Autism Light #344 is Naoki Higashida.
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Naoki Higashida is a 21 year old from Japan who has autism. Naoki was born in 1992. When he was just 13 years old he wrote the book The Reason I Jump. Although nonverbal, Naoki was able to author the book by spelling out words on a Japanese alphabet letter board. Naoki Higashida is an Autism Light for the way in which his writing has had a positive impact on the autism community.
Autism Light first learned about Naoki Higashida two years ago when researching Larry Bissonette and Tracy Thresher, who are Autism Lights #217. Larry and Tracy refer to Naoki as a fellow traveler and his bio appears on their Wretches and Jabberers blog. Naoki was also shown in the Wretches and Jabberers movie, when Larry and Tracy visited Japan.
The Reason I Jump: Naoki Higashida wrote The Reason I Jump as a memoir that answers questions about why he does certain things as an individual with autism. It was published in Japan in 2007. David Mitchell and his Japanese wife KA Yoshida translated the work into English in 2013.
Naoki Higashida gives this as the reason he wrote his book. "We are misunderstood, and we'd give anything if only we could be understood properly... I hope that, by reading this book, you might become a better friend of someone with autism (Naoki Higashida as Quoted by William Mandy in SFARI, 11/15/2013)."
You can purchase The Reason I Jump from Amazon.com.
