VOA慢速英语2015 母亲与儿子共同谱写自闭症儿童图书

Mother, Son, Co-Write Children’s Book on Autism 母亲与儿子共同谱写自闭症儿童图书

Eighteen-year-old Burnie Rollinson has Asperger syndrome¹, an autism spectrum² disorder³.  People with Asperger’s have difficulty with communication, eye contact and relationships. Burnie’s mother, Anita Rollinson, wanted to write a book to help people better understand the feelings of children with autism. She has now published, “If You Were Me.” Burnie drew the pictures for the book.

Sharon Gibson is a librarian at Friendly High School in Fort⁴ Washington, Maryland. She is speaking to a crowd of about 25 students and parents.

“I’m so happy to welcome everyone to our Library Book Program featuring our very, very own Burnie Rollinson.  Let’s give him a round of applause⁵.”

Burnie Rollison then reads “If You Were Me” to the gathering⁶.

“You’re you, and I’m me and I’m glad I’m me, different but not less.  You say, ‘Hey man,’ I say ‘hello.’  You say ‘see ya,’ I say ‘goodbye.’  You’re talkative and outgoing and I’m quiet and reserved.  We’re different, but that doesn’t mean I’m less.”

Sharon Gibson says Burnie is a model of academic success. She says he has served as a wonderful example to other students.

“If You Were Me” is a children’s book.  Burnie’s mother wrote it in her son’s voice.

“I just wanted it written in a way so that other children could possibly read it or have someone read it to them.”

She says she also wanted to send a message to other parents of autistic children.

“I just wanted them to feel that they weren’t alone.”

This is how the mother and son worked together on their book: Ms. Rollinson would write a sentence or two and read them to Burnie. Then, he would draw a picture to help explain the meaning of her words.

“I’d leave it to him. I didn’t necessarily want to tell him how to draw because I wanted it to be exactly what he did and it to come from his thoughts and his creativity.”

“If You Were Me” tells Burnie's story. It says he was born to "loving but inexperienced parents." It tells he was diagnosed⁸ with Asperger's at age three. It also explains why he has few friends.

“He’s a loner most of the time.  And then if he is approached by kids, he doesn’t always know what to say.” 

Burnie’s mother explains that he does not easily follow conversations. He may speak of unrelated subjects. For example, she says a group may be talking about movies and Burnie will say something about chicken. But he wants the interaction.

Burnie wants people to know that he has a full life. He attends school, and after class, goes to a part-time job at the library. He says he enjoys the work.

His teacher Anya Plana-Hutt is proud of him.

“The fact that Burnie was able to illustrate⁹ his mother’s book and share it with so many people, I think it’s a very good message.  It allows people to understand how it is to be on Burnie’s side of the road.”

The special education teacher says it’s important for the community to understand people with disabilities. She says they are just like everyone else. But she says it is important to be patient with them and try to understand what their situation is like.

Anya Plana-Hutt says special education students are trying to be productive¹⁰. She says they need people who understand how they work and will encourage them and support them.

And this book just might help a lot more people to understand, encourage and support Burnie and others with autism.

Words in This Story

outgoing – adj. used to describe someone who is friendly and likes being with and talking to other people

reserved – adj. not openly expressing feelings or opinions

academic – adj. of or relating to schools and education

diagnose⁷ – v. to recognize (a disease, illness, etc.) by examining someone

conversation – n. an informal talk involving two people or a small group of people

encourage – v. to make (someone) more determined, hopeful, or confident

1 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

2 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

3 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

4 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

5 applause   

n.鼓掌，喝彩，赞许

参考例句：

• His appearance on the platform was greeted with a burst of applause.他一登上台就博得了一阵热烈的掌声。
• His speech won round after round of enthusiastic applause.他的演讲博得了一阵又一阵的热烈掌声。

6 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

7 diagnose   

vt.诊断，判断

参考例句：

• It provides a new method for early diagnose of breast cancer.为临床早期诊断乳腺癌提供一个新的检查手段。
• What more will you want to know to diagnose this problem?要弄清这个问题，你还需要知道些什么？

8 diagnosed   

诊断( diagnose的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Some foetal malformations cannot be diagnosed until late in pregnancy. 有些胎儿的畸形部位得等到妊娠后期才能诊断出来。
• He diagnosed the trouble that caused the engine to knock. 他找出了引擎咔咔响的毛病所在。

9 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

10 productive   

adj.能生产的，有生产价值的，多产的

参考例句：

• We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。
• Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。