Autism: An Inside-Out Approach

Donna Williams was born in Australia in 1963. She was assessed at age two as psychotic, labelled disturbed and tested for deafness throughout childhood before being diagnosed as autistic in 1990. She was an international best-selling author with nine published books, an artist, singer-songwriter and screenwriter. One of the most well known people with autism in the world, Donna was a renowned international public speaker, a qualified teacher and worked as an autism consultant.

A book written by someone who has experienced the difficulties from the inside must give rare insight into the living with autism. For Occupational Therapists one of the greatest values of Donna Williams' book is that she looks at many different aspects, particularly the sensory problems, and relates theory to everyday living. She describes most of the treatment approaches available and judges their value from her own experience and from a sound theoretical basis. Donna Williams' book gives insight into autism and brings hope. She makes us look again and see that more can be achieves if the difficulties are understood better and more appropriate help given. It is a book that empowers the reader and rekindles enthusiasm. Well worth buying. It is well worth reading the whole book but it is also a volume that you can dip into. If you can't buy this book then borrow it. Anyone working with autism needs to know what this remarkable woman is telling us.

• Acknowledgements. Foreword. Introduction. 1. A Bucket Full of Jigsaws. 2. What is This Thing Called `Autism'? 3. Tackling the Bogie-Man of `Autism'. 4. The Mixed Bag Found in One Classroom. 5. Approaches to `Autism'. 6. The Straws on the Camel's Back. 7. Problems of Connection. 8. Revisiting Adaptations and Compensations. 9. Artificial Limbs. 10. `Hyper-Connection'. 11. Problems of Tolerance. 12. Problems of Control. 13. Communication. 14. Sleepwalker-Sleeptalkers. 15. `Savant Skills'. 16. Personality. 17. Asperger Syndrome? 18. Seeing `Systems'. 19. Education. Appendix: Hints. Contacts Pages.