Well, to be honest, I had never heard of this term before our son's autism diagnosis. So, I'm going to assume a few of you may not know what it is either.
Echolalia is the repetition of words, sounds, and phrases.
Typically, this is quite normal for children in the language development stages. It's how they strengthen and develop their speech repeating what it is that they hear. But as they get a little bit older, they begin to take what they're hearing and form their own spontaneous thoughts and words. However, Liam kind of rested in this stage.
It was actually our first early sign that pushed us to get him evaluated.
As Liam was turning four, we noticed that he wasn't really able to express himself as most kids his age. If we asked him a question, he struggled to find the words to respond.
Instead, he would repeat what was being asked.
It began to raise concern because he wasn't he able to engage in a conversation like the other kids his age.
He couldn't tell us what happened in his day. He couldn't tell us if he wanted a burger or chicken nuggets. He was limited in the way he could communicate with us.
Liam could repeat back what was being said to him. He could recite all of the lines of his favorite TV shows. He would spontaneously repeat statements that he heard throughout the day. All unsolicited and unprompted.
We could be walking in the middle of the mall and Liam would break out reciting all the lines of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or something he replayed frequently from his favorite toy. Imagine that? Walking through the JC Penney and your child is repeatedly saying out loud "It's the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse".
It was all so new for us and we weren't quite sure what to make of it initially. I think we just assumed because he was technically still speaking, this wasn't a matter of a communication issue. But once we started to observe him struggling to interact with others outside of family, we began to understand how this could potentially impact him as he got older.
I remember when we were trying to teach Liam how to respond when being asked his name. If someone said, "What's your name?" Liam's natural response was to repeat what was asked. Strangers obviously wouldn't understand why he was repeating their question. I'd see the smiles on their face turn into confused looks right before they'd completely disengage from Liam.
I would then feel obliged to explain to them that he is autistic or say to them we're working on that. But, it broke my heart how quickly they gave up on communicating with him. Looking back, I guess I can't blame them if they didn't understand what echolalia meant. To them, they probably thought Liam was mocking them or just being rude.
But what the world doesn't understand is that repeating what is being said is actually how Liam processes information. Sometimes, it's even how he tries to express that he heard you and just needs a moment to gather his words.
Unfortunately, we live in a society that operates on a ton of unwritten social rules. Making it challenging for someone like Liam to know what to say in certain exchanges.
In the beginning, fully understanding the nature of echolalia was difficult for us too. Liam would sometimes say the same things over, and over, and over, and over...and over again. Not exaggerating. It could go on for a hot minute. Which, in truth...it drove us mad sometimes.
For most neuro-typicals when you hear the same sound or noise over and over again, it can easily be labeled as obnoxious or just down right annoying. I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit that for his dad and I that's what we experienced too. Our natural instinct was wanting the repetition to stop. But after Liam's autism diagnosis, it started to make more sense.
If you were to Google search "echolalia" right now, the dictionary definition would include the word "meaningless". But trust me, this isn't meaningless at all.
With the help of speech therapy, we've been able to provide Liam the tools needed to find his words and to be able to express himself. As his parents, we've also had to learn new ways of communicating with Liam.
Sometimes it can indicate that he is feeling anxious or upset. If he's in a new environment and unsure of what's happening, he may repeat to himself "It's OK" or he may say "You got to be patient"; statements we have said to him in the past to reassure him in moments he may feel anxious.
To a stranger, they may hear Liam reciting these statements to himself repeatedly and find it odd. But we've learned it's how Liam navigates change and comes to understand what is happening.
But also, sometimes, he just does it because it sounds funny.
You ever have a song stuck in your head or a word that just sounds really funny to say aloud? Well, it's kind of like that for Liam sometimes.
As a society, we must learn that communication isn't a one size fits all. It's important we change our viewpoints on societal norms to truly understand and recognize that not everyone processes and receives information the same way.
The best advice I can offer, create space and give room, and be patient.
Often times we realized that if we gave Liam a little bit of space he usually gathers his words. Sometimes he just needs a moment to pull them together in his head. What's worked for us was creating a space for Liam to repeat things until he's able to build from them.
Now, when I pick him up from school he's able to tell me about his day. Definitely a huge milestone for us.
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