World Autism Awareness Day

So no one told me that World Autism Awareness Day is in April, or maybe I did know and forgot. I dunno, anyway, since I missed it, I thought I'd make a quick mention about something I read that introduced me to a wonderful little boy and made information on autism available to a different demographic.

With the Light is a manga that is 7 volumes long (14 in Japanese) that is about Azuma Hikaru and his family's daily life in dealing with his autism.

We first meet Hikaru the day he is born as his mother, Azuma Sachiko, talks about the beautiful sunrise outside the hospital window. The first few pages of the first volume show Sachiko and her husband, Azuma Masato, go on about their daily lives with Hikaru. Then, through Sachiko's point of view (most of the manga is told like this), we are told about some oddities of Hikaru's. Such oddities include that Hikaru does not like to be held at all and that he refuses to sleep at night. Sachiko compares Hikaru to Eri and Kanata, the children of two of the mothers she met at a mommy-baby group and who are the same age as Hikaru. As the three children grow, Sachiko can see glaring differences between their development and Hikaru's.

At Hikaru's 18-month appointment, the doctor tells Sachiko that Hikaru is deaf because he doesn't react to sound. Sachiko knows that this isn't true because Hikaru reacts to the train whistle alarm on the clock at home, so she knows he can hear. Another doctor confirms this and he brings up the idea that Hikaru may be autistic.

Thus begins the Azuma's journey into the world of autism.

The first five volumes (the only ones I read so far) tell Hikaru's story from his birth to his first day of junior high. Through all those years, Hikaru's parents learn how to communicate with Hikaru and they learn to help Hikaru interact with the world around him. We see him learn in school, make new friends, and become a part of a world that was ready to write him off because of his disability.

We see him become a big brother to his little sister Kanon, and we see that he's a very intelligent boy, and also very kind. He loves trains and shiny things and there is no doubt that he will become a 'cheerful working adult' someday.

Sadly, the series stops on volume 7, which I think only puts Hikaru either at the end of junior high or the beginning of high school. The author of this work, Keiko Tobe, died of an illness before Hikaru's story could be finished.

Although this series can sometimes go over the top with its dramatic situations, it's nonetheless full of heart and inspiration, and humour. Even though he's an imaginary character, we find ourselves learning along with Hikaru, laughing with Hikaru, and rooting for Hikaru.

Keiko Tobe did a lot of research to write her manga, even interviewing the parents of autistic children and adults who have autism, so there is a lot of information in this series.

Yen Press published this series in English, combining two Japanese volumes into one 500+ page English volume. As far as I know this series isn't available for reading on the Internet (believe me, I looked) but if anyone has a chance to read it, they definitely should.