I recommend this book to anyone, and here's why. You may know someone with Autism, or you may see Autistic people day to day, and then you may make assumptions based on what you know. Depending on your experiences, the way you view people is important, but it isn't always right.
Naoki Higashida breaks the barrier between people, autistic and not autistic. He answers questions, and explains the process that autistic people have. The frustration with not being able to communicate. The difficulty of expecting things to go a certain way. But deep down, despite how they act or what they do, many people don't realize that Autistic people want what anyone in the world wants: to be accepted. They don't like being alone, ignored, constantly yelled at and being told that they are a problem. I hope this isn't a surprise to you, but before I go any further in this review, I have to explain something. My brother has Autism. He has high functioning Autism, and we have dealt with many rude glares, constant ridicule and even isolation from several people. This breaks my heart, but it is the truth.
This boy, at age thirteen was able to answer the questions I can't ask my brother. Questions that not even the countless therapists, doctors and counselors dared to talk to me about. The sad thing is, now that Autism is more common, it is being paid attention to. But it's been there for a long time.
I'm not going to lie. I yell at my brother all the time. I'm his sister, and yes I have told him that he is a problem. I have told him that it is a struggle to be around him.
At that time, with those words, I was only thinking about myself. I regret those words. And I am ashamed that only now have I realized the effect of them. But I'm not going to say them anymore. Because I know how powerful words are.
The most powerful quote from this book is this:
"What's the worst thing about having Autism?
You never notice. Really, you have no idea how miserable we are. The people who are looking after us may say 'Minding these kids is really hard work you know!' but for us- who are always causing the problems and are useless at pretty much everything we do- you can't begin to imagine how miserable and sad we get.
Whenever we've done something wrong, we get told off or laughed at, without even being able to apologize, and we end end up hating ourselves and despairing about our lives again and again and again. It's impossible not to wonder why we were born into this world as human beings at all.
But I ask you, those of you who are with us all day, not to stress yourselves out because of us. When you do this, it feels as if you're denying any value at all that our lives may have- and that saps the spirit we need to soldier on. The hardest ordeal for us is the idea that we are causing grief for other people. We can put up with our hardships okay, but the thought that our lives are the source of other people's unhappiness, that's plain unbearable."
This book means a lot to me, because it made sense of the constant chaos that my family lives in. The constant struggle that my brother has. So read this book. Please! Don't judge a person with Autism, Aspergers, Down Syndrome, and never tell them that they are a problem. We are all alone in this world, and we don't need other people to make us feel this way.
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