Nobody Nowhere

I am the grandparent of an autistic child and found this book so helpful I would recommend that it be made mandatory reading for all professionals who work with autistic persons. I would also strongly urge all others who have autistic persons in their lives to read it. The book has given me insight regarding my grandson's behavior and suggestions of ways to help him. Until experts and their research can provide explanations and perhaps cures for autism, the lived experience of an autistic person, such as Donna Williams provides in her books, is the best help available for those of us who care about and relate to an autistic person.

Donna Williams' Nobody Nowhere is the Rosetta stone of autism. The author is an autistic herself, and her autobiography gives you a very good idea of what it would be like to be in her skin. She gives plausible explanations for common autistic behaviors, and offers some fasincating hypotheses for causes and contributing factors for this syndrome. And she offers advice on how to communicate with an autistic person with respect and without overwhelming them. This book is an invaluable resource for parents, siblings, and doctors of autistic people. But it has found a much wider audience, with good reason. Nobody Nowhere is a gripping tale, related in an honest and straightforward manner. It is the story of one woman's triumph over what fate has handed her, and her determination to move beyond her handicaps. You cannot help but be moved by her story, and inspired by her courage and determination.

I found this book to be a step-by-step walk through interactions that I took comfortably for granted that I now realize can be hurtful and agonizing for someone with autism. The simple gester of a reasuring touch can take on a different meaning for an autistic. Yet William's ability to place "touch" under a microscope and explain it from her own perpective is in a word: brilliance. Williams took great pains to relate this book. I consider it to be groundbreaking.

In "Nobody Nowhere", Donna Williams details what it is like to grow up autistic and the price one pays for being "high-functioning." She describes sensory experiences like overload and seeing floating spots and wisps in the air. She also describes the "faces" she had to put on in order to relate to the world. This book made my whole life up to this point make sense for the first time. I had not known that many of these sensory experiences were different from those of other people. This is a very important book, both for people who have autism and related problems and for those who know them or might meet them.

First of all, I'd like to tell you that I have not read a book cover to cover in over 7 years before now. I am graduate student studying Elementary Education and taking a special education course. We had to choose a book, read it, and review it. I have got to say that this book caught my attention from the very beginning and held it until the very end. Donna Williams' life reads like a fictional story. It's hard to believe that Ms. Williams endured an abusive family life, graduated from college, and traveled the world while searching for the reasons why she was different. I truly enjoyed this book and have already purchased her second book, Somebody Somewhere. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in autism, autobiographies, or just enjoys reading a wonderfully written book.