Colloquial Vocab

Who doesn't have vocabulary development on their IEP? Like greetings, increasing vocabulary has been one of Reid's goals for more than a decade. Lately though, his gains in other areas make this one simmer to the top like grease on the top of the turkey soup--ready to be skimmed off.

With new vigor I am explaining idioms and narrating each drive in the car as if I were a thesaurus on audible.com. I have a Word-a-Day tear off calendar in mind for under the tree. (Shhhh...) Grateful for good training from so many speech and language pathologists, we are "emphasizing new words in conversation and generalizing them to various settings. This becomes habitual after years of practice, but we can all use a refresher right?

Several times lately, Reid has asked me, "what does ____ mean?" This is quite an exciting developmental milestone at any age. Last week, Jim was out of town for a night, which was occasion enough for Allie and I to watch Sleepless in Seattle. Catching wind of this plan in one of those running monologue car rides, Reid inquired, "what's a chick flick?" I gave what I thought was an adequate explanation. That is now debatable.

At our house, Reid customarily "does the controls," meaning he holds the remote, cues up the DVD's, introduces the film, and adjusts the volume. Electronics are totally his department. Even if he walks out in the middle of a film, when those credits roll boy, he never fails to bolt back down. With a flourish he insists he must "do the honors," eject the disk, and close up shop. So it was tonight, after a peaceful Thanksgiving day, that he rejoined us for the summation of the movie Elf. As he turned the power off he delivered the punch line under his breath, "That was a good chick flick."

Jim and I chuckled in cahoots later...a chick flick...compared to what? Bourne Supremacy or Barney? We'll keep working on that goal....progress noted.