In The Reason I Jump, Higashida wants us to understand the way an Autistic person think and why they act the way they do, for example crying all of a sudden or having a tantrum for no reason. He doesn’t wants us to judge because the tears could mean happy tears not sad tears. He states “The other day I was visiting a town called Kamakura, where there’s this huge statue of Buddha. And when I saw it, I was so deeply moved that I started welling up.” He was very happy to see the statue of Buddha because it amaze him of how huge the statue was and he was over joy and he started crying. On page 90 he states that “You might think that it’s not possible that nature could be a friend, not really.” I do think that nature is a friend and I honestly love nature, I enjoy taking walks in the park, listening to birds chirping and smelling the roses. We are after all part of nature.
Last year on the news, I saw on TV that a 14 year old Autistic boy name Avonte who wander off from school and who sadly was found dead. This story was very sad because he was disable and couldn’t help himself, he couldn’t speak to ask for help. In the Reason I Jump, on page 95, question 50, Why do you wander off from home? Higashida states that “It was because – this is hard to put into words – my body moved because it was lured outside by something there” (95). While reading this, I automatically think of Avonte. There must be something that lured Avonte out from school. “I stopped wandering off from home on the day I very nearly got mown down by a car, because the fear of it made a deep impact on my memory” (90). After this incident, he came to realize that its dangerous and I shouldn’t go wandering off. Throughout this entire book, I felt as if Higashida wants us to feel sorry and understand his pain. In the end, he states that Autistic people are different from everyone else.
While reading this book I didn’t think of Avonte at all but I’m glad you mentioned him. reading this book gives insight to what it is like to be autistic. At least one perspective of what it’s like to be autistic. Higashida mentions that it took a near death experience to make him realize that he shouldn’t wonder off. It makes me wish that Avonte was as lucky as Hugashida and receive a second chance.
Actually i think Avonte had an impact on a lot of people, that was a great reference because he was alone when he probably should not have been and if more people were aware of how autism works and how easily someone can be distracted and lurrerd outside who is autistic. And Higashida has done just that, it informs what can be going through your autistics mind and helps you understand how they see the world and how difficult everyday is for them. The book is so helpful and just a good book for everyone to read.
While reading that page, I also thought of another incident where an autistic child was killed after wandering off. It was hard to read from him and see the inner struggle of having his body move towards something. I think Higashida does want the readers to feel sympathy and try and understand how they are very different from us and their bodies and brains function differently. It is really sad about Avonte. At the same time it makes me wonder, where were his caretakers? Autistic children, like like “normal” children, should be watched carefully. In these tragic cases which lead to a childs’ death, one can’t help but to feel sad. I wonder if perhaps the frustration of a caretaker persuades them to letting the children go off on their own. A child with autism cannot call for help the same way other people can. An innocent child dies simply because he saw something that caught his eye and no one was watching him, very tragic. Higashida himself says that autistic children are different. This is why I believe they should be giving much more care than a normal child, to prevent deaths like Avonte.