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Show B The Daily Herald Wednesday, November 4, 1992 Autistic woman writes autobiography ground-breakin- g Editor's note: Autism is a rare and troubling neurologi-ca- l disorder. Only four chil-- ; dren out of every 10,000 born develop autism. Up un-- ; til recently many were misdi-- ; agnosed, thought to be re- - ; had been a tumultuous and bewildering odyssey. Her childhood in Australia was a nightmare. She was diagnosed as autistic at 2 but her family refused to accept it. Her mother was prone to violent rages and was physically abusive to Williams until she left home in desperation at 15. But after she showed the psychiatrist her manuscript, written in four weeks on a used typewriter, she was put in touch with autism specialists who helped her learn ways of processing information. The skills she's learned over years of living by her wits have brought her out of what she always terms "my world" and into what she calls "the world." "What I've been through is a little like going to another planet," ' 1 tarded, deaf or simply troublemakers. Experts now believe the circuits of the brain malfunction in many autistics, making it difficult for them to process outside stimuli and forcing them inward. Most autistics are unable to describe how they feel. But Donna Williams rose above her autism to write her autobiography. '. '. ; ; wO I. V By DANA KENNEDY Associated Press Writer NEW YORK - Donna Wil- ' shame." Williams attended regular public schools. She learned to read easily but when she was 10 it was discovered that she read entirely without comprehension. Like the autistic title character in the movie "Rain Man," Williams says she preferred to "copy, create and order things" in a systematic fashion. Memorizing the phone book often made more sense to her than reading a storybook. She created two separate personalities, a rebellious little boy she named Willie and the other a good little girl named Carol, to deal with the outside world. Her unhappiness at home led her to seek out friends and spend as much time as she could at their homes. At 15 she dropped out of high school and left home, moving in with a series of men and holding down menial jobs. Because of her naivete about the world, she gave men her wages and says she felt like a "domestic prostitute." she says. liams could be any other writer visiting Manhattan to promote her new book. But the rules that the . As an infant and toddler, she could happily get lost in the colors and shapes she saw for hours. But the outside world always intruded. Williams writes she would cry for hours "wanting to know the way out of my mental prison. I began to hit myself in frustration slapping my own face, biting myself and pulling out my hair. If my mother had not been so good at it, the abuse that I poured out on myself would have put her efforts to Australian woman outlines before she will give an interview make her very different. First rule: no eye contact. Second: no touching. Third: a list of questions written out in advance. Williams might sound like a prima donna. But those rules are the first time in her life she's been able to establish the kind of control that the world usually exerts over her. .The rules protect her from the kind of everyday intimacy most people take for granted. For Williams, simple eye contact or a hand brushing her shoulder is literally painful, an overwhelming and unwanted addition to the sensory overload with which she daily copes. "Imagine if just acknowledging being close to someone is the same as coming home and finding your entire family massacred," Williams says. "You'd decide not to even try." Williams is autistic. It was something she didn't discover until she was 26 and gave the manuscript she had written on a lark to a chiH psychiatrist at the London .ZjL. 'k .'.- I ' - !, ' v ('.' .: rV vUi.; f 'SJfti AP Photo Donna Williams, 28, is an autistic woman whose book "Nobody Nowhere," was published this month. Although most autistics are unable to describe how they feel, Williams rose above her autism to Australian write her autobiography. ers to look at her story. Her book, "Nobody Nowhere," was published this month. Autism is a variety of conditions with multiple causes, including brain injury before, during or immediately after birth, according to Dr. Darold Treffert, a psychiatrist in Fond du Lac, Wis., who has studied the disorder. Autistic children may avoid communicating with others or speak abnormally, ignore other people or avoid playing with them or making friends, They also may show stereotyped body movements, unreasonable insistence on following detailed routines and hospital where she had a temporary clerical job. The doctor both gave her a name for her condition and got publish- - preoccupation with one narrow interest. The disorder is thought to result from physical malfunction in the central nervous system, rather than any psychological cause. Before her book, Williams' life Williams devotes much of her book to her childhood. She finds it harder to talk about in person because those years were so painful. "The anxiety of my inner battle was becoming unbearable," she writes of herself as a "I could say words but I wanted to COMMUNICATE. I wanted to express something. I wanted to let something out." Williams' mother wanted to put her in an institution but was overruled by her father. But her mother took out her frustrations on Williams, frequently hitting her. To Williams, her family was "bodies doing things for no reason at CINEMAS fk w f) Fri. l ( op- hand-spu- n, rugs. The events will begin at noon and continue through 9 p.m. at the Park City Kimball Art Center. Art from Salt Lake City and Park City artists will be included in this event. multi-cultur- al The rugs and art will be sold by The supord port group, a Park Nato created support ganization vajo elders resisting governmental enforced relocation. Adopt-A-Native-Eld- er City-base- The program is an extended circle involving people from 27 states who support the elders through the coordination, collection, and delivery of food, clothing, medical supplies and fuel funds. The funds raised from the sale of rugs and art go directly to the elders to provide them with much needed food and sustenance through the winter. Villa Theatre 2S4 Se. Main, Springvill I MISinY DUCKS Fog 0 7D0 r & 9fl0 fvm. Nightly m 8i?a i : a a s i ctiTf 73 ?m Nightly 9:15 Sat. Mat. 1:00 (PG) Sat. nights after 6PM, seats $1.50 489-308- S HONEY I BLEW UP THE KID po, SUNDAY CLOSED LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN LI A the portunity the witness and culture Navajo craft of weaving is coming to Park City on Saturday, Nov. 7. The fundraiser, weaving demonstration and rug and art show will feature a special collection of naturally dyed wool Ave. Parent! W. UUti Nightly 7:00 Sat. Mat. 3:45 PG) HONEY I BLEW ALL SEATS UP THE KID (poi Nightly 7:00 9:15, Sat Mat. 3, 5 A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN m 86 ALHAMBRA THEATER HONEY I BLEW UP THE KID "6.3181 demonstration scheduled in Park City PARK CITY unique to learn more about all." In her descriptions of what she calls her lifelong battle to reconcile her comforting inner world with the demands of the outside world, Williams sheds light on the odd behavior of many autistics. tcwne Navajo arts Nightly 7:00 DEATH BECOMES HER 9:00 .ro-u-, 1 (RRiiSllrillril OAA6AlMPR.ee '$3.00 IM 1 7:00 p.m. Nightly & 3 mt www omnt V 56 NO Nightly 7:00 9:15, Sat Mat. 3, 5 UNIVERSITY-PHOV- O NIGHT AND THE CITY n 5:30 7:30 9:3U mm mwm U.. 1.11.1..! wpa iiM : u RUNS THROUGH IT , S! KtaiuJ. hiik H W Plumtree Center BECOMES 2 15 4 25 (nMriji presents A Sal. JcwM'Sl zr Bcoiw (Hays 0 Lawrence aAngelo. a beldam evololionai Virtual Reality obsessed nh oetlecl.ng mi compuler soltware Wrien hn eyjeriments on animals (art.- he 1TB linds the ideal substitute: Jobe amiin (Jen raneyi. m siur.- rstPJ fl S & 9:15 mm 1 ODEOH P.M. 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