Faith Jegede: What I've learned from my autistic brothers | TED

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Karen SONG 校对人员: James Yu

Today I have just one request.

今天我只要求一件事

Please don't tell me I'm normal.

不要说我是正常人

Now I'd like to introduce you to my brothers.

我想介绍给你们认识我的两个兄弟

Remi is 22,

Remi今年22岁

tall and very handsome.

又高又帅

He's speechless, but he communicates joy

他不讲话，但能传达欢乐

in a way that some of the best orators cannot.

用他特有的方式，最好的演讲家也望尘莫及

Remi knows what love is.

Remi知道什么是爱

He shares it unconditionally and he shares it regardless.

他无条件无保留地分享他的那份爱

He's not greedy. He doesn't see skin color.

他不贪心，也不在乎别人是什么肤色

He doesn't care about religious differences, and get this:

他无所谓宗教信仰的差异，还有：

He has never told a lie.

他从来没说过谎

When he sings songs from our childhood,

当他唱起我们儿时的歌谣

attempting words that not even I could remember,

唱出就连我都忘记了的歌词

he reminds me of one thing:

他提醒了我

how little we know about the mind, and how wonderful

我们对精神知之甚少

the unknown must be.

而未知的事物是如此迷人

Samuel is 16. He's tall. He's very handsome.

Samuel今年16岁，也是又高又帅

He has the most impeccable memory.

他有着超凡的记忆力

He has a selective one, though.

但这记忆力是有选择性的

He doesn't remember if he stole my chocolate bar,

他不记得偷了我的巧克力棒

but he remembers the year of release for every song on my iPod,

但记得我iPod里面每首歌的发行年份

conversations we had when he was four,

他四岁时我们的谈话

weeing on my arm on the first ever episode of Teletubbies,

看天线宝宝第一集时尿在我手臂上的囧事

and Lady Gaga's birthday.

还有Lady Gaga的生日

Don't they sound incredible?

听起来很神奇吧？

But most people don't agree.

但很多人不这么认为

And in fact, because their minds don't fit

事实是，就因为他们的思维不符合

into society's version of normal,

社会对正常人的定义

they're often bypassed and misunderstood.

他们经常被孤立、被误解

But what lifted my heart and strengthened my soul

但让我坚定信念的是

was that even though this was the case,

即使现实如此

although they were not seen as ordinary,

就算他们不被当作正常人看

this could only mean one thing:

这也只说明了一件事

that they were extraordinary --

他们是非凡的

autistic and extraordinary.

虽然患有自闭症，但非凡无比

Now, for you who may be less familiar with the term "autism,"

你们中的一些人可能还不太了解“孤独症”这个术语

it's a complex brain disorder that affects social communication,

它是由复杂的大脑功能紊乱而导致的社交障碍

learning and sometimes physical skills.

学习障碍，有时伴有运动功能障碍

It manifests in each individual differently,

每一个病例的情况都是特殊的

hence why Remi is so different from Sam.

所以Remi与Sam的情况也是不同的

And across the world, every 20 minutes, one new person

在全世界，每20分钟，就有一个

is diagnosed with autism, and although it's one of

新的孤独症确诊病例

the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the world,

虽然这是全球增长最快的疾病之一

there is no known cause or cure.

但是我们尚不清楚它的致病原因和治疗方法

And I cannot remember the first moment I encountered autism,

我记不起第一次知道“孤独症”这个词的情形

but I cannot recall a day without it.

我也记不起有哪一天我是对“孤独症”一无所知的

I was just three years old when my brother came along,

我三岁的时候，弟弟出生了

and I was so excited that

我非常兴奋

I had a new being in my life.

我有了新的家人

And after a few months went by,

而就在几个月之后

I realized that he was different.

我意识到他与众不同

He screamed a lot.

他经常尖叫

He didn't want to play like the other babies did,

他不愿意像其他婴儿那样玩儿

and in fact, he didn't seem

实际上，他好像

very interested in me whatsoever.

对我一点儿也不感兴趣

Remi lived and reigned in his own world, with his own rules,

Remi沉浸在他自己的世界里，应用他自己制定的法则

and he found pleasure in the smallest things,

他从细微的事物中寻找乐趣

like lining up cars around the room

比如绕着屋子排列他的玩具车

and staring at the washing machine

盯着洗衣机

and eating anything that came in between.

把他和洗衣机之间的所有东西都吃下去

And as he grew older, he grew more different,

当他长大了，他变得更加独特

and the differences became more obvious.

这些特别的地方更加明显

Yet beyond the tantrums and the frustration

除了经常性的发脾气、沮丧

and the never-ending hyperactivity

和永无休止的多动

was something really unique:

还有一点特别之处

a pure and innocent nature, a boy who saw the world

就是他纯真无邪的天性，不带偏见地看世界

without prejudice, a human who had never lied.

他是个从不撒谎的人

Extraordinary.

太不简单了

Now, I cannot deny that there have been

我无法否认

some challenging moments in my family,

家里的确有过艰难的时候

moments where I've wished that they were just like me.

我多想他们跟我一样

But I cast my mind back to the things that they've taught me

但我转而又想到他们教我的那些事

about individuality and communication and love,

关于个性、交流和爱

and I realize that these are things that

我意识到这些东西

I wouldn't want to change with normality.

我可不愿意用“正常”去换

Normality overlooks the beauty that differences give us,

“正常”忽视了差异带来的美

and the fact that we are different doesn't mean that one of us is wrong.

人与人的差异不代表其中一方是错的

It just means that there's a different kind of right.

只是说明“对”有不同种类

And if I could communicate just one thing to Remi

我只想说一句话，对Remi

and to Sam

对Sam

and to you,

对你们

it would be that you don't have to be normal.

你们不必一定是“正常”的

You can be extraordinary.

你可以是非凡的

Because autistic or not,

无论是否是孤独症

the differences that we have --

我们之间的差异——

We've got a gift! Everyone's got a gift inside of us,

我们每个人都有各自的天赋

and in all honesty, the pursuit of normality

老实说，追求“正常”

is the ultimate sacrifice of potential.

也就是完全抹杀了潜能

The chance for greatness, for progress and for change

卓越、进步和改变的可能性

dies the moment we try to be like someone else.

在我们想与他人变得一样的努力中消亡

Please -- don't tell me I'm normal.

请不要说我“正常”

Thank you. (Applause)

谢谢。（掌声）

(Applause)

（掌声）