Echolalia: Repeating Words And Phrases - Express Yourself, NC

Home Blog Work With Us About Contact Back Speech Language Therapy Family Consultations Professional Trainings 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, cowsChild: Look, cows

Dad: Do you want juice?Child: Do you want juice?

Mom: It’s time for bedChild: 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 park

Dad: 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.

To stay up to date on the latest information on echolalia (and more!) subscribe to our blog below.

Janelle FenwickNovember 18, 2018echolalia, echolalic speech, toddler, speech development, autism1 Comment Facebook0 Twitter Tumblr Pinterest0 0 Likes Previous

Echolalia: What it Means and What to Do (and not do!)

Janelle FenwickDecember 10, 2018echolalia, echolalic speech, toddler, speech development, autism Next

You Made your Visuals, but Now What? A Step By Step Guide to Teaching Visuals

Janelle FenwickOctober 28, 2018visuals, preschool, teaching visuals, classroom visual support, autism