With the Light: Raising an Autistic Child is the story of the Azuma family. Eldest son Hikaru has autism, and the series chronicles the struggles and satisfactions that his parents and teachers experience as Hikaru gradually learns to function in the world. This chunky volume from Yen Press, equivalent to volumes three and four of the original Japanese release, focuses on Hikaru’s fourth and fifth grade years and features many different challenging situations in the school setting as well as in broader society.

Though attention is certainly paid to the misunderstandings and problems that result from Hikaru’s lack of understanding of social nuances and situations, the series also takes care to show things that Hikaru is exceptionally good at because of his disability, like putting puzzles together with all of the pieces upside down (since he was never relying on the image to begin with), and mixing paints to perfectly match colors occurring in nature. Seeing Hikaru succeed is very rewarding, and is the aspect of this series that I enjoy most.

As was pointed out in the review of volume one, the series falters in the resolution of complex issues or conflicts. Cruel students and angry shopkeepers are likely to experience swift changes of heart, and a mother who had previously been at a loss on how to handle her autistic daughter has dialogue like, “Wow, she’s learning things faster now than with me yelling at her.” It just doesn’t seem genuine.

One last thing I wish to point out is that Yen Press has clearly taken steps to make this series approachable for readers new to manga. The size of each volume is equivalent to a large paperback book and the Readings Tips section tackles matters from a first-time manga reader’s perspective. I’d be interested to learn how many such readers there are.

Review copy provided by the publisher. Review originally published at Manga Recon.

From the back cover:
To new mother Sachiko Azuma, her baby boy is the light of her life. Accordingly, she names him Hikaru, Japanese for “to be bright.” Eager to raise her son, Sachiko gradually begins to notice that Hikaru seems a bit different from other children. He is reluctant to be held or hugged, and his growth and development appear slow. Sachiko’s suspicions are confirmed when it is suggested that Hikaru, at a year-and-a-half, may be deaf. A specialist, however, reaches a different diagnosis: autism.

Review:
With the Light (subtitled Raising an Autistic Child) is kind of like carrots. I know it’s good for me and healthy and probably a better alternative than more junky fare, but I just can’t like it as much as I ought.

The basic idea—raising awareness about autism—is successful, and the book must be commended on that front. Although I did know what autism was, I didn’t know many specifics of how the disability manifests, so I definitely feel as though I’ve learned something. Especially fascinating are all of the strategies Hikaru’s parents and teachers devise to communicate with him, particularly a chapter near the end where everyone’s combined efforts to prepare Hikaru to attend a school Field Day without freaking out (a first) are successful.

However… many of the conflicts Sachiko encounters are unrealistic. In fact, I think the book overestimates both the meanness and kindness of people. Perhaps I’m cynical, but I just can’t see school children rallying around a disabled child like they do in this book. I think he’d be in for more cruel treatment from his peers than is shown here. Likewise, I can’t imagine some of the hostile reactions Sachiko encounters from adults actually happening, either. I think it’s far more likely that people would simply not care nor offer help, rather than express sentiments like, “I wish they would just live on an island far away.”

Also, many of said conflicts are resolved too easily. Sachiko’s husband starts off as a major git, but has a change of heart and becomes supportive. Then his mother does likewise. Then a lady from the day care. Then Sachiko’s boss. Then a fellow mother with an abusive husband. You get the idea.

It’s still a good read, and I’ll continue with it, but the oversimplification of problems means that I’d hesitate to recommend it to mothers of autistic children. It’s best for educating a broader audience, but I don’t think it’d offer anything meaningful to someone actually raising an autistic child.

With the Light is published in Japan under the title Hikaru To Tomoni. It’s an ongoing series and thirteen volumes have been released. Yen Press has published three volumes so far in a two-in-one format, equivalent to six of the Japanese volumes. Releases are fairly infrequent, with the fourth and fifth volumes scheduled for March and September of 2009, respectively.