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

While The Reason I Jump is attributed to Naoki Higashida, there has been dispute and controversy over whether, and to what extent, he really wrote the book. This is because Higashida did not type or dictate the text directly himself. Instead, he relied on pointing at an alphabet grid with the help of his mother, leading sceptics to claim that she wrote or at least heavily influenced much of the book. Similarly, it is claimed that the English translators of the work, David Mitchell and KA Yoshida, imposed their own interpretations on the text. Parents of a child with autism themselves, it is alleged that Mitchell and Yoshida used excessive poetic license in their translation to forward their own ideas. Further, it is suggested that both claims are evidenced by the content of the text. According to some critics, The Reason I Jump is too cerebral and accomplished to be the work of a 13-year-old. Critics argue that the philosophical speculations and poetic turns suggest not the thoughts of a child with autism but a romanticized, aestheticized parent’s view of what such thoughts would look like.

Yet, even leaving aside this controversy, other questions and problems present themselves regarding the text’s form. Mitchell, in his introduction to the 2013 edition of the text, highlights many of the limitations of other books on the topic of autism. Mitchell points out that academic texts in the field can be alienating for the non-specialist due to their use of specific jargon and terminology. They also necessarily approach the topic from a more scientific and objective perspective. This may be illuminating in many ways but can also leave the subjective experience of autism relatively opaque. At the same time, memoirs by parents, caregivers, or adults with autism have their own critical receptions. While presenting more of a “personal” perspective and offering insights into the concrete challenges faced for the individuals involved, they are still written by those “outside” the immediate autistic experience. Obviously, in the case of parents or caregivers, they are only directly aware of the external manifestations of autism and not the inner feelings of the person with autism. Works by adults with autism are, as Mitchell argues, “written by adults who are already sorted” (7). The very ability of the authors to write as adults suggests they are removed from the immediate world, and struggles, of the child with autism. This view is also reductive of the adult with autism’s experience, contributing to further stigmatization of the diagnosis into adulthood.

As such, The Reason I Jump is written by someone with direct personal experience of autism, writing from within, and not after or outside, that experience. At the time of its publication, viewpoints from children with autism were not common in literature about autism. It can thus provide a perspective both for people with autism and for those interested in learning more about Higashida’s experience. Learning about Higashida’s lived experience can expand empathy for readers without autism and provide insight into his thoughts. However, as alluded to, this form also has its own limitations. What is true for Higashida’s experience is not true for all people with autism. This is especially significant given that autism constitutes a spectrum with symptoms, differing greatly between individuals. Therefore, readers should note that Higashida, and the autobiographical form, may generalize and apply his experience to all people with autism.