Shibasaki Tomoka Considers the Link Between Thought and Action

Over the past several years, developmental disorders have gained greater attention in Japan. The Act on Support for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, which became law in 2004, defines developmental disabilities as autism, Asperger syndrome, pervasive developmental disorder (PDD), learning disability (LD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and similar brain function disabilities whose symptoms usually appear at a young age.

They can be broadly classified under three categories: autism spectrum disorder (ASD), where the affected person has strong fixations and communication difficulties; ADHD, causing restlessness and difficulty in concentrating; and LD, where someone has trouble reading and writing. It is more common for people to manifest multiple characteristics rather than a single one, though.

According to data from the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare, 481,000 people across Japan were diagnosed by a doctor with a developmental disorder in 2016, and that number is increasing each year. Often, it is the culmination of difficulties faced by the individual and their families in daily life that bring them at last to the stage of consultation and diagnosis by doctors, allowing them to be added to this number.

Because developmental disorders manifest themselves in behavioral traits—for example, someone having strong fixations, an aversion to group activities, or lacking communication skills—people may assume it to be simply a personal preference, or a lack of talent in a particular area, on the part of the person in question. Consequently, the individuals and those around them might not consider a developmental disorder as the potential cause, leading to difficulties later in adult life.

In her book Arayuru koto wa ima okoru (Everything Happens Now), Akutagawa Prize–winning author Shibasaki Tomoka describes how she first suspected that she might have a developmental disorder after reading Katazukerarenai onnatachi, a translation of Women with Attention Deficit Disorder by the US psychotherapist Sari Solden.

“Growing up, I was always in trouble at home as a ‘girl who couldn’t tidy up,’” recalls Shibasaki. “In elementary school, I was often singled out for forgetting to bring things, and it was not unusual to find things like long-forgotten stale, moldy bread in my desk. Even after I started working in an office, I often wasted precious time hunting for lost documents. Because the title of Solden’s book mentioned ‘women,’ I felt I wasn’t the only one. I also learned that people can suffer from inattention. As I read the book, it became clearer that the author was describing exactly what I was experiencing in my day-to-day life.”

Linking Thought and Action through Words

In Shibasaki’s case, she felt her greatest difficulty was the limited number of things she could accomplish in a day.

But her symptoms differed from the typical image of developmental disorder as characterized by hyperactivity, or fervent multitasking. For this reason, it is significant that the author, herself a professional wordsmith, should write this book.

People with developmental disorders tend to be stereotyped in the media, for example, as quirky geniuses, such as in the 1988 film Rain Man. There are also many diagnosis charts in circulation that suggest people who display certain personal traits are highly likely to have a developmental disorder. But how does the world appear in the eyes of these people themselves, what difficulties do they face, and what goes through their minds? Shibasaki carefully describes these aspects from her own perspective, as well as interactions with doctors, counselors, and others around her.

For example, when discussing why she could only accomplish a few things each day, Shibasaki notes: “The hyperactivity was occurring in my own head. . . . Basically, multiple trains of thought continued flowing randomly through my mind, and if I received any external stimulation, it sparked even more thoughts. They did not necessarily take the form of words or sentences, but were sometimes physical sensations—such as the intense feeling of heat I might have felt at a particular time.”

As a result, she says, “time passed with my being unable to do anything, leading to an accumulating pile of clothing on my floor.”

By expressing in words what went through her mind, Shibasaki tells a story that does not feel like far-removed experiences of a stranger’s disability. Instead, it presents a convincing picture of someone living in the very same world that we readers inhabit.

At one point, the author recounts a short journey between Asahikawa and Biei stations in Hokkaidō. She was taking it easy at Asahikawa Station, thinking she had plenty of time, and thought she had checked the electric noticeboard thoroughly—but, apparently without paying close enough attention, she mistakenly boarded a train in the opposite direction that departed at the same time.

If she was at home getting ready to go out, she might suddenly panic at the thought that it might rain after she left, or that she might feel cold if the air conditioning were too strong at her destination. She would then be distracted by the task of packing extra items, forgetting a crucial gift she had originally meant to take along, for example.

From Shibasaki’s description of these common traits of developmental disorders, such as frequently running late or forgetting things, and of her thought processes, it is easier to understand the reasons for such behaviors, and to feel greater empathy for those displaying them.

“You Always Seemed to be Struggling”

After her diagnosis with developmental disorder, Shibasaki shared the news with family members. Her brother responded, “I see! You always seemed to be struggling.”

Struggling: that was because she was unable to act like those around her. Because sometimes she could not conform to society’s standards. In her brother’s eyes, she had always struggled, without stopping to question society’s expectations.

Shibasaki points out that developmental disorder has been identified as an “inability to do things.” At some point, she too began to believe her difficulties were due to her inabilities, which she tried to hide in embarrassment.

When we take the characteristics of an individual’s behavior and compare them with those around them, we often classify people according to whether then can, or cannot, take on certain tasks. We might talk about people who are always on time and those who are late; those who keep their room tidy versus those who do not. But recognizing the links between thoughts and actions can help us to change these dichotomies. This is what I learned from Shibasaki’s book.

At the same time that awareness of developmental disorders is growing, though, society is becoming more conscious of the concepts of diversity and inclusion. After we are freed from the thought that a rigidly split dichotomy exists between ability and inability, we will be better equipped to realize these concepts more fully.