Naoki Higashida was born in Kimitsu, Japan in 1992. He was
diagnosed with autism in 1998 and subsequently attended a school for students
with special needs, then (by correspondence) Atmark Cosmopolitan High School,
graduating in 2011. Having learnt to use a method of communication based on an
alphabet grid, Naoki wrote The Reason I Jump when he was thirteen and it
was published in Japan in 2007. He has published several books since, from
autobiographical accounts about living with autism to fairy tales, poems and
illustrated books, and writes a regular blog. Despite his communication
challenges, he also gives presentations about life on the autistic spectrum
throughout Japan and works to raise awareness about autism. In 2011 he appeared
in director Gerry Wurzburg's documentary on the subject, Wretches &
Jabberers.