An Autistic Author of Japan

choi

Autism l Rise of the Autie-Biography. Economist, Aug 12, 2017
https://www.economist.com/news/b ... him-one-most-famous
(book review on Naoki Higashida (translated by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell), Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8; A young man's voice from the silence of autism. Random House, July 11, 2017)

Note:
(a) "In 1995, Temple Grandin * * * brought out a memoir about just how baffling it can be to live with autism; she has Asperger's, but was not formally diagnosed until she was in her 40s. For autistic people, she once said, decoding social nuances can feel like being 'an anthropologist on Mars.' "

Temple Grandin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Grandin
(1947- ; born Mary Temple Grandin; an American professor of animal science at Colorado State University; "Grandin says that 'the part of other people that has emotional relationships is not part of me,' and she has neither married nor had children")

(b) "the symptoms of an autistic child * * * range from social awkwardness to repetitive acts like banging one's head. At least a quarter of these children cannot speak. * * * [With their autistic son in mind] David Mitchell, a gifted British novelist, and his wife, Keiko YOSHIDA 吉田 敬子, unearthed a little-known book by a Japanese boy called Naoki Higashida [then 13]. They translated the text [which became a 2007 book] 'The Reason I Jump.'  Using an alphabet grid and a transcriber, Mr Higashida explained the hidden frustrations of his condition. Commanding his [Higashida's] body to move is like 'remote-controlling a faulty robot'"
(i) English:  Naoki Higashida (translated by KA Yoshida and David Mitchell), The Reason I Jump; The inner voice of a thirteen-year-old boy with autism. Random House, 2013
(ii) Japanese: 東田 直樹, 自閉症の僕が跳びはねる理由～会話のできない中学生がつづる内なる心. 角川文庫 Kadokawa, 2007.

My translation of book title: The reason I (僕) jump, who has autism; The middle school student who is incapable of conversation pieces together what is in his mind.
* The "higashi" is Japanese pronunciation of 東.
(iii) Japanese-English dictionary:
* 飛び跳ねる; 跳びはねる; 飛びはねる; 跳び跳ねる; 飛跳ねる 【とびはねる】 (v): "to jump  <猫は鳥めがけて飛び跳ねた。        The cat sprang at the bird.>"
   ^ haneru 跳ねる 【はねる】 (v): (1): "to jump"
* tsuzuru 綴る 【つづる】 (v): " * * * (2) to compose; to frame; to write; (3) to bind together (eg the pages of a book); to sew up; to stitch together; to patch"
* uchinaru 内なる 【うちなる】 (adj): "(See [] 外なる・そとなる) inner (self, voice, man, etc); internal (conflict, tension, competition, etc); interior"
* 【ななころびやおき(七転び八起き,七転八起); しちてんはっき(七転八起,七顛八起)】 (n): "the vicissitudes of life; ups and downs in life; always rising after a fall or repeated failures"(iii)  "Using an alphabet grid and a transcriber, Mr Higashida explained
   ^ korobu 転ぶ 【ころぶ】 (v): "to fall down"
(iv) "Using an alphabet grid and a transcriber, Mr Higashida explained"
(A) An "alphabet grid" is 文字盤, which ja.wikipedia.org explains: "言語障害者が意思表示のために使う。"  In Japan, it is 五十音. Apparently Mr Higashida uses a English typewriter - style paper, which a human transcriber turns to words. See next.
(B) ＮＨＫスペシャル [special:]「自閉症の君が教えてくれたこと」. NHK, 2016 (length: 49 minutes).
https://www.nhk-ondemand.jp/goods/G2016074520SA000/
www.dailymotion.com/video/x55qcnl

(c) "Mr Higashida’s latest book, 'Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8' * * * Now in his 20s [about 23, 24], the author offers a wider perspective on life with a disorder. The title alludes to a Japanese proverb about persistence. The book is a gospel in praise of grit, not just for autistic people but for wider society. Do not give up on us, he urges parents and helpers. * * * [Higashida:] 'The failure of people with autism to communicate doesn’t stem from inner self-imprisonment: it stems from a failure of others to see that we are open and receptive.' * * * It [tis latest book] is rich in metaphor, something Mr Mitchell was once told was beyond autistic people."
(i) 東田 直樹, 自閉症の僕の七転び八起き. 角川, 2015.
(ii) 七転び八起き is defined above, in (b)(ii). It is pronounced "nana korobi ya oki" where "nana" and "ya" are both Japanese pronunciations of 七 and 八.

(d) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) lists diagnostic criteria for "autism spectrum disorder (ASD)":
"A.    Persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction across multiple contexts
B.     Restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior, interests, or activities
* * * "

Though it is a disorder in the 4th edition, "Asperger's disorder loses its status in the new mental health manual called DSM-5, as it gets folded into an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis [which has various levels of severity]." (from the Web)