'The Reason I Jump': Looking At The Lives Of Autistic People

Based on the bestselling memoir, viewers get a glimpse of the challenges of autistic people.

The Reason I Jump is a 2020 film that is based on the bestselling memoir of the same name. Filmmaker Jerry Rothwell examines the lives of five non-speaking, autistic youngsters. From looking at this movie, viewers get a glimpse of the lives and challenges autistic people face. This article will discuss some of the challenges that come with autism.

If viewers listen closely to the opening scene, viewers see the subtitles describing the memoir The Reason I Jump, written by a Japanese teenager named Naoki Higashida, who gives us details about this hidden world. Naoki Higashida is an autistic boy who does not speak, and he has faced many challenges while growing up. The voiceovers show us what it’s like for many people with autism to deal with these challenges, as people with autism are often labeled differently from normal people. Naoki is unable to have a normal conversation due to having difficulty with speech. By writing this memoir, he is able to explain the challenges autistic people face in his own way.

The narrator’s voiceovers are heard throughout this movie, as we see how different people on the spectrum have their own ways of expressing themselves. One person who doesn’t speak expresses her thoughts and emotions through drawings. Her artistic abilities are not only creative but also communicative, as her drawings are details about her daily activities.

When viewers are asked a question about autism in general, a correct and gentle answer is that it all depends on the person, as everyone is different. Some people who are autistic have more challenges than others. Also, autism is a disability that can occur in anyone, regardless of racial background.

The Reason I Jump helps viewers understand the difficulties people who are autistic face in their daily activities and environments. David Mitchell, Naoki’s father and the translator of the memoir, explains in archived recordings why people with autism face these challenges. He appears in many scenes, describing the different conditions autistic people have.

One scene shows viewers a letter board, a tool that autistic people who don’t speak use to form complete sentences. In a classroom, the speech therapist uses tablets and keyboards to help people with special needs form complete sentences just like the letter board. The development of technology has helped people with autism work on communication skills. When a person uses the letter board, the letters being spelled out are shown in the captions. The names of the people who work with autism are shown in the subtitles.

The Reason I Jump features a strong representation of people with disabilities, as the movie features archived video clips of autistic people who have no speech. In addition, there is a strong representation of an Asian man, as Naoki is a Japanese teenager who wrote the memoir based on his experiences. People who support the lives of people with special needs are encouraged to watch this movie.

In conclusion, The Reason I Jump perfectly describes the daily challenges autistic people face in our world and is inspired by the memoir of the same name.