Don’t take the words for granted. It is a privilege superior to senses, for what is the worth of all the experiences in the world if you cannot share them?

We’ve grown so accustomed to the ease of speaking that for a long time we’ve considered those who cannot less human. For instance, until the advent of sign language in the 19th century deafness was considered to be a symptom of severe cognitive impairment – hence word ‘dumb’. Think that is horrible? What about autism, and how well do you understand it?

Until recently autism, especially in the non-verbal spectre, was considered to be indicative of cognitive impairment. It all changed with a 13-year old kid, Naoki, who was diagnosed with non-verbal autism, and, unable to speak, figured out a way to write and communicate his thoughts.

Naoki Higashida’s first book – The Reason I Jump – instantly became a bestseller in Japan and was translated and promoted around the world by David Mitchell, a famous writer whose son has the same diagnosis. By writing about his experiences, Naoki gave hope to Mitchell, other parents and autistic children themselves; what he gave to the rest of the world was understanding. Understanding of why certain things are difficult for those with autism, why they struggle to convey their wants to others and that they are intelligent beyond doubt.

‘Fall Down 7 Times, Get Up 8’ is his second book, which presents a collection of thoughts, description of everyday hardships of a life with autism, and also a number of fiction stories and poetry. It is mind-opening and philosophical. One of the facts that he brought to attention terrified me: Naoki correctly says that we are alone in this life, in a way that there is no single person that will ever share all of our experiences. However, whereas neuro-typical people try to escape that loneliness by sharing and talking, lives of many autistic people are confined to endless solitude. That is why they use the term jiheisho (‘self-locked-up desease’) to describe autism in Japan.

I’ve discovered many things by reading this book, but most importantly reminded myself that there is an ocean between what what one wants to say, what he says, what the other person hears, and what she understands. To a larger or smaller extent we all suffer from misunderstanding.

So let’s not judge, let’s be more patient and let’s give each other the benefit of the doubt. After all, it is the only rational way to build a civilised society.