The book proved to be so popular in Japan that it has now been translated into English. The text is in question and answer format, tackling many of the main questions surrounding autism: Why do you talk so loudly? Why can’t you have a proper conversation? Why do you make a huge fuss over tiny mistakes? Naoki answers each of these questions in his own special way, by means of an alphabet grid, his preferred method of non-vocal communication. When he was just 13, he wrote The Reason I Jump, a unique book that offers a rare glimpse into the mind of an autistic child. Naoki Higishada was born in 1992 and was diagnosed with autism when he was six years old. People talk down to you as if you were a child. You open your mouth and the wrong words come out. Sensory input floods your system, overwhelming you with bright colours, patterns and odours that attack you from every side, without warning. Sounds seem either deafeningly loud or hopelessly muffled. You swirl around almost weightlessly, with no control over your limbs. Imagine if you will, a world where the normal laws of physics have been slightly changed. Summary: A very special book about autism, written by a teenager who suffers from the condition.
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