Avui només us vull demanar una cosa. Si us plau, no em digueu que sóc normal.
Today I have just one request. Please don't tell me I'm normal.
M'agradaria presentar-vos als meus germans. En Remi té 22 anys, és alt i molt guapo. No parla, però transmet alegria d'una manera que ni alguns dels millors oradors poden. En Remi sap què és l'amor. El comparteix sigui com sigui, de manera incondicional. No és cobdiciós. No es fixa en el color de la pell. No li preocupen les diferències religioses, i fixeu-vos en això: no ha dit mai una mentida. Quan canta cançons de quan érem petits, empra paraules que ni tan sols jo puc recordar, i em recorda una cosa: que poc sabem sobre la ment i com de meravellós és allò que és desconegut.
Now I'd like to introduce you to my brothers. Remi is 22, tall and very handsome. He's speechless, but he communicates joy in a way that some of the best orators cannot. Remi knows what love is. He shares it unconditionally and he shares it regardless. He's not greedy. He doesn't see skin color. He doesn't care about religious differences, and get this: He has never told a lie. When he sings songs from our childhood, attempting words that not even I could remember, he reminds me of one thing: how little we know about the mind, and how wonderful the unknown must be.
En Samuel té 16 anys. És alt. És molt guapo. Té una memòria impecable. Selectiva, però. No recorda si em va prendre una xocolatina, però recorda l'any en què va sortir cadascuna de les cançons que tinc en el meu iPod, recorda converses que vàrem tenir quan ell tenia quatre anys, com es va fer pipi al meu braç quan es va emetre el primer episodi dels Teletubbies, i l'aniversari de Lady Gaga.
Samuel is 16. He's tall. He's very handsome. He has the most impeccable memory. He has a selective one, though. He doesn't remember if he stole my chocolate bar, but he remembers the year of release for every song on my iPod, conversations we had when he was four, weeing on my arm on the first ever episode of Teletubbies, and Lady Gaga's birthday.
No és increïble? Però la majoria de la gent no hi està d'acord . I, de fet, com que les seves ments no s'ajusten a allò que la societat entén per normalitat, sovint es prescindeix d'ells i se'ls malinterpreta.
Don't they sound incredible? But most people don't agree. And in fact, because their minds don't fit into society's version of normal, they're often bypassed and misunderstood.
Però el que m'animava i m'enfortia era que tot i que això fos cert, tot i que no se'ls considerés gent normal, això només podia significar una cosa: que eren extraordinaris, autistes i extraordinaris.
But what lifted my heart and strengthened my soul was that even though this was the case, although they were not seen as ordinary, this could only mean one thing: that they were extraordinary -- autistic and extraordinary.
Bé, per a aquells qui esteu poc familiaritzats amb el terme "autisme", diré que és un trastorn complex del cervell, que afecta la comunicació social, l'aprenentatge i de vegades algunes habilitats físiques. Es manifesta de forma diferent en cada individu, per això en Remi és tan diferent d'en Sam. I a tot el món, cada 20 minuts, una persona és diagnosticada amb autisme, i tot i que és un dels trastorns del desenvolupament que creix més ràpidament al món, no es coneixen les causes, ni tampoc la cura.
Now, for you who may be less familiar with the term "autism," it's a complex brain disorder that affects social communication, learning and sometimes physical skills. It manifests in each individual differently, hence why Remi is so different from Sam. And across the world, every 20 minutes, one new person is diagnosed with autism, and although it's one of the fastest-growing developmental disorders in the world, there is no known cause or cure.
I no m'enrecordo del primer moment què vaig saber de l'autisme, però tampoc puc recordar un dia sense que hi estigués present. Tenia només tres anys quan va nèixer el meu germà, i estava molt emocionada perquè hi havia un nou ésser en la meva vida. Després de passar uns quants mesos, em vaig adonar que era diferent. Cridava molt. A diferència dels altres nadons, no volia jugar i, de fet, tampoc no semblava gaire interessat en mi. En Remi vivia i regnava en el seu propi món, tenia les seves pròpies normes, i trobava plaer en les coses més petites, coses com alinear cotxes al voltant de l'habitació o mirar fixament la rentadora i menjar qualsevol cosa que li caigués a les mans. I a mesura que es feia gran, també es feia més diferent, i les diferències eren més evidents. Però més enllà de les rebequeries i la frustració, i de la hiperactivitat interminable hi havia quelcom realment únic: una naturalesa pura i innocent, un noi que veia el món sense prejudicis, un ésser humà que mai no havia mentit. Extraordinari.
And I cannot remember the first moment I encountered autism, but I cannot recall a day without it. I was just three years old when my brother came along, and I was so excited that I had a new being in my life. And after a few months went by, I realized that he was different. He screamed a lot. He didn't want to play like the other babies did, and in fact, he didn't seem very interested in me whatsoever. Remi lived and reigned in his own world, with his own rules, and he found pleasure in the smallest things, like lining up cars around the room and staring at the washing machine and eating anything that came in between. And as he grew older, he grew more different, and the differences became more obvious. Yet beyond the tantrums and the frustration and the never-ending hyperactivity was something really unique: a pure and innocent nature, a boy who saw the world without prejudice, a human who had never lied. Extraordinary.
Ara bé, no negaré que hi ha hagut alguns moments difícils a la meva família, moments en què he desitjat que els meus germans fossin com jo. Però faig memòria de les coses que ells m'han ensenyat sobre la individualitat i la comunicació i l'amor, i m'adono que aquestes són coses que no voldria canviar per la normalitat. La normalitat no ens permet veure la bellesa que les diferències ens donen i el fet que siguem diferents no significa que un de nosaltres estigui malament. Simplement vol dir que hi ha un altre tipus de "normalitat". I si pogués comunicar una sola cosa a en Remi i a en Sam i a vosaltres, seria que no s'ha de ser normal. Podeu ser extraordinaris. Perquè autistes o no, les diferències que tenim... Tenim un do! Tothom té un do dins seu, i essent totalment honesta, la recerca de la normalitat és el sacrifici final del nostre potencial. L'oportunitat de ser grans, de progressar i canviar mor en el moment que intentem ser com algú altre.
Now, I cannot deny that there have been some challenging moments in my family, moments where I've wished that they were just like me. But I cast my mind back to the things that they've taught me about individuality and communication and love, and I realize that these are things that I wouldn't want to change with normality. Normality overlooks the beauty that differences give us, and the fact that we are different doesn't mean that one of us is wrong. It just means that there's a different kind of right. And if I could communicate just one thing to Remi and to Sam and to you, it would be that you don't have to be normal. You can be extraordinary. Because autistic or not, the differences that we have -- We've got a gift! Everyone's got a gift inside of us, and in all honesty, the pursuit of normality is the ultimate sacrifice of potential. The chance for greatness, for progress and for change dies the moment we try to be like someone else.
Si us plau - no em digueu que sóc normal. Gràcies. (Aplaudiments) (Aplaudiments)
Please -- don't tell me I'm normal. Thank you. (Applause) (Applause)