Every day, upon picking up my 11-year-old son from school, I would ask, “How was your day?” For years, I got the same response—“Fine, fine”—with no eye contact.

每天，当我从学校接我11岁的儿子时，我会问：“你今天过得怎么样？”多年来，我得到了同样的回应——“很好，很好”——没有眼神接触。“你今天过得怎么样？”儿子回答说：“很好，很好。”

His autism, it seemed, was going to deprive me of the normal chitchat parents unconsciously relish. One early spring afternoon, I asked the question, expecting the same answer.

他的自闭，几乎要剥夺我作为父母和孩子之间聊天的乐趣。一个初春的下午，我又问了同样的问题，期待着同样的答案。

“How was your day?” My son replied, “Good, good.” Then he looked at me and said, “How was your day, Mom?” With tears streaming down my face, I said, “It’s really good—the best day ever.”

然后他看着我说：“你今天过得怎么样，妈妈？”我瞬间泪流满面，说：“今天真是我过的最好的一天。”