Echolalia | Autism PDD

Hello everyone.

Just wondering about echolalia. When is it normal to have echolalia? When I put my daughter in speech I was telling her therapist about her repeating phase. It lasted from about 2ish, maybe 2.5 until three.

She was not worried. She said it was normal development. I am confused, I see so many places that this is a sign of pdd.

I also told her she called herself you for about six months as well. She again said pronouns are very difficult, even for kids off the spectrum. She started using the correct pronouns by 3.5.

Can anyone tell me if the therapist is correct or if this is more of a red flag for asd?

Thanks:)

echolalia is a normal stage in language acquisition and is a phase passed through by many (not all) typically developing kids. It's only a "red flag" when it persists for longer than expected for typically developing kids. This is true for many of the so-called 'red flags' - they're typical things that kids go through, but if they persist until a much later age than expected, you start to suspect a problem.

My non-asd son had a pronounced echolaliac phase that laster for a few months - it came after he had acquired a significant vocabulary and started using phrases and was a prelude to conversation skills - back and forth dialog. He was trying to mimic conversation, but hadn't yet acquired the language skills to converse.

I can't remember exactly when it came, but I think it was less than 2. My daughters, on the other hand, never had an echolaliac phase, and they're autistic, so go figure.

As for pro-nounds, I don't remember my son having pro-noun reversal issues, but he was an early talker, so it might have been just a developmental blip that I didn't notice. My daughters had prnonoun reversal between 3-4. It's resolved now, not sure exactly when it went away. I think right before they turned four?

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Many infants with PDDNOS do not babble, or may begin to babble in their first year but then stop. When the child develops speech, he or she often exhibits abnormalities. Echolalia (seemingly meaningless repetition of words or phrases) may be the only kind of speech some children acquire. Though echolalic speech might be produced quite accurately, the child may have limited comprehension of the meaning. In the past, it was thought that echolalia had no real function. More recent studies have found that echolalia can serve several functions, such as self-stimulation (when a child says words or phrases repeatedly without a communicative purpose-- just because it feels good); as a step between a child being nonverbal and verbal; or as a way to communicate (Prizant & Rydell, 1993). Other children develop the appropriate use of phrases copied from others. This is often accompanied by pronoun reversal in the early stages of language development. For instance, when the child is asked "How are you?" he or she may answer "You are fine."

The actual production of speech may be impaired. The child's speech may be like that of a robot, characterized by a monotonous, flat delivery with little change in pitch, change of emphasis, or emotional expression.

Problems of pronunciation are common in young children with PDDNOS, but these often diminish as the child gets older. There may be a striking contrast between clearly enunciated echolalic speech and poorly pronounced spontaneous speech. Some children have a chanting or singsong speech, with odd prolongation of sounds, syllables, and words. A question-like intonation may be used for statements. Odd breathing rhythms may produce staccato speech in some children.

Abnormal grammar is frequently present in the spontaneous speech of verbal children with PDDNOS.

As a result:

phrases may be telegraphic (brief and monotone) and distorted;
words of similar sound or related meaning may be muddled;
some objects may be labeled by their use;
new words may be coined; and
prepositions, conjunctions, and pronouns may be dropped from phrases or used incorrectly.

When children with PDDNOS do develop functional speech, they may not use it in ordinary ways. Such children tend to rely on repetitive phrases. Their speech does not usually convey imagination, abstraction, or subtle emotion. They generally have difficulty talking about anything outside of the immediate context. They may talk excessively about their special interests, and they may talk about the same pieces of information whenever the same subject is raised. The most able persons can exchange concrete pieces of information that interest them, but once the conversation departs from this level, they can become lost and may withdraw from social contact. Ordinary to-and-fro conversational chatter is lacking. Thus, they give the impression of talking "at" someone, rather than "with" someone.

words of similar sound or related meaning may be muddled

Would this apply?

"You can have this of you want..."

She does these things all the time... I model for her but it doesnt phase her.

yes it applies with words of similar sound or related. my son is still doing this but he has improved .

before it was more like this:

do you want cereal? - do you want cereal? or cereal?

he would repeat same thing or similar question. he would no answer us.