The Reason I Jump

"Yes, Naoki Higashida is an autistic teenage boy. The title alludes to stimming, which can be a feature of autism—you might see rocking, noises, flapping of hands. From the outside, to someone who doesn’t understand, it could look pretty atypical and even quite disconcerting. I think stimming was one of the very earliest indicators I noticed in Chloe, my daughter, who was a baby when I strated thinking about her developmental delay. As I became more enmeshed in the world of autism, I did more research about stimming and understood that it was a sensory need to feel centred, and it was a good thing—right for the individual. Naoki talks about it from the perspective of a person who is autistic. It’s a beautiful book, and even more powerful that it is done through words that aren’t necessary expressed. It was my first experience of challenging my own stereotypes, something I’ve had to do a lot. I think parents have to go through that process to be able to help their child. Reading this book was a pivotal moment for me."