宠物猫教我说话

7岁的洛尔肯·狄龙患有选择性缄默症。在家的时候，他可以和家人欢天喜地地聊天，但只要一出家门或家里来了陌生人，他就变得沉默不语。正当一家人为此烦恼之际，一只缅甸猫改变了洛尔肯的生活……

When Lorcan Dillon 1)uttered the words “I love you” for the first time, his mother Jayne was understandably 2)elated.

“I was so moved, but I had to 3)hold myself in check,” she says. “No matter how excited I felt, I didn’t want him to realise just how important it was for me to hear those precious words.”

But this seven-year-old boy’s first 4)declaration of love wasn’t directed at his mother. Instead, it was aimed at the family cat—a loveable ball of 5)fluff named Jessi-Cat.

Lorcan, at the time, was a lonely little boy trapped in a world of silence by a 6)condition called selective mutism注, which left him unable to talk or express emotion.

But, after 7)forging an extraordinary bond with his two-year-old Birman cat, the boy has spoken for the first time.

This inspiring story meant the pair won first prize at the Cat’s Protection Awards in August. And a moving video of the pair playing together made by the charity had more than 115,000 views on YouTube.

And Jessi-Cat is loving every minute of her fame. 8)Former 9)midwife Jayne, 44, says: “Most cats would run and hide around strangers. But even when the TV crews were here, Jessi-Cat 10)adored the attention.

“She seemed to understand her role was to stay by Lorcan’s side. When he played with his model soldiers, she even put out a paw and pushed one over for the cameras.

“This cat has an extraordinary sense of duty. She cannot bear not knowing what Lorcan is doing, and if she hears him laugh, she’ll come and find out what’s going on. The other day, I found Lorcan reading to her. Her paw was resting on his hand, while her blue eyes were just 11)gazing into his face in adoration.

“Every night, she sleeps beside his bed and when he comes home from school, he runs to 12)scoop her up and hug her,” says Jayne.

“This cat is the only living thing that Lorcan can talk to without 13)hesitation. She is not there to judge him—she is just there to listen.”

Lorcan was born in September 2004. Jayne, from Manchester and husband David, 48, a 14)GP, already had a four-year-old son, Luke.

Lorcan was a healthy baby who cried 15)lustily but, as a 16)toddler, he would fall silent if other people entered the house.

Jayne says: “When Lorcan was three, his grandma came to babysit with another little cousin. Lorcan didn’t say a word to them all day. I can also recall going into a shop, and Lorcan 17)skipping in happily. Then, the shopkeeper said hello to him, and he hid under the counter. At home, he chatted away happily, so I assumed it was shyness.”

But when he started 18)nursery at four, staff began to notice problems. “He was a happy child who played with others, but he couldn’t 19)communicate with them,” says Jayne. “While other children 20)babbled away and laughed, Lorcan stayed completely silent. He would look at nursery staff and 21)flash them a smile, but he would not talk to them. We took Lorcan to see the doctor and after many tests, he was 22)diagnosed with selective mutism.”

This disorder, affecting around one in 1,000 children, is a nervous condition caused by stress. The sufferer can often speak in their home environment, but finds it hard to communicate outside.

In Lorcan’s case, he struggled to display emotion to his loving mother. “It is heartbreaking,” says Jayne.“This isn’t a case of a shy child. Lorcan can dance down the 23)aisle of a supermarket and won’t mind that people are watching. But he cannot bring himself to talk. He is trapped in a world of silence.

“It was terribly hard to walk down the road and see other children beside their parents, chatting happily. I know that Lorcan loves me—but he can’t bring himself to say those words to me. He doesn’t even like 24)cuddles.”

By the time he was five, Lorcan was a lonely boy with no way of making friends his own age. Then came the arrival of Jessi-Cat.

Jayne says: “I wanted him to have someone he could talk to who might help him to relax and speak, so I found Jessi-Cat from a 25)breeder. When she met Lorcan, she seemed fascinated by him. He would scoop her up and 26)squeeze her in 27)bear-hugs, and she would just 28)purr.

“Then, something magical happened. After a few months, I heard him talking to her. She would 29)tilt her head and 30)meow in 31)reply.”

And Lorcan’s breakthrough with Jessi-Cat allowed him to express his emotions to others. “He made a friend and began to talk to him—and over the past few months, he’s been able to speak to his teacher. Then came the news that he had read a few sentences in class. It was a fantastic breakthrough.

“But the 32)icing on the cake was when I recently heard Lorcan turn to Jessi-Cat and say ‘I love you.’ It was incredible to hear him utter those words for the first time.”

Jayne adds: “I know cats are meant to have a sixth sense, but it is as if this cat understood from day one that Lorcan was 33)vulnerable.”

Two months ago, Jayne nominated Jessi-Cat for Cats Protection Awards. She says: “I saw an online tweet to say they wanted to hear about extraordinary cats, and I quickly typed a few lines about what Jessi-Cat meant to Lorcan.

“I was 34)stunned when they called me,” she says. The whole family went to the 35)ceremony where Lorcan and Jessi-Cat won Cat of the Year and the Best Friends Award.

Jayne says: “Lorcan was so proud of Jessi-Cat that he stepped on to the 36)podium to take the award with no hint of nerves. When we got home, he hugged Jessi-Cat and told her she had won. To me, hearing him talk was like winning all over again.”

当洛尔肯·狄龙第一次说出“我爱你”这几个字时，其母亲杰恩流露出来的欣慰不难理解。

“我十分感动，但我必须克制自己，”她说。“不管有多兴奋，我也不想让他知道这几个珍贵的词对我来说有多么重要。”

然而这名七岁男童首次作出“爱的宣言”的对象并不是他的妈妈，而是他们的猫——一只叫“杰西猫”的可爱毛团儿。

那时的洛尔肯是一个孤独的小男孩，他被“选择性缄默症”这种疾病困在一个无声的世界里。这种病令他无法说话或表达自己的感情。

不过，在他与这只两岁的缅甸猫结下了不可思议的亲密关系后，小男孩第一次开口说话了。

这个鼓舞人心的故事也让这个组合在今年8月举行的“爱猫大奖”中赢得了第一名。该慈善团体摄制了一段他们一起玩耍的感人视频，在YouTube上的点击率超过11.5万次。

杰西猫显然很享受成名的每一刻。44岁的杰恩以前是一名助产士，她说：“大多数猫见到陌生人都会跑开躲起来。但就算电视台的摄制人员来到家里，杰西猫依然热爱受人关注的感觉。

“她似乎知道自己的角色就是守护在洛尔肯身旁。当他和模型士兵玩时，她甚至会伸出一只爪，把一个模型推到镜头前面。

“这只猫有着超凡的责任感，她一定要知道洛尔肯在做什么。如果听见他的笑声，杰西就会走过来看看发生了什么事。有一天，我发现洛尔肯在念书给她听。她的爪子放在洛尔肯的手上；透过蓝蓝的眼睛，杰西用疼爱的眼神凝视着他的脸。

“她每晚都睡在洛尔肯的床边；放学回家后，洛尔肯总是跑去抱起她，”杰恩说道。

“这只猫是洛尔肯唯一可以毫不犹豫地与之谈话的生物。她从不对洛尔肯评头品足——她只是静静地聆听。”

洛尔肯出生于2004年9月。来自曼彻斯特的杰恩和48岁的丈夫戴维（一名全科医生）已经育有一子——四岁的儿子卢克。

洛尔肯出生时是一个健康的婴儿，哭声很响亮。但在他学走路的时候，如果其他人走进屋里，他就会不吭一声。

杰恩说：“洛尔肯3岁时，奶奶过来照看他，还带了一个小表弟。洛尔肯一整天都没和他们说一句话。我还记得洛尔肯蹦蹦跳跳地走进一家商店，然后店老板跟他打招呼，他马上躲到柜台下面。他在家里可以跟人开心地聊天，所以我以为他只是害羞而已。”

然而在他4岁开始上幼儿园后，保育员们开始觉得不对劲。“他是一个快活的孩子，会跟其他同学玩，但就是无法和他们沟通，”杰恩说。“当其他孩子牙牙学语、发出笑声的时候，洛尔肯却一声不吭。他会望着保育员笑一笑，但就是不跟他们说话。我们带洛尔肯去看医生，做了很多测试后，医生诊断他有选择性缄默症。”

这种（心理）失调是压力导致的神经疾病，一千个儿童当中约有一个会受影响。患者通常能够在家中说话，在外面却难以与人沟通。

在洛尔肯的个案中，他即使想对心爱的妈妈表达自己的感情也很不容易。“这太让人心酸了，”杰恩说。“他不是一个害羞的孩子。洛尔肯可以沿着超市的过道一直跳舞，完全不介意其他人的目光，可他却无法开口说话。他被困在无声的世界里。

“每当我在路上看到其他孩子高兴地和父母说话时，我总是很难受。我知道洛尔肯爱我——但他无法对我表达出来。他甚至不喜欢拥抱。”

到了5岁，洛尔肯还是无法和同龄人交朋友，非常孤独。然后杰西猫来了。

杰恩说：“我希望他可以有一个倾诉心声的对象，让他放松下来说话，于是我从饲养员那里找来了杰西猫。见到洛尔肯的那一刻，她似乎马上就喜欢上他了。他会捧起杰西，紧紧地搂住她，而杰西只会“喵呜”地叫。

“接着，神奇的事情发生了。几个月后，我听见他对杰西说话。她会翘起头，发出喵喵的声音回应。”

洛尔肯的这一突破令他得以向其他人表达自己的感情。“他交了一个朋友并开始和他说话——在过去的几个月里，他能够跟老师说话了。后来，我又听说他在班上可以读出几个句子。这真是不可思议的突破。

“锦上添花的是，最近我听见洛尔肯对着杰西猫说‘我爱你’。听见他第一次说出这几个字，太难以置信了。”

杰恩补充道：“我知道猫有第六感，但这只猫仿佛从第一天就知道洛尔肯很脆弱。”

两个月前，杰恩向“爱猫大奖”提名杰西猫。她说：“我见到一条推特，他们想听听关于猫的与众不同的故事，于是我很快地输入了几行文字，写下了杰西猫对洛尔肯的重要性。

“当他们打电话给我的时候，我很吃惊，”她说。当洛尔肯和杰西猫拿到“年度最佳猫猫”和“最佳朋友”奖时，全家人都去到颁奖现场。

杰恩说：“洛尔肯很为杰西猫感到自豪，他站到颁奖台上领奖，看起来一点都不紧张。我们回到家后，他抱着杰西猫，告诉她她赢了。对于我来说，听到他讲话就像又赢了一次。”