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The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism

By: Higashida, NaokiISBN: 9780812994865
List(s) this item appears in: Children's Books on Autism (Grade 6-12) - Family Focus | Children's Books on Autism (Grade 6-12) - Inclusion/Diversity | Children's Books on Autism (Grade 6-12) - Individuals with Autism
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Holdings
Item type Current library Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode
Books - General Books - General Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence
Books General Available 2022-6921
Books - General Books - General Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence
Books General Available 2018-3551
Books - General Books - General Ohio Center for Autism and Low Incidence
Books General Available 2018-3594

You’ve never read a book like The Reason I Jump. Written by Naoki Higashida, a very smart, very self-aware, and very charming thirteen-year-old boy with autism, it is a one-of-a-kind memoir that demonstrates how an autistic mind thinks, feels, perceives, and responds in ways few of us can imagine. Parents and family members who never thought they could get inside the head of their autistic loved one at last have a way to break through to the curious, subtle, and complex life within. Using an alphabet grid to painstakingly construct words, sentences, and thoughts that he is unable to speak out loud, Naoki answers even the most delicate questions that people want to know. Questions such as: “Why do people with autism talk so loudly and weirdly?” “Why do you line up your toy cars and blocks?” “Why don’t you make eye contact when you’re talking?” and “What’s the reason you jump?” (Naoki’s answer: “When I’m jumping, it’s as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.”) With disarming honesty and a generous heart, Naoki shares his unique point of view on not only autism but life itself. His insights into the mystery of words, the wonders of laughter, and the elusiveness of memory are so startling, so strange, and so powerful that you will never look at the world the same way again. In his introduction, best-selling novelist David Mitchell writes that Naoki’s words allowed him to feel, for the first time, as if his own autistic child was explaining what was happening in his mind. “It is no exaggeration to say that The Reason I Jump allowed me to round a corner in our relationship.” This translation was a labor of love by David and his wife, KA Yoshida, so they’d be able to share that feeling with friends, the wider autism community, and beyond. Naoki’s book, in its beauty, truthfulness, and simplicity, is a gift to be shared.

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