加拿大自闭症家长论坛——Canada Autism Parent Board

网上看到这个故事，故事解释了自闭症。可以在必要的时候，用这个故事和孩子解释为何兄弟姐妹有自闭症，到底什么是自闭症。
来自：这里
Little Ducklings by CARRIE CARIELLO

Do you love him more?
Come here, buddy. Sit beside me, and let me tell you a story.
Once upon a time, there was a mama who had five ducklings.
The ducklings were born all in a row—one right after the other.
Boy.
Boy.
Boy.
Girl.
Boy.
This mama, she assumed her ducklings would be very similar. They were born so close together, after all. They had the same shaped eyes and baby-grins.
The second duckling, however, stood out from the rest.
He cried all the time.
He didn’t sleep well.
He twisted and squirmed like he wanted to crawl out of his own skin.
Pushing a huge double stroller along the sidewalk, she complained to her friends that he was so hard, so different from the others, but it was just a phase.
By his first birthday, however, she had a pit in her stomach.
Something was not right here. Something was not right with the duckling who had blue eyes and soft brown hair.
He made no sounds.
He never played patty-cake, or peek-a-boo.
If he did make noise, it was a loud, lusty cry that could last for hours.
Then she took him to a special doctor and the doctor said he had something called Autism Spectrum Disorder.
This means, for the rest of his life, her baby duck would stand at the edge of the pond, while everyone else splashed and played together.
It meant he would work harder than every other duckling, for the simplest things in life.
Still, this mama was a little silly, and naïve.
She thought he would outgrow all the crying and the sleeping.
She thought, if she just worked hard enough and he worked hard enough, he could learn how to be a regular duck. He could learn how to play games and give big hugs and sleep when everyone else slept.
In other words, she thought he could outgrow his autism.
She clung to the idea that, one day, her ducklings would walk the same path.
When he was very young, this one duckling took up a lot of her time.
Her other kids, they waited—all round eyes and open mouths—when he screamed and hit his head and she held his arms and tried to calm him.

They waited while she negotiated at the dinner table and wiped food from the walls.
They waited in the mall when he refused to hold her hand and then they waited while she explained, why yes! He has autism!
As time went on, the silly naïve mama duck realized autism was forever. It was a permanent part of her life. And although he learned to sit for meals and hold her hand in the stores, he still takes up a lot of her time.
She misses basketball games because he can’t handle the sound of the ball bouncing across the gym floor.
She leaves chorus concerts and recitals early because he gets restless, and antsy.
She watches baseball games with half of her attention on the inning, and the other half on him.
He is fifteen now, this second duckling in a row of five.
He will only wear blue sneakers.
He cleans his glasses a dozen times a day.
He is the very tall.
Every once in a while, the other little ducks flap their wings and they complain. They say their brother Jack gets away with everything, and she never blames him for anything, and he doesn’t even have to do homework.
They say she loves him more.
She does not, though. She never did.
She just loves him differently.
Feverishly, she wishes she could love him the way she loves her others—joyfully, with helpless abandon.
Instead, she loves him with one eye on the clock, always watching, watching, watching. She can’t afford to let up for one single second, you see. Constantly, she has to teach, and to help, and to soothe this baby bird of hers.
This does not mean he is her favorite.
She has no favorites.
You see, little one, a mama’s love is infinite. It is bigger than the sky. It is brighter than the sun. Like the waves of an ocean, it never, ever runs out.
There is always enough.
Autism changed her family.
It changed them, and they can never go back to who they once were.
She is trying to do it right.
She is trying so hard to teach him how to cook and turn a key in the lock and put a stamp on an envelope, so that one day, when she is gone, the rest of her ducklings don’t have quite so much responsibility.
Perhaps there is no right.
Perhaps there is only the trying.
Perhaps there is only a messy life full of mistakes and misunderstandings and tiny steps forward.
Her ducklings are beginning their flight now, one by one.
A teenager who drives himself to work on yellow summer mornings.
A pink girl who shoots baskets with the swish of the net.
A dark-haired boy who swings his bat and runs, head down, cleats flashing, to first base.
And you.
Her last duckling.
My last duckling.
He was four when you were born.
He was four and there was a lot of chaos and uncertainty and stress.
And then, you. A baby unexpected. Soft pink cheeks, and a long-awaited smile.
Hope.
Laugher.
Home, once more.
I do not love him more than you.
Do not think that for even a minute.
I love each of you the same.
Just differently.

小鸭子
你更爱他吗？
来吧，伙计。坐在我旁边，让我告诉你一个故事。
曾几何时，有一个妈妈有五只小鸭子。
小鸭子一个接一个地排成一排。
男孩。
男孩。
男孩。
女孩。
男孩。

这位妈妈，她认为她的小鸭子会非常相似。毕竟，他们出生时间是连得如此紧密。他们有着相同形状的眼睛和婴儿笑容。
然而，第二只小鸭从其他地方显得很突出。
他一直哭着说。
他睡不好觉。
他像他想要爬出自己的皮肤一样扭曲和蠕动。
她沿着人行道推着一辆巨大的双人婴儿车，向她的朋友们抱怨说她很辛苦，孩子与其他人差别很大，但这只是一个阶段。
然而，在他的第一个生日，她有一个疑惑一直盘旋在脑海。
有点不对劲。对于那只有蓝色眼睛和柔软棕色头发的小鸭子，有些事情是不对的。
他没有发出声音。
他从来没有玩过 patty-cake, 也不玩peek-a-boo。
如果他确实发出了噪音，那就会是一声响亮的声音，充满欲望的哭声，可能持续数小时。
然后她带他去找一位特别的医生，医生说他有一种叫做自闭症谱系障碍的东西。
这意味着，在他的余生中，她的鸭子宝宝会站在池塘的边缘，而其他人都会一起泼水和玩耍。
对于生活中最简单的事情来说，这意味着他需要比其他所有小鸭付出更努力。
不过，这位妈妈有点傻，天真。
她以为他会超过所有的哭泣和睡眠。
她想，如果她只是努力工作并且努力工作，他就可以学习如何成为一名普通的鸭子。当其他人都睡觉时，他可以学习如何玩游戏，拥抱和睡觉。
换句话说，她认为他可能会超过自闭症。
她坚持认为，有一天，她的小鸭子会走同一条路。
当他很小的时候，这只小鸭子占用了很多时间。
她的其他孩子，他们等着 - 圆眼睛张开嘴 - 当他尖叫着撞到他的头，她抱着他的手臂，试着让他平静下来。
当她在餐桌上谈判并从墙上擦拭食物时，他们等待着。
当他拒绝握住她的手时，他们在商场里等待，然后他们一边等一边解释，为什么是！他有自闭症！
随着时间的推移，愚蠢的天真的妈妈鸭子意识到自闭症是永远的。这是她生命中不可或缺的一部分。尽管他学会了坐下来吃饭并在商店里握手，但他仍然占用了大量的时间。
她错过了篮球比赛，因为他无法处理球在健身房地板上弹跳的声音。
她很早就离开了合唱音乐会和独奏会，因为他变得焦躁不安。
她看着棒球比赛的一半注意力集中在局内，而另一半则注视着他。
他现在已经十五岁了，这是五个中的第二只小鸭子。
他只穿蓝色运动鞋。
他每天清洗眼镜十几次。
他很高大。
每隔一段时间，其他小鸭子就会拍打翅膀而抱怨。他们说他们的兄弟杰克逃脱了一切，她从不责备他任何事情，他甚至不必做功课。
他们说她更爱他。
但她没有。她从来没有。
她只是以不同的方式爱他。
狂热地，她希望她能像爱她的人一样爱他，快乐无助地放弃。
相反，她一只眼睛盯着他，一直看着，看着，看着他。你看，她不能忍受一秒钟。不断地，她必须教导，帮助和抚慰她的这只幼鸟。
这并不意味着他是她的最爱。
她没有最爱。
你看，小家伙，妈妈的爱是无限的。它比天空还大。它比太阳更亮。就像海浪一样，它永远不会消失。
总有足够的。
自闭症改变了她的家庭。
它改变了它们，它们永远不会回到曾经的人身上。
她正在努力做到这一点。
她正在努力教他如何做饭，把钥匙锁在锁上，并在信封上盖章，以便有一天，当她走后，其余的小鸭子没有那么多的责任。
也许没有权利。
也许只有尝试。
也许只有一个混乱的生活充满了错误，误解和微小的进步。
她的小鸭子现在一个接一个地开始飞行。
一个青少年在黄色的夏日早晨开车上班。
一个粉红色的女孩，用网嗖嗖射篮。
一个黑头发的男孩挥着他的蝙蝠跑，低头，夹板闪烁，到一垒。
你呢。
她的最后一只小鸭子。
我的最后一只小鸭子。
你出生时他才四岁。
他四岁，有很多混乱，不确定和压力。
然后，你。一个婴儿意外。柔和的粉红色脸颊，以及期待已久的微笑。
希望。
笑声。
回到家，再一次。
我不比你更爱他。
连一分钟都不要想。
我也爱你们每个人。
完全不同。