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Original poster

child repeating words under his breath?

35 replies

bananafish · 01/01/2019 19:27

My 6 (nearly 7 year) old son has started to repeat sentences and phrases under his breath. For example he will say "will you play lego with me?" and then will whisper "play lego with me" to himself.

I've looked it up and it's called 'palilalia', but predictably enough I've frightened myself rigid with Dr Google telling me it's a neurodegenerative disorder, correlated with Tourettes, OCD, anxiety issues, autism, ADHD and a host of other syndromes.

Before I disappear down that particular rabbit hole, I was just hoping that maybe somebody else has come across it and maybe it could be a habit or a phase that he may grows out of rather than a 'complex and difficult language disorder'.

It's quite a recent development and I can't decide if I need to go to see the doctor about it just yet, but I'd be very grateful if anyone has come across it and could share their experience/knowledge?

TIA

OP posts:
MaterEstIratus · 01/01/2019 19:29

My son has Aspergers and he did this when he was younger. He grew out of it.

CmdrIvanova · 01/01/2019 19:31

DSis did this at about the same age, she doesn't have any neurodiversity or any other issues. It was just a little tic that she grew out of.

MissisBee · 01/01/2019 19:31

I don't know anything about it, but my husband does this. Happens more when he's nervous. I first noticed it when he was ordering something in a restaurant on holiday. I think it's just a wee habit thing with him, rather than an indication of any underlying problem. Never knew there was a name for it

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FuckingYuleLog · 01/01/2019 19:37

One of my dc who has hfa goes through periods of doing this. Though I haven’t noticed it for a long time now. They don’t have any other speech issues but I raised it with a speech therapist we saw during diagnosis and they said that if the child isn’t bothered by it then it’s not a problem.
The only time I noticed an issue with it was when they were reading aloud as they’d repeat what they’d read under their breath which affected fluency but that was only really when they were learning to read. One of their friends asked them why they do it one time and they just said ‘it helps me remember things’ and the friend just said ‘oh, ok’ and they carried on chatting. It’s never caused any kind of problem and from what I’ve read it can occur distinct of any other co-morbid issue. I’d bet they’ll just grow out of it.

PeanuttyButter · 01/01/2019 19:40

My brother has Aspergers and he did this too. When he learned to write he used to spell it out in the air too. He grew out of it. My parents didn’t make a big deal out of from what I can remember. Try not to worry about something that’s probably out of your control x

jessstan2 · 01/01/2019 19:43

Not at all uncommon, a bit like chewing things over and talking to yourself. Many children do that. Don't worry about it.
(Some adults do it too, that can be annoying but is a different story.)

Ribbonsonabox · 01/01/2019 19:44

I dont think it is always a serious problem! I know several neuro typical people who do this!
If you think about there are lots of particular behaviours that are associated with autism that actually most people do... things like physical habits such as tapping your knee or flicking your fingers repeatedly... many people do these things as a habit because they are in some way calming... autism is about the bigger picture not just about one thing which someone does which some autistic people do! So unless there is more going on with your son I would not bother going down that rabbit hole and I'd just file it under habit.

Pickapony · 01/01/2019 19:45

Hi op my dd8 did this for about 6 months when she was 6,I hadn’t really thought about it til I read your post and remembered.She just gradually stopped doing it ,maybe wait a bit then go to the gp to put your mind at rest .

cowfacemonkey · 01/01/2019 19:45

My ds does this occasionally I don’t draw any attention to it and it usually lessens. He also occasionally develops facial tics when he is particularly tired (especially towards the end of a long term) again I ignore and they disappear. If you have no other concerns I would just ignore it.

3out · 01/01/2019 19:52

He’s not been watching The Middle has he? The boy on that does it a lot. Maybe your DS just thinks it’s quirky?
Our DS (ASD) does this (never seen The Middle ;) ) but not as much as he used to. Not so much the repeating, but normally says a sentence and then under his breath says ‘at least I think that’s right, I think’

Original poster
bananafish · 01/01/2019 19:56

Thank you all - that's very reassuring.

He can be fairly anxious (he doesn't like getting things wrong for example) but aside from that, I don't really have other worries about his development.

Sounds as though I should just keep a watching brief for the moment and see if I need to follow it up if it gets worse or changes significantly.

Thank you again - that's put my mind more at rest Flowers

OP posts:
cowfacemonkey · 01/01/2019 20:05

Not sure about the under the breath thing but ds’s last facial tic lasted about 8 weeks so like you you say keep watch but don’t worry too much if it lasts a few weeks. Actually it was only because of this thread that I’ve realised ds’s tic has gone since he broke up for the Xmas holidays!

SylvanianFrenemies · 01/01/2019 21:17

I'm a Speech Therapist.

Things that come to mind (not diagnosis, haven't met him etc).

  • normal quirk
  • a little anxious
  • language processing issue
  • part of a wider condition such as ASC, ADHD.

You would expect other symptoms/signs with the latter 3, as with a neurodegenerative condition. With the disclaimer that in not a doctor and haven't met your DS, it's important to consider how likely a child would be to have a neurodegenerative condition with no other clear symptoms (hint: not at all likely).

So, the questions to ask yourself are:

Do you have any health concerns? If so, or if any doubt at all, take him to the GP.
Are there any signs of neurodiversity such as ASC and ADHD? Either keep a watchful eye or go to the GP.
Does he have any problems with language expression or understanding? Ask at school about SLT assessment.
Might this just be him?
Does he seem anxious? Do you need to give him the chance to,open up about worries?

Gedge77 · 01/01/2019 21:51

My ds did this at around the same age. He stopped doing it after about a year. I was a little bit worried as he did have some very mild autistic traits. But he has grown out of those as well. He is 14 now and is NT.

Santaisfastasleepatlast · 01/01/2019 21:53

At 6 my ds had an invisible friend called Jeff. Talked it him all the time, set a place at tea, in the car. Popular at school, no issued going on, typical example of an odd phase dc go through!!
At ten he laughs about it now and we all make space for Jeff sometimes!!
No harm done.

Girlsnightin · 01/01/2019 22:26

Mine did for a spell, and then a bit of finger flicking, facial tics and grunts.

I read up on the internet and scared myself witless!

Took him to the docs who put my mind at rest. Each one of the above came and went, so although there's signs he's on the spectrum (and we all are to differing degrees) none of it is problematic.

Mom4lifeAandB · 04/03/2020 06:58

Hi Bananafish,
My daughter is 7 years old and started the same symptoms last year; I am just now coming across your post. Do you have any updates or anything you have learned?
TIA

Halfcharged · 04/03/2020 08:16

My DS did this around the age of 8, he say something them repeat it in a whisper. I think it went on for a good few months. It stopped as quickly as it started. It was quickly followed by the baby voice phase so good luck with that one!

Allycat1990 · 07/04/2020 15:48

My daughter does it all the time and has been for 2 years now she is 9 now and she does it EVERYTIME she talks we haven’t asked her why she does it cause no one wants to embarrass her but seeing how it could be called something I want to ask her if it’s something she just does or she can’t help

Zobeau · 29/04/2020 16:15

My 13 year old son does this alot more lately not sure if it's an anxiety thing I've asked him about it he doesn't realise his doing it??

Janellecox · 17/05/2020 18:51

My daughter also age 6 also does this! She repeats everything she says verbatim twice! At first I think she was doing it to make sure I understood everything she was saying ( I have severe to profound hearing loss in both ears) but since she does this with everything, now I think it has become a habit. I would also like advice on how to break her of this!

planningaheadtoday · 17/05/2020 19:27

My eldest son has Aspergers and he did this. He grew out of it in his teens.

Y0ubetterwerk · 17/05/2020 19:31

DS has done this since he started talking at 1 and he's now 6.
Everything used to be repeated, now it tends to be new things. He hears it, says it normally then whispers the same info under his breath.
In his case, it's for retention. It's almost as if he says it enough times, he'll remember it, almost like rote learning.
I think it's something most grow out of. I certainly don't expect him to still be doing it when he's a teenager.

TenCornMaidens · 17/05/2020 19:38

My daughter did this around that age. Also word final dysfluency where she'd say 'I don't want to go outside (side)'. She grew out of it. She does have anxiety and OCD but both being treated and she's okay.

Dowdface · 10/05/2021 16:10

My son does this and he’s only 4.5. He’s been doing it for as long as I can remember. I have asked him why he does it and he doesn’t have an answer, it can be quite annoying at times but we’ve all got used to it now. I put it down to a habit, he’s quite an anxious/shy child.