Book Review: Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8

English Book Cover

Japanese Book Cover

A few weeks ago, I reviewed The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida.  The book, published in 2007 and translated to English in 2013, became a huge hit with parents of children on the autism spectrum, as well as many more of those who themselves were on the said spectrum.  Higashida was 13 when he wrote The Reason I Jump, which then caused a lot of skepticism as to how such deep thoughts and words could come from a non-verbal autistic boy.

In 2012, almost as if it was an answer to the skeptics, Higashida pens 自閉症の僕の七転び八起き (Jiheishō no boku no nanakorobiyaoki), using the same alphabet grid writing tool he used for his previous book.  David Mitchell and Keiko Yoshida, the husband-and-wife translating team from Higshida's previous book, return to translate this piece, and in July 2017 Fall Down 7 Times Get Up 8: A Young Man's Voice from the Silence of Autism was published.

I had heard about this book around the same time I was reading The Reason I Jump, so when a recent trip to our local bookstore had me seeing Higashida's most recent title on the shelf, I could not resist snatching this up.

So at 20 years of age, what more did Higashida want to tell us about his world?

Building a Support System for your ASD Child

In the weeks since R's diagnosis, it's been appointments and assessments here and there.

It's also time for my husband and I to process what's happening.  I can't speak for him, but this time was beneficial for me as I got around accepting the diagnosis as it was.  Reading the books I've recently reviewed also really helped me in coming to terms with it.

Did I go through denial?  Yes.  Did I go through grieving?  Yes, absolutely.  A diagnosis like this is completely devastating for a parent of a child with ASD.  You had all these dreams and aspirations and plans for what you wanted to do and wanted for this child since the day of his/her birth, all the things you wanted to experience with him/her.

A diagnosis like this shatters that.

It's okay to process the grief.  That was why I said that reading all those books really helped.  I've since learned that a diagnosis of ASD is devastating, yes, but as I've read many times, it is not a death sentence.  Depending on where on the spectrum a child with ASD is, a parent's job is to advocate for the needed support services for said child.

That said, I will go on writing this article under the assumption that you are located in the Philippines, are a parent of a child that was diagnosed with ASD, and that you're looking for information on your next steps.

So in the context of the Philippines, what support services are available for children on the spectrum?