Naoki Higashida was born in Kimitsu, Japan in 1992. Diagnosed with severe autism when he was five, he subsequently learned to communicate using a handmade alphabet grid and began to write poems and short stories. At the age of thirteen he wrote The Reason I Jump, which was published in Japan in 2007.
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I can’t say it better than this boy at 13 years old. This is why it is so important to make sure Jonah knows that HE can be unapologetically himself around us, and it’s okay.
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Life just happens. For good or for bad. And we each have a choice of how we will react. Our attitude toward our children speaks louder than even our actions.

Original Facebook Post.