Naoki’s books are mind-boggling. David Mitchell refers to the books by people with autism as ‘autism-witness texts’, and all of Naoki’s books come into that category. However, Naoki’s first book, The Reason I Jump, is exceptional in that it was written when he was 13, even as he was working on his verbal skills and trying to develop communication. As he writes to the ‘neurotypical’ reader, “have a nice trip through our world”. Each sentence was transmitted via his alphabet board, on which Naoki points to the letters that spell out Japanese hiragana characters. This is a laborious process, but an option that worked for someone who was unable to speak, and for whom words “would … flutter off as soon as I tried to speak them”.
The book is written as a series of questions and answers. Naoki analyses very carefully the reasons why his behaviour includes many of the characteristics associated with Autism – limited speech, repetitive questions and actions, apparently disordered memory, limited eye contact, easily distracted attention, poor coordination and awkward movement, apparently inappropriate laughter, ‘tantrums’, jumping and clapping his hands, flapping his hands in front of his face, cupping his ears, fascination with timetables and numbers. And the answers are not what I expected.
The confusing nature of time’s passing, the worry about causing other people distress, and the difficulty in communicating verbally combine to cause great anxiety, and a predisposition to panic attacks. This appears to be connected in Naoki with the difficulties in accessing memories at will – to find the right word, to find the stated reason for an alteration in the original plan, and the difficulty in filtering sensory inputs. Naoki makes acute but common-sense connections to explain the autistic world he describes, with many signposts for the reader who wants to imagine what it must be like.
Naoki is clearly intelligent, however much he finds conversation and verbal vocalisation difficult. He is also able to empathise with his parents and carers, describing in detail how upset he gets when he makes their lives difficult. The Reason I Jump even includes a short story which shows an ability to imagine himself in other people’s shoes, and also an ability to use animal stories as metaphors for human struggles. In other words, this book forces us to reassess a picture of autism as characterised by lack of empathy, an inability to use metaphor, and poor intelligence. Even common behavioural traits such as sitting in a corner alone or making poor eye contact seem to be the consequences of Naoki’s verbal and sensory confusion, rather than primary symptoms.
“Memories are not stored in a clear order”. Naoki tries to explain what it is like to have a confused grasp of time, in which pictures stored in memory seem to have little relation to each other, at least in a temporal sense, and which are hard to access at will. This is an insight into autism that rings true, even if it may not be shared by others with autism. Naoki has the imagination to see that his form of autism is not necessarily the same as that experienced by other autistic children, which again gives the lie to some versions of autism that seem to preclude the possibility of an autistic creativity in considering the human personalities around children. Most of all, Naoki appreciates the possibility of change over time, that autistic children might change habits, experiment with choices of food for example, and that they might improve in their skills with effort and encouragement. It is a message of hope for many parents, but also a message that must be read by anyone working with people with autism. Essential reading.
Naoki Higashida (2013) The Reason I Jump (originally published in Japan 2007) Translated KA Yoshida & David Mitchell, published in UK by Sceptre 2013
Audiobook (narrated by David Mitchell) is available: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Reason-I-Jump-Audiobook/B00DQ9Z2H8?source_code=M2M30DFT1BkSH121515013C&source_code=M2M14DFT1BkSH082015011R&ds_rl=1235779
Audiobook is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE9PAT2dG8c
David Mitchell presents an introduction to The Reason I Jump here on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhPKpte3E78
Autism is a disorder which is described through a range of challenges in social skills, speech as well as in repetitive behaviors. The Reason I Jump describes the life of Naoki Hagishida, a child diagnosed with autism. Naoki learned how to write with the aid of his teacher and his mother and through a Japanese counterpart of the QWERTY keyboard. The 59 questions which are included in this book, reflect the everyday questions an individual has when he hears that someone has autism. Through these questions, Naoki helps us to understand how he feels and views the word around him with extreme detail. Additionally, this book aids the reader to grasp the idea of autism and prepares him on how to behave when an person with this condition is around. This book presents the idea that autism is a disorder with a lot of challenges, however those challenges are easily explained and understood in the end. Through this book, Naoki tries to give the reader the opportunity to understand that every human being must be dealt individually and with warmth and love regardless of the condition.