Echolalia: Repeating Words and Phrases
What it is and When it’s Developmental
What is Echolalia?
Echolalia comes from the word “echo”. Similar to an ‘echo’, echolalia occurs when someone repeats back a word or phrase said by someone else. In addition to repeating back the same words, the speaker also often imitates the same tone and inflection.
Four Types of Echolalia
Echolalia is generally talked about based on when the repetition occurred, either immediately or delayed.
1. Immediate echolalia occurs when someone repeats back words or phrases right after they have been said.
Mom: Look, cows
Child: Look, cowsDad: Do you want juice?
Child: Do you want juice?Mom: It’s time for bed
Child: Time for bed
2. Delayed echolalia is when someone shares a sentence/phrase (said by someone else) later. In children, statements made using delayed echolalia tend to be more complex than statements a child comes up with on his or her own.
On Tuesday, Mom asks “Do you want juice?” during snack time.
On Wednesday, Child says “Do you want juice?” to request juice.At the library, Dad says “Shhhh, whisper voices”
When driving past the library, Child says, “Shhh, whisper voices”
Immediate and delayed echolalia describe when the echolalia occurs. We can also talk about how the echolalia is produced - pure versus mitigated. Both pure echolalia and mitigated echolalia can be immediate or delayed.
3. Pure echolalia is when the words repeated are exactly the same as the words used by the speaker.
Mom: We’re going to the park
Child: We’re going to the parkDad: You’re okay
Child: You’re okay
4. Mitigated echolalia means that the child has altered the initial statement or phrase in some way.
Mom: Do you want juice?
Child: Do you want milk?Dad: Time for the park
Child: Time for the park, yes
Echolalia and Language Development
As children learn to talk, echolalia is vital for language development and to create phrases. Adults provide words and phrases for children to repeat - utilizing echolalia. Echolalia is considered to be developmental until a child is 30 months. After 30 months, children are expected to rely less frequently on echolalia for communication and to create phrases.
The continued presence of echolalia after 30 months is a sign/symptom that a child may learn language differently. If your child is over 30 months of age and continues to use echolalia, it is recommended they receive a comprehensive speech and language evaluation with a therapist familiar with gestalt language learners.
While echolalia can be sees as ‘unnecessary’ or ‘repetitive’ or ‘inappropriate’ it is none of the above. Echolalia serves many functions.
We cover the functions of echolalia and strategies to support language development in Echolalia: What it means and what to do (or not do!).
References:
Fay, W. H. & Butler, B. V. (1968). Echolalia, IQ, and the developmental dichotomy of speech and language systems. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, June 1968, Vol. 11, 365-371.
Schuler, A. (1979). Echolalia: Issues and clinical applications. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 44, 411–434
Stiegler, L. N. (2015). Examining the echolalia literature: Where do speech-language pathologists stand? American Journal of Speech-Language-Pathology, 24, 750-762.
Prizant, B. M., Wetherby, A. M., Rubin, E., Laurent, A. C., & Rydell, P. J. (2015). The SCERTS model: A comprehensive educational approach for children with autism spectrum disorders (Volume 1: Assessment). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Wetherby, A. M., & Prizant, B. M. (2000). Autism spectrum disorders: A transactional developmental perspective (Volume 9). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
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