揭開自閉症之密，認識常用英文醫療單字

Unlocking the Secrets of Autism

揭開自閉症之密

Imagine having children who never hugged you, never told you they loved you, and hardly ever even looked in your direction. It sounds almost too terrible to bear, but the truth is that millions of parents know exactly how these things feel. That’s because their children were born with autism, a medical ¹⁾ condition that affects the way ① in which the brain develops.

It’s hard to say exactly what the ²⁾ symptoms of autism are, because the ³⁾ disorder affects different people in different ways. ¹⁰⁾ Sufferers often ② engage in ¹¹⁾ repetitive behavior, and almost always have trouble ⁴⁾ interacting with others. But while some autistic people never speak at all, others are able to attend regular schools and ③ lead successful lives.

To ⁵⁾ diagnose children with autism, doctors watch how they play and communicate with other children. They can’t really do this until the child is around two or three years old, as this is when ¹²⁾ toddlers begin speaking and playing with others. New tests are being developed, ④ though, that may tell doctors whether babies have autism when they’re only six months old. One makes use of a high-tech brain ⁶⁾ scan, while the other involves observing babies to see how much control they have over their heads.

Although the tests are very different from one another, they could both represent a major ⁷⁾ breakthrough. Earlier ⑤ ⁵⁾ diagnosis of autism will mean that affected children can have extra months or even years of ⁸⁾ therapy. And this could result in fewer parents knowing the pain of raising a child who can’t say “I love you.”

翻譯

你能想像你的小孩從不會抱你，也從不跟你說愛你，甚至幾乎從沒正眼看你? 這聽起來幾乎悲慘到難以承受，但事實上卻有數百萬對父母親非常清楚這些感受，因為他們的孩子天生就有自閉症，這是一種會影響腦部發展的疾病。

自閉症到底有哪些症狀很難說得精確，因為此病症的症狀因人而異。患者常常會出現重覆的行為，而且幾乎很難與人互動。雖然有些患者從不曾說過話，有些患者卻能上一般的學校，順利的生活。

想診斷出孩童是否自閉，醫生要觀察他們和其他孩子如何玩耍及溝通。孩童兩三歲左右才能真正被觀察，因為這時候的幼兒才會開始講話和人玩耍。不過，新的測試正在研發中，或許能在嬰兒六個月大時就可以讓醫生檢測出是否有自閉症。其中一種是利用高科技腦部掃描，另一種則是觀察嬰兒，看看他們能控制頭部動作的程度。

雖然這兩種測驗大相逕庭，但都會是重大突破。早一點診斷出自閉症，意味著患自閉症的孩子能多有幾個月或甚至多幾年的治療時間，可能也少一些父母必須去體會養個不會說「我愛你」孩子的痛苦。

英文講解

① way（方式）這個字搭配的介系詞是 in，子句的部份若還原成獨立的句子應該是 The brain develops in this way. 用關係代名詞 which 取代 this way 之後，介系詞 in 還是要保留，並且可以挪到 which 前面。要注意的是，當形容詞子句裡必須存在的介系詞被移到關係代名詞前面時，後面的關係代名詞就一定要用受格的 whom 或 which，不能用that 取代。

② 後面的介系詞是 in，意為「從事⋯⋯（的行為）」。

③ 英文中表達「過著⋯⋯的日子」，動詞是用 live 或 lead。

④ 在兩個逗點中間，在此為副詞「不過，然而」。

⑤ 在形容詞 earlier 和介系詞 of 中間，應該用名詞「診斷」。

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