Autism has been something that has been familiar to me for as long as I can remember. My older brother, who is three years older than me, has autism, and we spent our childhood living in the same space. At a time when I wanted my parents' attention, my brother would constantly exhibit problematic behaviors, attracting their attention. I felt embarrassment at being different from those around me, frustration at not being able to communicate, and conflicted about wanting a normal sibling. Because of the stress I experienced on a daily basis, my image of these people as a boy was not necessarily positive.

My first encounter with Dr. Sakurako Tanaka and ABA was in the summer of 2019. At the time, I had been working in an industry unrelated to education and welfare for many years, but I was beginning to think about facing the issues I had been running away from—my older brother. I had a vague idea that by understanding and helping people with challenges like my brother, I could clear the problems I had been dealing with from my childhood to the present, and that this might even be the start of my future life. Then, I heard Dr. Tanaka, who has practiced BCBA-D overseas, talk about how "autism is not an incurable disease" and "autism can be cured with early and appropriate intervention," and my perspective on autism changed.

Awareness of ABA is low in Japan, and appropriate intervention methods are not widely known. Even before that, not many people know how to understand and interact with people with autism, as I have experienced myself. There are also only a limited number of people who can teach them.

I believe that education through ABA is necessary, not only to provide direct support to those affected by autism, but also to increase the understanding of those around them as a society. I would like to do my best, however small, to help increase opportunities for people to broaden their spiritual richness as human beings by learning about ABA, rather than prejudice and stress, and to foster a spirit of hope and harmony.