Naoki Higashida's 'The Reason I Jump'

I've just finished this interesting little book by Japanese youngster Higashida Naoki, The Reason I Jump. Naoki is a person who lives with autism and the book tells about some of his experiences. He was very young when the book was born, in his early teens, and he wrote it with the help of his carer, Ms. Suzuki using a special method of pointing out hiragana on a paperboard.

The book has a surprising structure: A question is posed, and then Naoki gives an answer to it. The answer is followed by some reasons and explanation, and usually a closing thought. These question-answer sections are each 1-2 pages long, and they make up the book.

I found two aspects of the book enlightening: one is, that Naoki emphasizes and convincingly argues that many people with autism are aware of how hard it can be for others to live with them and are as 'smart' as others. Don't think Rainman-kind of genius, just think everyday-smart, understanding what others would expect and how they feel when their expectations are repeatedly frustrated. The other is useful aspect of the book was that Naoki provides many reasons why people with autism engage in certain types of behavior that can seem irrational, such as jumping up and down, moving their hands in front of their eyes, etc. The book does a good job in general in shedding light on why some such behavior is pleasant or hard to avoid for many people living with autism.

Obviously, Naoki is very high-functioning, and has sophisticated social skills. He also comes across as a considerate and polite person - this is I imagine partly how he is, and partly the result of growing up in a Japanese household.

The book is certainly worth a reading, whether one is simply interested in autism, one works on autism or with people with autism, or has relatives with autism. It can offer something to everyone. Due to my research interests I found most fascinating the parts where Naoki describes the distress caused to him when he compulsively acts on motivations that he can't identify with, that don't seem to him to belong to him. These are very complex cases of dissociation between the factors moving one to behave in a certain way, and one's evaluations and preferences of options.

The book is available in a good translation, edited further by David Mitchell. It reads easily, and is very personal. I recommend it.