Since Cody was around three years old, he has been infatuated with enunciation. Cody has had exposure to a number of accents over the years. He had a doctor from India, a dorm leader from Germany, a Sunday school teacher from New Zealand and his dad's entire family is from South Carolina. Cody's infatuation with the way people speak wouldn't be such a big deal if he didn't mimic them. His grandma and aunts have become accustomed to it. They do not let it bother them when Cody points out their southern drawls. However, Don (my husband) has to deal with Cody on a daily basis. Cody is quick to point out that his dad doesn't pronounce d's and t's at the end of words (such as Donald/ Donal and left/ lef). This drives Cody absolutely nuts!
Last month we took Cody to a new doctor for his seizures. We were expecting to see someone really smart (a neurologist with a specialty). We were expecting to see several Interns and answer a lot of questions (university hospital). We weren't expecting to see a doctor from Iran with a VERY strong accent. The moment she opened her mouth to introduce herself, my husband and I tensed up. We knew what was coming. Sure enough, Cody started mimicking her the best he could. "Hi. Where are you from?" he said. The doctor answered him by stating where she had last lived (in the states), to which Cody replied, "No. Where are you from originally?" mimicking not only her accent but her pitch as well!
Meanwhile, my husband and I are dying of embarrassment. We explain to her that Cody isn't trying to be rude, he is just fascinated with different accents. She was gracious, good and patient with Cody. For that, I am thankful.
4 comments:
oh it is sooo hard sometimes when our kids are ..well...just being themselves..I'm glad that the doctor was understanding...:)
That is awesome. I would not have been able to hold in the laughter.
That is interesting. There is a condition called Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, which is similar to Asperger's, but milder (it is one of those deals where most people with Aspergers have NVLD but not all w/NVLD have Aspergers). I bring this up because we tend to have an ear for languages. I wonder if your son has this? Has he been exposed to any other languages? Makes me wonder if he'd be a quick learner. He sounds like me, with a quick ear for the sounds of language. I probably would have blurted the same thing as a kid!
I have never heard of Non-Verbal Learning Disorder. I am going to do some research on it. Thanks for sharing.
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