The Reason I Jump#Documentary

{{Infobox book

| name = The Reason I Jump

| image = File:The Reason I Jump book cover.jpg

| image_size =

| alt = File:The Reason I Jump book cover.jpg

| caption = Cover of the book

| author = Naoki Higashida

| translator = Keiko Yoshida, David Mitchell

| illustrator =

| cover_artist =

| country =

| language = Japanese, English

| subject =

| genre =

| set_in =

| published =

| publisher = Random House

| pub_date = 2007

| english_pub_date = 2013

| media_type =

| pages = 135

| awards =

| isbn = 978-0-812-99486-5

| congress =

| preceded_by =

| followed_by = Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8

}}

{{nihongo|The Reason I Jump: One Boy's Voice from the Silence of Autism|自閉症の僕が跳びはねる理由～会話のできない中学生がつづる内なる心～|Jiheishō no Boku ga Tobihaneru Riyū ~Kaiwa no Dekinai Chūgakusei ga Tsuzuru Uchinaru Kokoro~|lead=yes}} is an autobiography attributed to Naoki Higashida, a largely nonspeaking autistic person from Japan. It was first published in Japan in 2007. The English translation, by Keiko Yoshida and her husband, English author David Mitchell, was published in 2013.

The book alleges that its author, Higashida, learned to communicate using a version of the scientifically discredited technique of facilitated communication,{{cite journal|last1=Simmons|first1=William Paul|last2=Boynton|first2=Janyce|last3=Landman|first3=Todd|year=2021|title=Facilitated Communication, Neurodiversity, and Human Rights|journal=Human Rights Quarterly|volume=43|issue=1|pages=138–167|doi=10.1353/hrq.2021.0005}} which raises suspicions about the book's authorship. Psychologist Jens Hellmann said that the accounts "resemble what I would deem very close to an autistic child's parents' dream."{{cite web |last1=Block |first1=Stefan Merrill |title=What is the Writer's Responsibility To Those Unable to Tell Their Own Stories? |url=https://lithub.com/what-is-the-writers-responsibility-to-those-unable-to-tell-their-own-stories/ |website=Literary Hub |accessdate=21 July 2019 |date=3 April 2018}}{{Cite web |last=Hellmann |first=Jens |date=19 December 2013 |title=The reason I jump: The inner voice of a thirteen-year-old boy with autism by Naoki Higashida {{!}} book review {{!}} In-Mind |url=https://www.in-mind.org/book-reviews/the-reason-i-jump-the-inner-voice-of-a-thirteen-year-old-boy-with-autism-by-naoki |access-date=2024-07-06 |website=www.in-mind.org}}

The book became a New York Times bestseller{{Cite news|title = Best Sellers - The New York Times| work=The New York Times |url = https://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2013-10-27/overview.html|access-date = 2016-01-26}} and a Sunday Times bestseller for hardback nonfiction in the UK.{{citation|title=Japanese teenager unable to speak writes autism bestseller|first=Rosie|last=Kinchen|date=14 July 2013|newspaper=Sunday Times|location=UK|url=http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Arts/article1287374.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821030510/http://www.thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/news/uk_news/Arts/article1287374.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=August 21, 2013}} It has been translated into over 30 other languages, and inspired a play from the National Theatre of Scotland{{Cite web |title=The Reason I Jump |url=https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/past-performances/the-reason-i-jump |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=National Theatre of Scotland |language=en}} and a feature documentary.{{Cite web |title=HOME - the reason i jump |url=https://thereasonijumpfilm.com/ |access-date=2024-12-01 |language=en-US}} Higashida has published several other books in Japan.

Background

Higashida was diagnosed with autism when he was five years old, and has limited verbal communication skills. With help from his mother, he is purported to have written the book using a method he calls "facilitated finger writing". This bears some resemblance to facilitated communication,{{citation|title=Facilitated Communication Denies People With Disabilities Their Voice|first1=Jason C.|last1=Travers|first2=Matt J.|last2=Tincani|first3=Russell|last3=Lang|journal=Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities|year=2014|volume=39|issue=3|pages=195–202|doi=10.1177/1540796914556778|doi-access=}} a method which has been discredited as pseudoscience by organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association. Some researchers have questioned the authenticity of Higashida's writings,{{citation|title=Commentary on The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida|last1=Fein|first1=Deborah|last2=Kamio|first2=Yoko|journal=Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics|date=October 2014|volume=35|issue=8|pages=539–542|doi=10.1097/DBP.0000000000000098|pmid=25186119}}{{Cite journal |last=Lilienfeld |first=Scott O. |last2=Marshall |first2=Julia |last3=Todd |first3=James T. |last4=Shane |first4=Howard C. |date=2014-04-03 |title=The persistence of fad interventions in the face of negative scientific evidence: Facilitated communication for autism as a case example |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17489539.2014.976332 |journal=Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=62–101 |doi=10.1080/17489539.2014.976332 |issn=1748-9539|url-access=subscription }}Travers, J. C. (2023). Autism Spectrum and Intellectual Disability. In S. Hupp & C. L. Santa Maria (Eds.), Pseudoscience in Therapy (1st ed., pp. 282–296). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009000611.018{{Cite journal |last=Eigsti |first=Inge-Marie |last2=Fein |first2=Deborah |last3=Larson |first3=Caroline |date=2023 |title=Editorial Perspective: Another look at ‘optimal outcome’ in autism spectrum disorder |url=https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jcpp.13658 |journal=Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry |language=en |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=332–334 |doi=10.1111/jcpp.13658 |issn=1469-7610 |pmc=10600574 |pmid=35772988}} while others have studied them with interest.{{Cite journal |last=Bergstresser |first=Sara |date=2016-04-03 |title="The Reason I Jump" by Naoki Higashida: A Reconsideration of Autism, Empathy, and “Mind-Blindness” |url=https://journals.library.columbia.edu/index.php/bioethics/article/view/6325 |journal=Voices in Bioethics |language=en |volume=2 |doi=10.7916/vib.v2i.6325 |issn=2691-4875}}{{Cite journal |last=Remington |first=Anna |date=2017-08-12 |title=Insight into autism: a view from inside |url=https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(17)31968-2/abstract |journal=The Lancet |language=en |volume=390 |issue=10095 |pages=639–640 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31968-2 |issn=0140-6736|url-access=subscription }}

Synopsis

Keiko Yoshida and David Mitchell, who have a child with autism, wrote the introduction to the English-language version.{{Cite web|title = The Reason I Jump|url = https://www.npr.org/books/titles/231366636/the-reason-i-jump-the-inner-voice-of-a-thirteen-year-old-boy-with-autism|website = NPR.org|access-date = 2016-01-26}} The majority of the memoir is told through 58 questions Higashida and many other people dealing with autism are commonly asked, as well as interspersed sections of short prose. These sections are either memories Higashida shares or parabolic stories that relate to the themes discussed throughout the memoir. The collection ends with Higashida's short story, "I'm Right Here", which the author prefaces by saying:

I wrote this story in the hope that it will help you to understand how painful it is when you can't express yourself to the people you love. If this story connects with your heart in some way, then I believe you'll be able to connect back to the hearts of people with autism too.{{Cite book|title = The Reason I Jump|last = Higashida|first = Naoki|publisher = Random House|year = 2013|isbn = 9780812994865|location = New York|pages = [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780812994865/page/113 113]|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780812994865/page/113}}

Reception

In addition to traditional media outlets, the book received attention from autism advocacy groups across the globe, many, such as Autism Speaks, conducting interviews with Mitchell.{{Cite web|title=5 Questions with "The Reason I Jump" Translator David Mitchell|url=https://www.autismspeaks.org/news/news-item/the-reason-i-jump-5-questions-david-mitchell|website=Autism Speaks|access-date=2016-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180904052339/https://www.autismspeaks.org/news/news-item/the-reason-i-jump-5-questions-david-mitchell |archive-date=2018-09-04 |url-status=dead}} Mitchell has claimed that there is video evidence{{Cite web |date=January 10, 2021 |title=Naomi writing from NHK Documentary "What You Taught Me About My Son" |url=https://vimeo.com/498860739 |access-date=November 17, 2022 |website=Vimeo}} showing that Hagashida is pointing to Japanese characters without any touching.{{cite news |last1=MacDonald |first1=Gayle |title=Naoki Higashida shifts the narrative of autism with Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/books-and-media/naoki-higashida-shifts-the-autism-narrative-with-fall-down-7-times-get-up-8/article35820539/ |accessdate=21 July 2019 |work=The Globe and Mail |date=27 July 2017}} However, Fein and Kamio have raised concerns about the authenticity of Higashida's communication methods, suggesting that his mother may be providing cues, as seen in a video, or that he might be independently typing previously memorized text. They further pointed out that he appeared to be providing previously memorized, general answers, such as “Why do you ask me? I think this. But everyone has an answer. You should ask your child.” Similar concerns have been raised by other researchers. Simmons, Boynton, and Landman wrote that Higashida “likely did not author the New York Times bestseller or any of the fourteen other books that were attributed to him by the age of twenty”, raising human rights concerns about the use of facilitated communication.

Michael Fitzpatrick, a doctor and parent of an autistic child, criticizes the book{{Cite web |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Michael |date=23 August 2013 |title=No, autistic children are not the spiritual saviours of mankind |url=https://www.spiked-online.com/2013/08/23/no-autistic-children-are-not-the-spiritual-saviours-of-mankind/ |access-date=2025-03-05 |website=www.spiked-online.com |language=en-GB}} and its film, expressing doubts about the communication systems used and saying it is a "myth" that "within the autistic individual a fully competent person is imprisoned, requiring the liberation offered by a quasi-magical technology".{{Cite news |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Mike |date=2021-07-12 |title=We must stop thinking of autism as a problem to be fixed |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/doctors-diary/must-stop-thinking-autism-problem-fixed/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210712043535/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/doctors-diary/must-stop-thinking-autism-problem-fixed/ |archive-date=12 July 2021 |access-date=2025-03-04 |work=The Telegraph |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}

Sallie Tisdale, writing for The New York Times, said the book raised questions about autism, but also about translation and she wondered how much the work was influenced by the three adults (Higashida's mother, Yoshida, and Mitchell) involved in translating the book and their experiences as parents of autistic children. She concluded, "We have to be careful about turning what we find into what we want."{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/25/books/review/the-reason-i-jump-by-naoki-higashida.html|title='The Reason I Jump,' by Naoki Higashida|first=Sally|last=Tisdale|date=23 August 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=16 July 2016}}

Adaptations

= Stage =

The book was adapted into a play in 2018, put on by the National Theatre of Scotland. The adaptation featured an outdoor maze designed by the Dutch collective Observatorium, and an augmented reality app was developed for the play.{{cite web |title=The Reason I Jump |url=https://www.nationaltheatrescotland.com/production/the-reason-i-jump/ |website=National Theatre Scotland |accessdate=26 January 2020}}

= Documentary =

The book was adapted into a feature-length documentary, directed by Jerry Rothwell. The project is a co-production of Vulcan Productions, the British Film Institute, the Idea Room, MetFilm Production, and Runaway Fridge,{{cite web |last=McNary |first=Dave |title='The Reason I Jump' Autism Movie in Production at Paul Allen's Vulcan |url=https://variety.com/2018/film/news/reason-i-jump-autism-movie-paul-allen-vulcan-1202947942/ |website=Variety |accessdate=21 July 2019 |language=en |date=19 September 2018}} which was presented at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.{{cite news |last1=Blichert |first1=Frederick |title=Exclusive clip: "The Reason I Jump" to take on neurodiversity at Sundance '20 |url=https://realscreen.com/2020/01/23/exclusive-clip-the-reason-i-jump-to-take-on-neurodiversity-at-sundance-20/ |accessdate=26 January 2020}} The documentary has received positive reviews from critics. Screen Daily's Fionnula Halligan stated that "The Reason I Jump will change how you think, and how many films can say that?",{{Cite web|title=The Reason I Jump|url=https://www.metfilmsales.com/production/the-reason-i-jump/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618065834/https://www.metfilmsales.com/production/the-reason-i-jump/|archive-date=2020-06-18|website=metfilmsales.com}} while Leslie Fleperin of Hollywood Reporter said that the documentary was "a work of cinematic alchemy",{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/reason-i-jump-review-1274318|title='The Reason I Jump': Film Review | Sundance 2020|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=28 January 2020}} and Guy Lodge of Variety commended the film for turning the original book into "an inventive, sensuous documentary worthy of its source."{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/the-reason-i-jump-film-review-1234630364/|title = 'The Reason I Jump': Film Review|date = 11 June 2020}} On 3 June 2020, Kino Lorber acquired The Reason I Jump to film in the United States.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/kino-lorber-picks-up-documentary-reason-i-jump-1296989|title=Kino Lorber Picks up Sundance-Winning Doc 'The Reason I Jump' (Exclusive)|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=3 June 2020}} The film screened at the 2020 AFI Docs film festival.

Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8

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Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8: A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism is a follow-up to The Reason I Jump, written in 2015 and credited to the same author, Higashida, when he was between the ages of 18 and 22.{{cite web| url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/books/fall-down-7-times-get-up-8-a-young-man-s-voice-from-the-silence-of-autism-by-naoki-higashida-review-a3575661.html| title=Fall Down 7 times get up 8 — A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism by Naoki Higashida - review| first=William| last=Moore| date=June 29, 2017| publisher=London Evening Standard}} Higashida has autism and his verbal communication skills are limited,{{cite web|url=http://thereasonijump.com/books/fall-down-7-times-get-up-8-hc| title=Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8: A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism| publisher=Random House| accessdate=July 10, 2017}}{{cite web| url=https://theprovince.com/entertainment/books/summer-reading-fall-down-7-times-get-up-8-by-naoki-higashida| title=Summer reading: Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8 by Naoki Higashida| first=Mark| last=Abbott| date=July 10, 2017| publisher=The Province}} but is said to be able to communicate by pointing at letters on an alphabet chart.{{cite web| url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2017/07/08/books/book-reviews/fall-7-times-get-8-reason-jump-author-returns-new-english-collection/| title='Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8': 'The Reason I Jump' author returns with new English collection| first=Kris| last=Kosaka| publisher=The Japan Times| date=July 8, 2017}}{{cite AV media| url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OjuMID3vmk| title=Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8 - writing with autism| date=June 30, 2017| publisher=Hodder & Stoughton}} Skeptics have claimed that there is no proof that Higashida can communicate independently, and that the English translation represents the ideals of author David Mitchell and Keiko Yoshida. In response, Mitchell claims that there is video evidence showing that Higashida can type independently.{{cite web| url=http://www.macleans.ca/society/david-mitchell-on-translating-and-learning-from-naoki-higashida/| title=David Mitchell on translating—and learning from—Naoki Higashida| first=Mike| last=Doherty| date=July 13, 2017| publisher=Maclean's}}

The book is a collection of short chapters arranged in eight sections in which Higashida explores identity, family relationships, education, society, and his personal growth. The title comes from a Japanese proverb, 七転び八起き, which literally translates as "Fall seven times and stand up eight".

The English translation by Keiko Yoshida and her husband, author David Mitchell, was released on 11 July 2017.{{cite news|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2017/07/09/author-of-teen-autism-memoir-grows-up-but-cant-escape-heartbreakautistic-author-explains-what-can-break-his-heart.html| title=Author of teen autism memoir grows up but can't escape heartbreak| work=Toronto Star| first=Naoki| last=Higashida| date=July 9, 2017}}{{cite news | title=Rise of the autie-biography: A Japanese author writes about coping with autism | newspaper=The Economist | date=August 10–12, 2017 | url=https://www.economist.com/news/books-and-arts/21726055-naoki-higashidas-descriptions-being-autistic-have-made-him-one-most-famous | accessdate=18 September 2017 | pages=68–69 | format=Both website and print herein}}