repeating words? | Autism PDD

That sounds like echolalia. I've worked with kids who do seemingly use what they're echoing in context. I think it is typical for younger kids to repeat what they've heard from a TV show, but if your son is doing it more than once or twice, I'd guess it's ASD related. I'm not exactly sure what this is all about. Jake has recently developed a problem with stuttering, but also he's begun a new behavior of repeating things. For example, he'll be watching tv and Spongbob will say "That's silly Squidward!", and Jake will say "that's silly Squidward!". He does this often throughout his shows. He seems to completely understand what they're saying and what it means, and he get's things that are supposed to be funny, and will laugh. So I don't know that it would be echolalia. He does do it immediately, and not in an out of context way. Is this typical for kids to do? I just find it odd, especially since he does it so often. Sometimes, he will say "He said ......" and then repeat it, but often he just repeats whatever was just said. Anyone else have this experience?All I can say is, you have to pick your battles, and from your description it doesn't sound like this particular behavior is worth battling over. Trust your instincts.

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So there's no reason to limit this or try to discourage it, right? It's okay just to let him continue to do it? It definately doesn't hinder communication, in fact, sometimes it's the only things he'll say to me on his own, without me asking him a question! His speech therapist says that he's not a 'voluntary speaker' -meaning he'll answer a question or respond to you most times, but he doesn't generally just start a conversation -unless of course, he wants something - then he'll just keep asking and asking!

I think that would qualify as immediate echolalia, but since it's not in during a conversation and thus interfering with communication, it seems more like speech practice that he simply finds enjoyable.