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The Reason I Jump cover art

The Reason I Jump

By: Naoki Higashida, David Mitchell - translator, Keiko Yoshida - translator
Narrated by: David Mitchell, Thomas Judd
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Summary

Written by Naoki Higishida when he was only 13, this remarkable book explains the often baffling behaviour of autistic children and shows the way they think and feel - about the people around them, time and beauty, noise, and themselves.

Naoki abundantly proves that autistic people do possess imagination, humour and empathy, but also makes clear, with great poignancy, how badly they need our compassion, patience and understanding.

David Mitchell and his wife have translated Naoki's book so that it might help others dealing with autism, and generally illuminate a little-understood condition. Like The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, it gives us an exceptional chance to enter the mind of another and see the world from a strange and fascinating perspective.

©2007 Naoki Higashida; translation © 2013 KA Yoshida and David Mitchell (P)2013 Hodder & Stoughton

What listeners say about The Reason I Jump

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Fascinating

Hearing from an autistic young person's perspective is fascinating, there's no other way to describe it. It sort of explains a lot, although as Naoki says not all people with autism are the same, but there are elements there that match with traits I have observed in others with autism that he explains from his perspective why he acts the way he does.

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attempting to understand

Enjoyable overall but feel it tries to generalise. Was interesting to hear perspective on so many questions.

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A powerful insight

This is a powerful, valuable insight into the reality of living with autism. It's a remarkable achievement, given that Naoki Higashida used an alphabet grid to respond to the questions, and some of the phrasing is strikingly beautiful - "When I’m jumping, it’s as if my feelings are going upward to the sky.”

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A personal but relevant insight

As a parent of an autistic child I found this an interesting insight in to the thoughts and struggles of this young boy. I know how no two autistic people are the same but nonetheless I found a lot of parallels to draw with my own son.

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Fun and informative

Evocative use of sound accompanied this reading. Insights so interesting and helpful to anyone interacting with ASD.

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fantastic

was extremely informative, enjoyed it thoroughly an insight into my son. would recommend to anyone living with someone on the autism spectrum or who would like to understand it more

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  • 16-08-13

A brilliant insight

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes and to anyone working with autistic children, because it helps us to understand a bit more and to be more compassionate in daily living with people who are autistic.

What other book might you compare The Reason I Jump to, and why?

I have nothing to compare it with

Which character – as performed by David Mitchell and Thomas Judd – was your favourite?

They were all one.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. The questions put forward are often different ways of asking the same thing so I prefered to listen in sections. I understand that this was probably for the boys comfort and to get a more extensive answer on the subject matter in question.

Any additional comments?

A very interesting listen, worth spreading the word about.

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Amazing Read

It was such an interesting book and extremely helpful, particularly as I know someone with Autism and it helps me understand them better.

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Thank you for the insight.

I have had a view into the inner realm of an extraordinary and intense world.

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A great insight into the autistic mind

Brim full of knowledge from a brilliant autistic 13 year old mind. A must listen.

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