蘇菲喵的童話

以下我想說的話語，

我想我會在我家兒子夠大、能懂事時對他們說…如果他們沒有自閉症的話…

然而，如果他們沒有自閉症，我永遠也不會知道這些話語有多麼重要。

謝謝你們，我親愛的孩子，是你們教導了我，甚麼才是最重要的…。

Below is the talk I would have with my boys when they were old enough to understand, if they didn't have autism... but if they didn't have autism, I never would have known how important it was to have this talk in the first place. Thank you my loves for teaching me what matters. 

親愛的Greyson,

你是否曾注意過上天創造每一個人都是如此的不同與獨特？祂讓爸爸好高，讓媽咪好矮，祂讓你的頭髮有著淺淺的巧克力色又帶著一些金色的線條，卻讓你弟弟的頭髮金的像發亮的太陽；狗狗傑克有著短短的小尾巴，狗狗蓓蕾尾巴上的毛卻長而捲。每一個生物都是上天個人的藝術創作，我們都是被完美的創造成我們應有的模樣。

Greyson,

Have you ever noticed how God made each person so different and unique? He made Daddy really tall, and me really short. And he gave you hair light brown chocolate hair with golden highlights and gave Parker hair that looks like the glowing sun. Jack the dog has a really short nubbin tail and Belle has a long curly one. Each one of us is God's own personal work of art and we are made perfectly, exactly the way we are.

有時候，人們也有相同的地方。就像你和弟弟都喜歡車子、喜歡游泳、喜歡開四輪的大紅玩具車。你們兩個都有著讓大海都嫉妒的明亮美麗藍色眼睛。當媽咪年紀越大，越了解到，所有的人類都是相同與相異的混合體，我們都是上天的藝術品。

Sometimes people are also the same. Like you and Parker both like cars, swinging and riding in our big red wagon. You both have bright beautiful eyes in a color so pure blue it makes the ocean jealous. The older I get the more I realize that all people are some mixture of the same and different, and we are all God's art.

今天媽咪想和你談的是住在街角的小男孩Matthew。Mathew和你有很多共同點。因為他也喜歡游泳、喜歡在外面玩、也喜歡看跟車子相關的電影。除了這些，你還有發現那些部分Mathew和你相同的部分呢？

I want to talk to you about the little boy down the street, Matthew. Matthew is the same as you because he loves swimming, playing outside and watching the movie CARS. What ways have you noticed that Matthew is the same as you?

除了和你相同的部分，Matthew也有一些和你不一樣的地方，Metthew有自閉症。大部分的小朋友在兩歲的時候已經可以說話了，但Matthew到了兩歲卻還不能說話，就是在那時候他的爸爸媽媽 發現了他有自閉症。上天把Matthew的大腦創造的和你的和我的都不一樣。他用不同的方式學習、不同的方式玩遊戲，而且他無法用嘴巴來說話表達他想要的。Matthew去上由專業老師指導的課，我們稱那個專業老師為「語言治療師」，Matthew很努力的學習，因為他希望有一天他也能夠開口說話。每一次你只要開口對他說話，都可以幫助他更了解語言。他可能沒辦法回答你，但對他說話、告訴他怎麼說話，都能幫助到他。邀請他一起玩、在他遇到不友善的人時，幫助他、保護他，就像我希望你的朋友為你做這些一樣，我們每一個人都需要別人來愛我們、幫助我們。

Matthew is also different from you because he has something called autism. His parents found out when he was two years old because he wasn't yet talking and most kids have learned to talk by the time they turn two. God made Matthew's brain different from yours and mine. He learns differently, plays differently and he isn't able to really speak with his mouth. Matthew goes to a special Teacher called a "Speech Therapist" and he works so hard to hopefully learn to talk one day. Every time you talk to him it helps him understand language better. Even if he doesn't answer, show him things and talk to him. Ask him to play with you. Help protect him from those who are unkind to him. Just like I hope your friends do for you- we all need people to love and help us. 

即使Matthew沒辦法用他的嘴巴說話，但他可以用他的眼睛還有他的全身來表達他的想法。當他開心時，他的雙眼閃閃發光，他會拍打他的雙手，他會一遍又一遍的跳上跳下。當他挫折難過時，他會大哭大叫或在地上打滾。你能不能夠想像如果有一天，你沒辦法用說的告訴媽咪你想要什麼或你需要甚麼呢? 沒辦法用文字語言你該怎麼和人溝通呢？

Even though Matthew can't talk with his mouth, he can talk with his eyes and his whole body. When he is happy his eyes shine, he flaps his hands and he jumps up and down over and over again. When he is sad or frustrated he cries or screams or falls onto the ground. Could you imagine how hard it would be to not be able to tell me what you want or need? How would you communicate if you couldn't use any words?

然而最重要的，我希望你了解，人和人之間的不同並不是一件壞事。我們每一個人都有自己擅長的部份，也有我們需要被協助的部分。我們都有教導別人的時候，也都有我們需要從別人那學習的時候。就像有些人數學很強，但有些人就是看到數學就很頭痛；有些人體育很厲害，而有些人是藝術很好。沒有一個人能夠擅長所有的項目，但同樣的，也沒有人會在所有的項目都完全不在行。

One of the most important things I want you to learn is that different isn't bad. We all have things that we are good at and things that we need help with. We all have things that we are supposed to teach others, and things that we are supposed to learn from them too. Some people are good at math and some people struggle with it. Some people are good at sports while others may be good at art. No one is good or bad at all the things. 

有些人必須要坐輪椅，有些人需要義肢才能行走；有些人看起來很龐大，有些人看起來很瘦小。任何時候當你對他人的外表因為和你不同而有疑問時你都可以來問我。在我們的人生當中，我們會遇到許許多多的新朋友，有些人會跟我們很類似，有些人則會和我們很不一樣。然而，一旦我們真的開始去了解其他人，我們通常都會驚奇的發現，原來我們相像的部分居然遠大於了不一樣的地方。一件很重要你必須知道的事情是，即便Matthew和你有些不同，他沒辦法說話，但他和你一樣有感覺，有一顆心，而且也同樣渴望被愛、被在乎。從這方面來看，我們其實都是一樣的。

Some people get around with a wheel chair and some people use their legs to walk. Some people look big and some people look small. Anytime you have any questions about people that look different from you, you can ask me. Ask me anything. All our life we will be meeting new people- some that are the same as us, and some that are different. Once we really get to know another person we often realize that we are all more the same than different. One thing you always need to understand, is that even though Matthew is a little different than you and can't talk, he still has feelings and has a heart and wants to be loved and cared about just like you do. In that ways we are ALL the same.

 ................................................................................................................................................................................................

 以上分享的文字，是我翻譯自一個有著兩個自閉症兒子的美國媽媽Chrissy Kelly的部落格文章。內容她以一個媽媽的角度來教導小孩認識與自己不同的身心障礙小朋友，充滿同理心、感情並且饒富教育意味。

她的部落格有很多文章關於她與她兒子的大小點滴，不但深富感情也充滿趣味。有興趣的朋友可以連結她的部落格: http://www.lifewithgreyson.com/2015/05/anti-social-media.html

以及他們的facebook連結: https://www.facebook.com/LifeWithGreysonParker

翻譯前的原文:

https://www.autismspeaks.org/blog/2015/04/23/most-important-talk-i-will-never-have-my-boys