Like Colour To The Blind

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Title Like Colour to the Blind
Author Donna Willams
Genre(s) Autobiography
Publisher Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Released 1998
Pages 340
ISBN ISBN 978-1-85302-720-8
Preceded by Somebody Somewhere
Followed by Everyday Heaven

Like Colour To The Blind (1998) is the third in a series of four autobiographical works by author, artist, songwriter and screenwriter, Donna Williams. It has been published in several languages worldwide.

Like Colour To The Blind covers Donna Williams' relationship and 'accidental marriage' to 'Ian', a man on the autistic spectrum as she exorcises the vast array of stored behaviours, responses, actions and phrases from her repertoire to discover what is left that is 'self'. The pair also develop a system called 'checking' which they use to tap into true wants and likes, as the only means of differentiating these from stored or learned responses.

The book also covers Donna Williams' discovery of tinted lenses for the visual perceptual disorder of Scotopic Sensitivity in people on the autistic spectrum resulting in visual fragmentation, context blindness, face blindness, loss of depth perception and lead to a wide social awakening to visual perceptual disorders in people on the autistic spectrum.

She also writes about Facilitated Communication, covering the story of 'Alex' as he develops communication for the first time through assisted typing, enabling his movement from special education towards a future as a college graduate.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Donna Williams surprises her readers at the end of this book in disclosing her separation and divorce from 'Ian'.

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