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The Reason I Jump is a novel written by Naoki Higashida, a Japanese boy with autism. With the use of a special computer that allowed him to communicate some of his views about being a child with autism.
The Reason I Jump was a quick read that I breezed through the week after I finished all my official school work for my BEd program. I had actually previously heard about the book at the very beginning of the program in September, but did not have the time to get a copy until the end.
As I have worked with children who have an ASD, I found many sections of this book to be insightful and relevant to many of these children. I saw many features and characteristics of children I work with throughout the book.
Other sections I felt generalized autism too much, implying that all children with autism had the same feelings and reasoning behind behaviour. Phrases such as "us children with autism" and "people with autism" are frequent in the book, implying that Higashida is speaking for all children and people with autism, an impossibility when there is such a large variance among people with ASD. That being said, I recognize that the book was written by a thirteen year old child, who having experienced autism himself may feel as through he can speak for others' behaviours. Additionally, because the book has been translated from Japanese to English, there has be some questions raised about the influence that the two translators, both parents of children with autism, and Higashida's mother's influence on the content of the story because of their close connection and personal experience with ASD.
Overall I thought it was a wonderful, insightful read that allowed me to see some different explanations habits and behaviours of children with ASD.
The Reason I Jump was a quick read that I breezed through the week after I finished all my official school work for my BEd program. I had actually previously heard about the book at the very beginning of the program in September, but did not have the time to get a copy until the end.
As I have worked with children who have an ASD, I found many sections of this book to be insightful and relevant to many of these children. I saw many features and characteristics of children I work with throughout the book.
Other sections I felt generalized autism too much, implying that all children with autism had the same feelings and reasoning behind behaviour. Phrases such as "us children with autism" and "people with autism" are frequent in the book, implying that Higashida is speaking for all children and people with autism, an impossibility when there is such a large variance among people with ASD. That being said, I recognize that the book was written by a thirteen year old child, who having experienced autism himself may feel as through he can speak for others' behaviours. Additionally, because the book has been translated from Japanese to English, there has be some questions raised about the influence that the two translators, both parents of children with autism, and Higashida's mother's influence on the content of the story because of their close connection and personal experience with ASD.
Overall I thought it was a wonderful, insightful read that allowed me to see some different explanations habits and behaviours of children with ASD.