Echolalia may be an unfamiliar term, but most people have encountered it. Echolalia is the repetition of words or phrases, often observed in children and adults with autism. When an autistic person repeats words, phrases, or movie lines, they’re often doing something very meaningful:
• Processing language
• Regulating emotions
• Communicating needs
• Practicing speech
There are two types of echolalia, immediate and delayed. In the case of delayed echolalia, the words or phrases being repeated may seem particularly unusual because they are out of context.
For some people echolalia is a coping mechanism or a stim. For others, it serves as a way to process language or express emotion. An autistic person may repeat a question posed to them, not because they didn’t hear it but because their brain is attempting to process the words. Autistic people often struggle to describe or express emotion and echolalia can be a way to do so. Instead of saying “I’m stressed” or “I need to leave,” an autistic person may repeat a line from a movie they love: “We have to go. We have to go. We have to go.” They aren’t quoting the movie because they’re thinking about the scene, their brain has stored it as a script for urgency and distress. The repeated line is a way of communicating, “I am overwhelmed and I need to get out of here now.”
Think of echolalia is a bridge to language, not a barrier.
Instead of asking, “Why are they repeating?” try asking, “What are they trying to tell me?”
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