The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism

Higashida describes a recent anecdote from his life where he went to the town of Kamakura and saw a large statue of the Buddha. Seeing this statue caused Higashida to break down in tears at the thought of generations of people who had prayed before this statue and sought solace for their troubles. Higashida says that when he cried, it was as if the Buddha himself was imparting to him the truth that “all human beings have their hardships to bear” (126).

Higashida answers the question “Why are you always running off somewhere?” (127). Higashida says that he is always running off because of an uncontrollable instinct to run in the direction of whatever enters his line of sight. He does not do this because he derives any pleasure from it, and it happens without him understanding why. However, he has tried to control his continual running away and is slowly getting better at resisting the urge to do so.

Higashida addresses the question “Why do you get lost so often?” (129). He explains that the reason for this is that some people with autism are always plagued by a sense of not quite feeling right in the place that they are in.