Echolalia Is Not “Meaningless” Speech

Why we should never try to stop or “treat” echolalia, especially in Autistic people

W‌hat is Echolalia?

Echolalia is the repetition or echoing of words or sounds that you hear someone else say.

‌Echolalia is an important part of language development for all children, and one of the ways children learn how to communicate verbally.

Autistics often use echolalia much more often than non-autistic people, and often continue using it in adulthood. This is partly because our language development can differ significantly from that of allistic (non-autistic) children.

Repeating, or “echoing” speech we’ve heard can be a stim, or a form of communication when we’re not sure how to convey what we want to say in our own words.

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An important note

It’s also very important to note that echolalic speech may not always be a direct or accurate representation of what someone is trying to communicate. With verbal tics or disinhibition, a person may say one thing, but actually mean something else.

It’s important to know the person and provide various forms of communication to help reduce frustration, misunderstanding, and miscommunication.

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Echolalia can be an important way to:

• Communicate something we don’t know how to express otherwise

• Reduce anxiety and mentally prepare for an unfamiliar situation

• Engage socially and facilitate communication

• Engage in repetitive behaviour as a form of self-regulation

• Take time to process and think about something that was said