What is the longest phase your child has had of CONSTANT echolalia (whole time they're awake!!)

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It has been a few weeks now. I've lost track, I think 4. He doesn't stop even when you are talking to him. He will stop mid flow to say something, then carry on where he left off.

Me and dd are losing our minds!!

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He even does it when he's chewing zzzzz Me and dd having been hanging out in the kitchen a lot more while he bounces around 'doing' his dvd in the living room.

Of course part of me is pleased he's found a way of managing his anxiety, it's portable entertainment for him I spose.

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We've been minimising it.

He's obssessed with a certain series and has a couple of dvds, and also with watching his school play dvd (last years though) I've trying to limit it to a couple of times a day so dd can get a chance to watch something if she wants.

Do you think cold turkey? I'm scared if I'm honest! I don't drive, and having him this chilled out means he's kind of walking in a trance and it's the only way I can get him home from school. I used to end up carrying him but he's too heavy now

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We've lived without a tv in the past, I don't miss is at all. In fact, the only reason I have one now is for the dcs.

I don't have a garden that's safe for him to play in at the moment. Looking to move very soon, and an absolute essential will be flat enclosed garden so he can run around or bounce on a trampoline as much as he likes. Will definitely think about getting rid of tv then.

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I had an interesting cionversation with ds this morning. (his teacher told him he must wait til he is out of pyjama's in the morning before he can "'do' Little Einsteins" so it gives me 10 mins to wake peacefully.

It is very unusual to have a genuine conversation with him anyway, his speech is largely scipted. He talked about things that had happened yesterdayand so he is obviously still paying attention. That's why I'm wondering if it might be a positive thing. If by the repetitive beaviour of reciting known, it is helping deal with being in a world full of unknowns. As smaller amounts of info make their way through to him, then perhaps it is preventing him being too overwhelmed to receive that information properly. Am I making any sense?

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My ds is doing it loads lately too. Like yours, he will stop mid flow, say something meaningful (like, I want a biscuit lol) and then carry on. I don't mess with it too much, but I know it drives my oh and my other son a bit nuts. The only time it really bothered me he was doing it from a well know Nintendo game my other son plays a lot, specially at xmas, so we put the games away and it stopped totally. But he just moved onto lines from TV and mostly from books, which makes me feel better lol (ie oh look at my son, he is echoing all the books I read and not oh no, he is echoing a DS game).

[LimboLil]

I am not too sure sometimes if it is anxiety related with my DS but assuming it is, I figure that having a go at home about it will increase his stress and result in him doing it more.

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I will say "quietly" or "hush" if we are somewhere it's getting in his way but I don't really mess with it so much. For me it's a bit like eczema,the more echolalia the more stressed he obviously is and the less real ds is on show (ie his own sentences).

Yes exactly that. I often say to him 'use your quiet voice please' when we're out. It can be quite amusing/embarassing. Walking through a crowd in town on Saturday everyone kindly moved to let us past just as he got to a bit where a character shouts loudly "ride 'em cowboy!"

I don't mind him doing it as a means of self-soothing. But it the same time it's driving us crazy!