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Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

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SN children

Is a verbal stim the same as echolalia?

17 replies

OctonautsOnRepeat · 30/08/2011 17:04

new socks with a new name

DS1 just won't stop talking. He has ASD and a significant speech delay but has always babbled and used jargon.

The last month I have had 'what's that mummy' pretty much constantly. Is this a verbal stim? It's like he says it , not because he needs te answer, but rather that he likes getting a response.

But every 30seconds to a minute, it's starting to do my head in!

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sickofsocalledexperts · 30/08/2011 17:10

I would say that's a verbal stim. My boy does a similar thing with the opening line of the hokey cokey. Echolalia tends to be where they copy words you say, like an echo.

OctonautsOnRepeat · 30/08/2011 17:13

That's what I thought.

Any tips on how to cut it down? He's started a new convo between his toys (imaginative play ) that goes : "what's that mummy" Mummy toy: "yes darling"

So not acutally repetitive play, more reenactment, but progress at least.

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TalesOfTheUnexpected · 30/08/2011 17:20

Sorry, I shouldn't laugh but I did, because I can relate to "it's starting to do my head in". I'll be watching for replies with interest.

I don't know the answer of whether verbal stim or echolalia are the same thing. It's something I've just started looking into myself.

I have 2 sons, 6. Both have got developmental delay, both were slow to speak. I have ended up with one son who talks CONSTANTLY, I mean, he never shuts up! It's completely wearing, but he's not repetitive with it. It's just like his brain is full and he moves and talks all the time.

My other son (just referred for ASD assessment), has very repetitive speech. "What's this Mummy?". I'd reply. Two seconds later, same thing "what's this Mummy?" - referring to the same thing. Repeat ad-nauseum. Another one was "how many sleeps til.......?".

Best advice I was given was by a Behavioural Therapist. Answer the repetitive question once, or twice, but then change your answer if they ask again.

For example:
"What's that Mummy?"
"Its an apple"

"What's that Mummy?"
"It's an apple"

"What's that Mummy?"
"Tell me what you think it is! What colour is it?"

It took a while, but the repetitive speech has diminished. He still asks "set" questions, but knows what will happen if he continues to ask.

sickofsocalledexperts · 30/08/2011 17:24

God, we have gone through so many attempts to get him to stop his huge variety of verbal stims. In the end, the one that worked best funnily enough was just to do the finger to mouth, sssh noise and then wait with him looking into his eyes, quietly, for 5 secs, then 10 secs, then 15 teaching him what "be quiet" means, Start again if he makes a noise during the 10 secs. It is hard though, as of course on another hand you WANT them to talk! But sometimes our sanity is more important, and of course if he can't learn to respond to "be quiet" the world becomes a much smaller place for him, eg can't go to cinema, some restaurants, theatre etc. It is also a problem in school. The other thing is to give him replacement language - move the conversation on and teach him next phrases. We haven't cracked it at all, but he does know (briefly) what "be quiet" means.

OctonautsOnRepeat · 30/08/2011 17:26

That's a good idea Tales...Turn it back at him.

It really is doing my head in! I have another DS who's 2.5 and he just says 'mummy' (you know with his voice going up at the end) all day.

My DH gets home and I'm all talked out and reduced to just grunting acknowlegment.

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OctonautsOnRepeat · 30/08/2011 17:28

He's knows 'be quiet' and our sign for it. He takes it very personally if I tell him to be quiet. "DS1 no be quiet" "Me talking" "you no talking mummy"
Even worse if DH and I are having a convo. Mind blindness I suppose, the conversation must be really boring if it doesn't involve him!

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TalesOfTheUnexpected · 30/08/2011 17:40

Octo he's a crafty devil as well. He's stopped the repetition so much but now TELLS me what to say, but at least I can get away with only saying it once.

He also does the re-enactment thing. And if I won't engage with him at all, he whispers the words to Peppa Pig episodes he's memorised.

sickofsocalledexperts I think I'll be using the "be quiet" thing with my other son. I have also found there are so many situations I can't take my boys to. If you were sat next to us in a cinema....you'd move seats within nano-seconds!

It's nice to be able to share these types of things. Sorry if I'm waffling on Octo's thread. It's just struck a chord with me - especially after 6 weeks of school hols.

5inthebed · 30/08/2011 17:43

Sounds like a verbal stim. Ds2 used to say "boobies" as a verbal stim, took 2 years for him to stop doing it.

sickofsocalledexperts · 30/08/2011 17:51

Lauging at "boobies"! My boy picked up a bad word (who knows from where, whistles innocently) and at moments of stress or excitement says "fuckeyrobot" - his own little made-up composite word. Luckily I can convince people he's saying "thank you robot"

Tiggles · 30/08/2011 17:51

DS had a 'verbal' stim of whistling a single note for a long long time, definitely in the region of years. Realised the other day that over the summer holidays he has stopped . We sometimes asked him to stop if he was stimming for no obvious reason, but if he was doing it because say he was anxious about an upcoming event I left him to it.

colditz · 30/08/2011 17:55

Ds1 does this, he will ask the same question over and over and not appear to need the answer as long as he gets an answer. I just thought it was clumsy interaction

5inthebed · 30/08/2011 18:16

I can laugh at boobies now, but at the time it was so draining as some days it was constant. Hard to take a 3 year old out anywhere when he is yelling boobies. Few cat bum mouths, mostly from young women.

auntevil · 30/08/2011 18:24

Tales - it struck a chord with me. My DS just constantly says 'mum, mum, mum, mum, mum, ' wherever he is in the house/garden. If I don't respond/can't hear him, he goes 'MUM, MUM, MUM, MUM, MUM, MUM, MUM...' I end up running, mainly in pity at the poor neighbours, to find that you get to him and he has no question, nothings happened, or if i challenge him that he didn't really have anything to say, he makes something up like 'are ladybirds really beetles?' etc. If he's not occupied and in an agitated mood it can go on constantly for ages, sounding like demented seagulls squawking at the seaside.
I've told him that I don't answer to that name unless someone is in the same room or very close to me - but it has made no difference. I'm thinking of ear defenders - for myself

farming4 · 30/08/2011 18:32

We've had this all summer with ds2 - Theres only so many times you can listen to "ee-i-ee-i-oooh before going quietly mad. Whats worse is that dd2 (nt) who worships her big brother has started copying him.......wouldn't mind if it was the whole song but its just that line over and over and over and over again.

Keep trying to tell myself that at least he saying something

auntevil · 30/08/2011 18:36

Anyone give me some hope here and tell me at what age do NT children stop copying their SN older brothers?

5inthebed · 30/08/2011 19:16

Good question Auntevil

OctonautsOnRepeat · 30/08/2011 19:20

haha, DS2 is NT and is just starting to copy his brother. Oh dear!

DS1 starts nursery in Sept so I'm hoping I willregain a bit of sanity in the 3 hours a day he is away.

I know when they both start school full time, I am going to go back to bed for the first few weeks...just because I can.

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