Why echolalia is okay

 Before we discuss why echolalia gets a bad rap, I will briefly explain what echolalia is. There are two broad categories of echolalia: immediate echolalia and delayed echolalia. Immediate echolalia is what most people might think of when they hear the term or think about the interaction style of some people with autism and/or other disorders. Immediate echolalia is repeating back the phrase, last few words, or very last word of what was just said. This is sometimes referred to pejoratively as “parroting”.

There are several reasons why an individual might use immediate echolalia. One of the reasons is that the individual might be processing what was said to them. Not only could repeating what was just said be a way to take one’s time and “stall”, it could also be a way for the individual to digest the statement or question in the same way a typically developing person might repeat a really tough question they were just asked as they pondered a response. Another reason for immediate echolalia could be limitations in language skills. Karen Kabaki-Sisto is an SLP who developed a communication app. You can check the app out, which is called I Can Have Conversations With You, at icanforautism.com.. On an episode of the podcase By Your Side podcast (http://byyoursideac.com/bys-podcast-008-karen-kabaki-sisto-m-s-ccc-slp-founder-of-autism-breakthrough-solutions/), she made the excellent analogy of going to a foreign country and having limited skills in that language. If repeated what you knew or had access to and were ignored, told that was not right, or to “use your words” another way, you might display some “behaviors” too.

 Kabaki-Sisto went on to say that if the individual is given a choice of two colors and asked “Do you want red or blue?” They might first grab the one they want or repeat the question, thinking it will solve the situation. As SLPs, teachers, parents, or whomever, simply repeating the question might not be advancing the individual’s language skills. It is clear the individual was expressing a want/need to have, say, the red crayon but maybe did not have the exact words to say it. We have to read body language, then model or narrate the situation if the individual is not ready to answer complex questions just yet. Similarly, an individual might use echolalia to echo your sentiment and display engagement in the conversation by repeating what was said. Lastly, an individual might use echolalia simply because the word or phrase is interesting to them or perhaps as a means of self-regulation (which is essentially a better term for “stimming”).

 This leads into delayed echolalia which also can serve many communicative and/or emotional purposes including self-regulation. It might have a calming effect or help the individual not become overwhelmed by their current surroundings. An individual might also use a phrase they have seen or heard from their life, a book, or a movie which they feel either fits the current situation or helps them deal with it. Marge Blanc, head of the Communication Development Center in Madison, Wisconsin onced talked about an individual repeating a line from Buzz Lightyear of Toy Story, a strong and confident character, when the individual felt nervous. This was a way of boosting up his own courage.



Similarly, an individual might remember a time when their favorite character was really happy and said, “My lucky stars, you did it!” and then the individual uses that phrase the next time they feel happy. The “problem” with this might be that it doesn’t fit in a lot of the situations the individual uses it. But that does not mean echolalia is not serving a communicative purpose. We all use echolalia to some extent. From my personal experience learning Korean, I use echolalia, repeating a phrase word-for-word from a movie, textbook, or wherever when I think it makes sense. Sometimes people look at me odd because I have used it in the wrong context or messed the words up a bit. But sometimes they think I am better at Korean than I even am! We as SLPs, teachers, parents, etc. just need to help our students or children harness this echolalia in a more appropriate way depending on the situation.

 Before I talked about Kabaki-Sisto’s example of a teacher holding out two markers and asking, “Do you want red or blue?” The child perhaps repeats the question while reaching for his color of choice. The teacher pulls the markers out of his reach and repeats the question herself. What could she do instead? Kabaki-Sisto recommends something like this: if you find the child using this type of echolalia, hold out both markers, allow the child to choose, and then narrate something like, “Oh, you want the red marker.” Maybe then the teacher can take two more markers, place them in front of herself, and then say, “I want the purple marker” as a way of modeling the correct grammar in a meaningful context.