A 'must read' about Autism...

There are so many great books to read to educate ourselves about Autism but this one is a definite 'must read'. Like me, I'm sure you are either starting to read everything or have loaded up on so much information on Autism your mind is about to burst. Whether you are a parent, carer, educator or trying to understand your own Autism it's a constant learning curve. We read articles by professionals, psychologists, researchers and every scientist going and although interesting it never beats the chance to actually listen to someone who is on the Autism Spectrum themselves.

This book was written by Naoki Higashida who was 13 years old at the time of writing his memoir. He is no verbal and he explains in the book how he came to manage the ability to get his thoughts over and transfer them into such a informative piece of literature. The book was then translated into English by David Mitchell and his wife in the belief that this book would be of help to a wider audience who felt the need to understand Autism more.

David Mitchell starts the book with a lovely introduction and as a parent of someone with Autism I felt personally that he wrote that from the heart, it was so easy to relate to his feelings especially with him too having a son with Autism. You will always find passion amongst a lot of parents, we have a desire to share information and help each other as it can be tough trying to understand everything. I'm so glad he decided to help bring this book to everyone's attention, it certainly opened my eyes and helped me understand.

The book takes on a question and answer format which makes it so easy to read. Naoki answers 58 questions that we all really want to know the answers to but either a bit shy of asking anyone or can't actually get the answers from our own people close to us on the spectrum. Questions such as:
Why do people with Autism speak so loudly?
Why don't you make eye contact when talking to someone?
Why do you ignore us when we talk to you?
Why are you so picky about what you eat?
Why can you never stay still?
and yes, he does explain the reason why he jumps......

So many more questions and very maturely answered some with a lot of humour and I think this books does prove that some people with autism are capable of using imagination, humour and empathy, it is also clear how badly they need our compassion, patience and understanding. There is also a short story at the end of these questions as well as a heartfelt 'afterword' by the author. So plenty of content to read. I know some people struggle with reading and don't have the time to sit down with a book so it is also available as an audio book too.

I can't recommend this book enough. It is one of the best I have read and if you haven't already, order a copy now. I will include a link (affiliated) at the end of this post to Amazon.

Thanks for reading today and if you have read this book let me know what you thought. I will be back tomorrow for a bit of TV chat with 'Pass the Remote' so join me then.

Take care for now.