics that are part of his autism, are inherited traits from his parents.  Because he has them so strongly they become part of his autism.  But if I recognise them in me or my husband or my daughter, or my siblings or my parents ... etc ... then I can come to understand them in my son more fully.

 

Thanks Donna!