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Should I be worried about DS (nearly 4)? Is this echolalia?

4 replies

ilovetosleep · 27/04/2015 19:45

Will start by saying I have anxiety issues!

DS is coming up to 4, he's chatty, can be both shy and sociable, bright, plays independently, can also be quite clingy - on the surface I think he's totally normal.

But hes a bit obsessive and I'm wondering if some of his speech is echolaic (sp?). He developed a bit an obsession with Fireman Sam nearly a year ago now and its still going on, he doesn't seem to have moved on (although in the mean time has also dabbled with lego, Octonauts and playmobil)

Anyway his 'role play' is so repetitive and I feel like he's been playing the same game for a year now. It;s all 'emergency! There's a fire at the Whole Fish Cafe!' etc etc. He runs around the house putting fires out and ordering us all around ('You take jupiter, I'll take Venus'). But he repeats lines he's seen on TV and its almost like he is narrating an episode rather than imagining different scenarios. He often zooms around humming the fireman sam soundtrack while he plays. The locations of these fires is one of about 3 places which all feature in the programme (although he is willing and able to change tack if I suggest there is a fire in a school/somewhere different)
there is some imaginative play in there as he can pretend almost anything is a fire extinguisher/hose/engine! And the expressions he uses are always in context.

He can play small world/imaginitive play with other kinds of toys more normally, its just that the fireman sam stuff tends to creep in somewhere nearly every day. Eg he can play with an old happyland village 'normally' for an hour but then he'll wonder off and start fighting fires after a while.

He doesn't seem to repeat phrases that he's heard in real life, although he did the other day which is what set me off. He fell off a climbing frame, and when my mum was retelling the story she said 'and suddenly he lost his balance'. DS then spent the rest of the day telling everyone the story (in his own words), and when he got to that bit he went all sheepish and then repeated my mums words verbatum 'and suddenly I lost my balance' (he did replace the he with I). at the time I thought it was sweet, he'd learnt some new expressions and was showing them off. But the more I think about it the more anxious I get.

Does any of this sound normal for a boy of his age? BTW despite my anxiety I am pretty sure I have no other concerns, apart from a reliance on routine and getting quite upset when it is a bit off, but only when he's really tired or first thing in the morning before breakfast! Generally though he likes to know whats happening next.

Thanks in advance and sorry for the immense post

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Pomegranatemolasses · 27/04/2015 19:57

Nothing of concern immediately jumps out from your post ilove. Does he play with other other children, rather than alongside?

What you've described about his speech does not sound like echolalia to me. All of the Fireman Sam stuff is in context, and also repeating your mum's phrase and correctly changing the pronoun sounds completely normal.

My experience of echolalia is the repetition of random chunks of dialogue/ phrases in a totally out of context situation. In my opinion you have nothing to worry about from what you've written here.

Your DS sounds sweet!

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odyssey2001 · 27/04/2015 20:27

Sounds like a normal obsession for a typical 4 year old. We are 18 months into a Thomas the Task Engine obsession which makes him behave in a similar way to your son, except he has the toys to play with.

What you describe is not echolalia, just a fixation, and I say this as a teacher with experience of teaching autistic children.

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ilovetosleep · 28/04/2015 09:50

Thank you for the reassuring replies. He really is lovely but I find this obsession a bit overwhelming sometimes! Any tips on how to diversify his interests?!

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WhiffleSqueak · 28/04/2015 09:57

just to add a teeny bit to your echolalia concerns, are you worried about the red flag for ASD?

I was actually an echolaliac child. it's just how I learnt about rhythm of speech and syllables. I would literally repeat everything I heard or said under my breath several times.

I grew out of it and experienced no concurrent or subsequent behavioural or learning difficulties.

don't focus too much on one thing like that, but try to look at the whole picture. he sounds like a wicked little sprite. I'm sure he's doing just fine.

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