The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism

by Naoki Higashida, David Mitchell (Narrator), Thomas Judd (Narrator)

Written by Naoki Higishida when he was only 13, this remarkable book explains the often baffling behaviour of autistic children and shows the way they think and feel - about the people around them, time and beauty, noise, and themselves.

Naoki abundantly proves that autistic people do possess imagination, humour and empathy, but also makes clear, with great poignancy, how badly they need our compassion, patience and understanding.

David Mitchell and his wife have translated Naoki's book so that it might help others dealing with autism, and generally illuminate a little-understood condition. Like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, it gives us an exceptional chance to enter the mind of another and see the world from a strange and fascinating perspective.

Audible Audio

Published July 8, 2013

About the author

Naoki Higashida (東田 直樹 Higashida Naoki) is the Japanese author of The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism. He was born in 1992 and diagnosed with autism when he was five. He was 13 years old when he wrote the book which was published in English in 2013. Reviews have been mixed, both celebrating the accomplishment of a mentally and emotionally challenged young author and expressing discomfort with the involvement of Higashida's communications facilitator (his mother) and English language translators (Keiko Yoshida and her husband David Mitchell).

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Chlo Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book thinking I’d read a chapter each evening. Two hour plane journey later, I’d finished it because I was hooked.

The Reason I Jump offers a beautiful insight into the mind of a non-speaking autistic person and does more to build understanding in a couple of hundred pages than many people manage in a lifetime. As an autistic reader, it felt both validating and enlightening. It’s not often a book makes you feel understood while also teaching you something new.

If you’ve ever wondered what autism feels like from the inside rather than being explained from the outside, read this book. Then lend it to everyone you know. Then maybe leave it lying around strategically for people to “accidentally” pick up.