Book notes: The Reason I Jump

By Naoki Higashida.

Written by a 13 year old boy with Autism. The book lists out 41 questions that someone might have for an Autistic person, such as “Why can’t you have proper conversations?”, “Do you have a sense of time?”, and “What’s the reason you jump?”. The author spends 1-2 pages answering each question based on his experience. There are some short fictional stories mixed in, and the book ends with a 20 page fictional story.

Folks with Autism have the same emotional and physical needs as those without. The surface behaviors that folks without might think are unusual are coping mechanisms, and just as frustrating for the people with Autism. The author says you can’t really describe how an Autistic person sees the world to a non-Autistic person, but it is much more intense. The 20 page fictional story at the end was compelling.

Powerful stuff. I came away with a higher degree of empathy for people with Autism. The book is a fast read, only 135 pages long with some additional supplemental discussion material. Highly recommended. It’s amazing that it was written by a 13 year old.