A mom was frustrated that there weren't shows for kids with developmental delays. So, she made one herself.
Ms. Rachel has taken the internet by storm with her show geared toward educating parents and toddlers.

Mom couldn't find a show for children with developmental delays.
If there's one thing a determined parent will do, it's make sure their kid is getting their needs met. Even if that means they have to reinvent the wheel to do it. Rachel Griffin Accurso, or as parents across TikTok and YouTube know her, Ms. Rachel, found herself without any real options for additional resources to help her toddler who was diagnosed with a speech delay.
Accurso was looking for a developmentally appropriate show for her son but she wasn't having any luck. That's when she decided to take her teaching degree and get to work on creating her own show. It became a family business when she teamed up with her husband, Broadway composer Aron Accurso, who has been there every step of the way. He's even in the episodes singing along.
"Songs for Littles" has infiltrated homes across America. If you have a toddler and internet access, you've likely heard of it. The show has more than a billion views on YouTube. Yes, that's billion, with a "B." Ms. Rachel also has more than 19 million likes on TikTok and has speech pathologists everywhere singing her praises.
Accurso is intentional with all of her videos, doing close-ups on her mouth when introducing new words and pausing to "hear" responses from her viewers after asking a question. In her interview with Today, Accurso admitted, "A lot of things I teach are things I wish I had known for my son." She explained that everything she does is backed by research and is recorded in her small apartment in front of a green screen.
Parents on TikTok often upload videos thanking Accurso or showing off the skill their child learned from watching her show. The journalist who interviewed "Ms. Rachel" for Today even got to record an episode of "Songs for Littles" with her.
Check out the cute video below:
This article originally appeared on 01.10.23
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There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."