58 Quotes by Naoki Higashida

People with autism might need more time, but as we grow there are countless things that we can learn how to do, so even if you can’t see your efforts bear fruit, please don’t quit. Our lives are still ahead of us. Some kinds of success can be won by, and only by, sheer effort and sweat. We all have to bear in mind that adulthood lasts a lot longer than childhood.

What I wish to say is this: the value of a person shouldn’t be fixed solely by his or her skills and talents—or lack of them. It’s how you strive to live well that allows others to understand your awesomeness as a human being. This miraculous quality touches people. Via this “how,” people consider the sanctity and validity of everyone’s life, whether special needs are involved or not.

Education is supposed to help the child and parents: it mustn’t end up being a kind of holding cell. For this reason, our education must not be overly defined by the views of outsiders, or be unquestioningly compliant with the values and beliefs of specialists. Of paramount importance is that the special needs education be a suitable fit for each and every student.

The neurotypical public needs to know that 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. To venture out into the world requires help from other people.

Any given therapy method might well work to some degree for some people with autism, but no approach will work across the board for every person with the condition.

Traveling with people who have special needs might present difficulties, but please, let it happen. We all need a break and a change of scene sometimes. This is as true for us as it is for you.

Yes, raising a child with autism can be highly demanding, but please remember, just as you worry about your child, so your child worries about you.

However, why does it so often fail to dawn on them that if we’re smart enough to understand their instructions, we might well also be capable of understanding the everyday language that’s going on around us all the time?

What I, as a person with special needs, longed for was to be taught what role, what purpose, I could have in society, and how to attain a level of independence.