VOA常速英语:Helping Autistic Children Fit in by Educating Their Peers

The family dog is Hugo Alexander’s best friend.The six-year-old has moderate functioning autism and an intellectual disability.
亚历山大雨果最好的朋友是家养的狗狗。这个6岁的孩子患有中度自闭症和智力残疾。

His mother Michelle Alexander says getting Hugo out the door is a struggle almost every morning.
她的母亲米歇尔亚历山大说，每天早上让雨果出门都是一场斗争。

My day-to-day life with Hugo is incredibly taxing, takes a lot of energy just to get him ready for school.
照顾雨果的起居是一项繁重的任务，要花费很多精力才能让他去上学。

As the mother of an autistic child, she’s always felt she needed to make other children and teachers aware of his condition.
作为一个自闭症儿童的母亲，她认为很有必要让其他孩子包括老师都了解自己小孩的情况。

When Hugo was in preschool,I made flyers that I put into all pigeon holes for all of his peers and their families to understand what was up with Hugo.
当雨果在上学前班时，我做了传单，投进他们年级每个人的信箱里，为的是让他的同学和他们的家长都能了解雨果的处境。

When Hugo started elementary school she felt she had to educate even more people about the condition so they could better understand autism.
当雨果上了小学的时候，她觉得她应该引导更多的人去了解雨果的遭遇以使自闭症更加为人所知。

So I thought that’s what I’m gonna write a book and I’m gonna help bridge that gap so that there’s more transparency between disabilities and typical children.
所以我就想，我要写一本书，我要在自闭症儿童和其他正常的孩子之间建一座桥，让他们之间的关系更透明。

Alexander wrote Fergus and Delilah, a children’s book about a child who’s a little different and trying to make friends.The book is designed to be used in schools and at home.
米歇尔亚历山大写了一本儿童书叫做《菲格斯和莱拉》。讲的是一个和其他同伴有些不同的小孩子如何交朋友的故事。这本书是为学校和家庭教育而设的。

The message I hope to spread is that we all need to be inclusive, make different than norm.
我所要传达的信息是，我们要需要有一个开放的，能接纳任何群体的心，不要被所谓的“正常”所束缚。

The book has received positive feedback.
这本书反响很不错。

I haven’t actually seen any, in my ten years in the industry, I haven’t seen any sort of really good, comprehensive resources that are available to children, young children, in particular.
在我十年的工作生涯中，我还没有看到任何真正好的，很全面的教学资源，尤其是对儿童、幼儿来说。

Raising awareness about autism by telling an interesting colorful story might be the first step toward breaking down barriers and making life easier for Hugo and kids like him.
通过讲述一个有趣的故事来提高对自闭症的认识可能是打破障碍，让雨果和像他一样孩子们他轻松生活的第一步。

From writer Faiza Elmasry, I am Faith Lapidus, VOA New.
美国之音Faiza Elmasry讲述，Faith Lapidus报道。