Q&A from StoryCorps

Joshua Littman, a 12-year-old boy with Asperger’s syndrome, interviews his mother, Sarah. Joshua’s unique questions and Sarah’s loving, unguarded answers reveal a beautiful relationship that reminds us of the best—and the most challenging—parts of being a parent.

Dialogue

From a scale of 1 to 10, do you think

your life would be different without animals?

-I think it would be an 8 without animals

because they add so much pleasure to life.

-How else do you think

your life would be different without them?

SARAH: I could do without things like cockroaches and snakes.

JOSHUA: Well, I’m okay with snakes, as long as

they’re not venomous or, like, can constrict you, or anything.

SARAH: Yeah, I’m not a big snake person.

JOSHUA: But the cockroach is just the insect we love to hate.

SARAH: Yeah, it really is.

-Have you ever felt like life is hopeless?

-When I was a teenager, I was very depressed

and I think that can be quite common

with teenagers who think a lot, you know, and are perceptive.

-Am I like that?

-You are very much like that.

-Do you have any mortal enemies?

-I would say my worst enemy is sometimes myself,

but I don’t think I have any mortal enemies.

-Have you ever lied to me?

-Hmm, I probably have,

but I try not to lie to you, even though sometimes

the questions you ask make me uncomfortable.

JOSHUA: Like when we go on our walks,

some of the questions I might ask?

SARAH: Yeah. But you know what?

I feel it’s really special that you and i

can have those kind of talks,

even if sometimes I feel myself blushing a little bit.

-Have you ever thought you couldn’t cope

with having a child?

SARAH: Ha, I remember when you were a baby,

you had really bad colic, so you would just cry and cry.

JOSHUA: What’s colic?

SARAH: It’s when you get this stomachache

and all you do is scream for, like, hours.

JOSHUA: Even louder than Amy does?

SARAH: You were pretty loud,

but Amy’s was more high pitched.

JOSHUA: I think it feels like

everyone seems to like Amy more.

Like, she’s, like, the perfect little angel.

SARAH: Well, I can understand why you think

that people like Amy more, and I’m not saying

it’s because of your Asperger’s syndrome,

but being friendly comes easily to Amy,

whereas, I think for you, it’s more difficult.

But the people who take the time

to get to know you love you so much.

JOSHUA: Like Ben or Eric or Carlos?

SARAH: Yeah.

JOSHUA: Like I have better-quality friends,

but less quantity.

SARAH: I wouldn’t judge the quality, but I think –

JOSHUA: I mean, like, first – like, Amy loved Claudia,

then she hated Claudia;

she loved Claudia, then she hated Claudia.

SARAH: Part of that’s a girl thing, honey.

The important thing for you is

that you have a few very good friends

and, really, that’s what you need in life.

-Did I turn out to be

the son you wanted when I was born?

Like, did I meet your expectations, and…?

-You’ve exceeded my expectations, sweetie.

Because, you know, sure, you have these fantasies

of what your child’s going to be like,

but you have made me grow so much as a parent because –

-Well, I was the one who made you a parent.

You were the one who made me a parent,

that’s a good point, but also because

you think differently from, you know,

what they tell you in the “parenting” books.

-Yeah.

-I really had to learn to think out of the box with you

and it’s made me much more creative,

as a parent and as a person,

and I’ll always thank you for that.

-And that helped when Amy was born?

And that helped when Amy was born,

but you are just so incredibly special to me

and I’m so lucky to have you as my son.

Create sentences

“Please create sentences using the following words, and ask your tutor to check if their usage is correct.”

Discussion

1. What was the most memorable thing from your childhood?

2. How was your relationship with your parents during your childhood?

3. Have you ever felt like life is hopeless?

4. What did you often do during your childhood?

5. What are the best things about being an adult?

6. What are the best things about being an adult?

Example

scale

Using a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your life at the moment?

cockroach

When I went to Guangdong province for the business trip, I encountered many huge cockroaches, which startled me.

venomous

Last month, I got bitten by a venomous ant. My arm swelled up, and I couldn’t even sleep.

constrict

Recently, I’ve been so busy with work that it constricts me from going out for fun; I need to rest.

necessary

“It’s a necessary quality for a police officer to be perceptive.”

mortal

“Sometimes the mortal enemy is ourselves, sometimes the closest friend is ourselves.”

stomachache “I remember when I was in high school, I would always pretend to have a stomachache and go to the school hospital.”

syndrome

“I experienced a very severe syndrome during the COVID-19 period.”