Don't Cha Wish Your Girlfriend Was Fat Like Me? Don't Cha Wish Your Girlfriend Liked KFC? Don't Cha...

Ahh yes...  at its finest!  A mom came up on facebook telling us how her son this morning heard the new song by lmfao, "I'm sexy and I know it" on the radio, then proceeded to repeatedly sing this one line for an hour.  Made me choke on my coffee, remembering some of Dayton's finest moments.

For those of you not familiar with the term "echolalia," it is the automatic repetition of vocalizations made by another person.  Echolalia is a common thread with kids on the autism spectrum.  The repetition can happen once or last for hours.  Typically done a the most inopportune time.  Sometimes embarrassing, but mostly funny, at least with Dayton.

Scene 1:  Dayton just heard the song Don't Cha by the Pussycat Dolls.  You know the one:  "Don't Cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me, don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me, don't cha, don't cha..."  Ahhh yes...  He liked the song so much, he memorized the above verse just by hearing it once.  Dayton kept singing the verse over and over and over again...  Oh my God!!!  What if he sings it in front of the boys at school?  What will they think?  They're gonna make fun of him and call him gay, I just know it.  How the heck do I combat this?!

Here's what quick thinkin' mamma came up with and started singing...  "Don't cha wish your boyfriend was built like me, don't cha wish your boyfriend liked KFC, don't cha, don't cha." 

I got a few giggles from Dayton, and pretty soon he joined in with me.  Whew!  Close call!!!

Scene 2:  Remember Aqua, and their song Barbie Girl?  Oh boy oh boy...  I mean, how could you not memorize the lines of that song?  It's so much fun!  And the tune is catchy, geared towards kids, but not really meant for their ears.  Dayton:  "I'm a Barbie girl, in the Barbie world, life in plastic, it's fantastic!  You can brush my hair, undress me everywhere..."  OH MY GOD!!!  Dayton was only five at this time, so no school bullies to worry about.  But I couldn't take him anywhere for a while.  Quick thinking mamma wasn't smart enough to come up with anything.  Furthermore, he had JUST started talking!!!  All this time begging him to talk, I wasn't about to tell him to stop!!!  Ugh!

Scene 3:  My all time favorite.  This was bound to come to light, so you may as well all hear it from me.  I have a nasty habit.  I am a smoker.  There, I admitted it.  I enjoy a cigarette.  Benson and Hedges Deluxe, 100's.  Ma'bad.  Far from perfect me is.  And I like to eat, A LOT.  I don't like to exercise, which is why the first thought to Dayton's Scene 1 that came to me was "Don't cha wish your girlfriend was fat like me, don't cha wish your girlfriend liked KFC, don't cha..."  But that still wouldn't fix HIS problem.  Anyways...  I'm a smoker, not a heavy one (oooh, no pun intended, bazinga!), but one none the less.

Dayton and I found a TV show we both enjoyed watching together called The Big Bang Theory.  You must have heard of it, it's freaking hilarious!  I swear Sheldon has asperger's, and he totally reminds me of Dayton.  Dayton's made a connection with this character and hangs on every word he says.  For those of you that have seen the show, do you remember the episode where Sheldon has to hold a secret for Penny?  The one where Penny lies to Leonard, telling him she attended a community college because she wanted him to think she was smart?  And then Sheldon not being able to keep a secret, takes cold medication to knock himself out because he can't sleep.  Well, in this episode he was so medicated, he uttered to Leonard:  "Mamma smokes in the car, Jesus is OK with it, but don't tell dad." 

Just at this time a law was passed making it illegal to smoke in your car with a child in the car with you.  Not that I ever thought it was a good idea to do it in the first place, law or not.

We're sitting at the supper table with friends and family and all of a sudden, completely out of context, Dayton says:  "Mamma smokes in the car, Jesus is OK with it, but don't tell dad."  The table goes silent.  Dayton repeats himeself again, and again, and again, and again...  Everyone looks at me without saying a word.  All I can say is thank God for PVR's.  If you don't have one and your child gets hung up on echolalia, you definitely have to get one and KEEP THE RECORDINGS!

I ran to the TV, found the episode and played it for everyone.  We all had a good laugh, tears of relief spilling down my face.  Whew!



Consider yourselves hugged,

Lou