Naoki wrote his best known book, The Reason I Jump, when he was just 13.
The memoir, which gives rare insight into what it’s like to be a person with nonverbal autism, has been translated into more than 30 languages and also adapted into an award-winning documentary.
Highlights:
- April is Autism Awareness Month
- Naoki Higashida is a nonverbal autistic author whose work has been translated to more than 30 languages
- He hopes to help people 'understand autism' through his writing
Naoki was diagnosed with non-speaking or nonverbal autism when he was five years old.
However, as Naoki and his mother Miki explain, these terms are not entirely accurate.
Many non-speaking autistic people, like Naoki, are capable of communication, through writing and other means, and are often able to understand the words that they hear.
Naoki when he was 5 years old Source: Miki Higashida
This homemade letter board, which Naoki and Miki devised together, contains all the letters of the alphabet, aligned just like a computer keyboard. It also has numbers, as well as commands for 'yes', 'no', 'finish' and 'delete'.
One by one, Naoki points to each hiragana (Japanese phonetic symbols) character to make up a word and then a sentence.
Through this method, he can share the thoughts that would otherwise "disappear" if he tried to speak.
Naoki communicates by pointing to his cardboard-keyboard Source: SBS
“He would memorise the words he saw on signs and products, and write them on magnetic drawing boards or in the air.”
She says discovering the letter board was one of the biggest turning points in Naoki's life.
Although it took time and patience of Naoki to master the tool, Miki says the impact has been hugely positive.
Knowing Naoki's thoughts made me want to know more about his world and be closer to him.
It also allowed Miki to ask Naoki questions about why he was behaving in a certain way or what made him happy - and receive detailed replies.
This eventually led to Naoki’s first book, The Reason I Jump (originally published in Japanese in 2007), whose simple question and answer format shone a light on what it's like to live with autism.
Naoki was 13 years old when he wrote "The Reason I Jump" Source: Miki Higashida
The book became so successful it was adapted into a documentary film in 2020 by filmmaker Jerry Rothwell, which went on to win the Audience Award for World Cinema Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival 2020.
Pointing to one character at a time on his letter board, Naoki says the book “allows [the reader] to experience what it is like to be autistic”.
I am very surprised that my book has been accepted by people around the world.
Naoki says he will continue to write about autism, with the hopes of increasing people's awareness and understanding about the condition.
"Not everyone with autism is able to communicate, so they are often misunderstood," he says.
Naoki hopes for an understanding society that will not pity you for being autistic Source: Miki Higashida
Looking back at the time of Naoki’s diagnosis, Miki says she was sad and depressed.
“Even today, the causes and treatments [of autism] are not yet understood. Not only was I told that autism was incurable, but I also didn’t know what I could do to help,” says Miki.
But as time passed, Miki became more motivated to do what she could to raise awareness.
Today she shares her experience with Naoki, travelling around Japan, giving talks to families who have been touched by autism.
“Autism is a broad spectrum, so we hope that people will take us as one example,” says Miki.
Naoki and Miki travels around Japan, giving talks to families with autistic children Source: Miki Higashida
”We were all born wanted, to be part of this earth."
Miki says, “When you meet an autistic person, I hope you will treat them with kindness. I believe that the inner life of autistic people is still outside of our understanding.”
"I hope that more people will become aware about autism, and that there will be more people giving a helping hand to autistic people and their families."
Listen below to Naoki and Miki's audio interview in Japanese.
Listen to SBS Japanese Audio on Tue, Thu and Fri from 1pm on SBS 3. Replays from 10pm on Tue, Thu and Sat on SBS1. Listen to past stories from our
