Recently the subject of autism came up in one of my classes and upon some short discussion it became clear to me that I had almost no idea what autism really was, other than a few pop culture references (think Dustin Hoffman in Rainman). I thought the best way to learn more about it would be to hear from someone who suffers from it, and this book provides that opportunity.
Using a special indicator with hiragana letters, the author can communicate more clearly his thoughts and feelings with other people, and in this book he answers questions that frequently come up about autism and why people who suffer from it behave differently in various situations.
I think this book would be perfect for parents that have a child diagnosed with autism as it provides them a reference point to judge what behavior is “normal” and gives lots of advice for caretakers about when to step in and help the person with autism, and when to step back and let them do what they are doing.
Mr. Higashida’s descriptions of what he sees, what he focuses on, how he perceives time and what days are like for him are fascinating. The challenges that people with autism face are epic – but through these challenges the author shows that he enjoys living his “not normal” life, he sees the beauty of things (especially in nature) and just wants other people to understand what’s going on inside the head of someone with autism. The book is well written and translated in a way that makes it easy to understand his gentle nature.
This was a short book – just about two hours to finish, but I learned a lot in those two hours and was glad to read it. I understand there is another book written by the author so I may get to that in the future.
The next book I’m reading is also non-fiction, Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer, about some of the more violent forms of American religion.
