Echolalia in toddler

[Ladybug1235]

My little girl just turned 26 months and she can do the following :

1. Expressive language : Has over 200 words and speaks in 2/3 sometimes 4 word sentences including connectors , adjective and verbs like “ bunny sitting on the train “
2. Good receptive language with two step instructions at all times and she listens and responds to other members of the family .
3. She is Social to some extent but it takes a while to warm her up and then she interacts well with adults and her peers ( although she still wants me close by ) She engages with kids if it is 1/1 interaction like playing with ball or on the beach but if there are lots of kids she just looks at them / what they are doing .
4. She eats and sleeps like a champ so far all 12 hours and all type of food apart from scrambled eggs 🍳
5. She can answer questions like (?what/where /who’s , what is mommy/daddy doing ? What color is dolly ? Where does the hat go ? What do you want ?
6. Asks questions like / what’s that . What happened and what’s the sound , why are you sad / scared etc
7. She can easily transition from her house to a new one without problems and she is not repetitive in any way apart from when she goes on the swing at the park and doesn’t want to get off to try other things 😅.
8. Tantrum wise she is fairly good at self soothing and her tantrums don’t last more than 5 minutes .

She still tends to repeat almost verbatim what we say “ the entire phrase and I know that immediate echolalia is a ref flag and someone suggested GLP

Like when she wakes up from nap : she started saying “ it is empty “ referring to a box in her room because I told her that it was empty a while back . I know it is not typical and I wish I knew how to help her

She still makes requests with single words at times but I was told not to be overly concerned about that as long as there is combination of words into phrases.

Ps no one seems to be concerned

Seems fairly normal 2 year old behaviour

If she is communicating with you in some way and learning new words, it doesn't sound concerning. Kids sometimes repeat what we say when they're learning to talk. Doesn't necessarily mean it crosses into being echolalia.

What is your question?

Seems normal toddler from what you've described?

Echolalia is perfectly normal until they're 3 or so. It's how they learn.

As PPs say it's a totally normal thing for toddlers to do when they're learning to talk, but your example sounds more like she's just repeating a fact about the box that she learned from you. I thought this was going to be about repeating whole story books or similar (which my DS used to enjoy doing at that age so he could pretend he was 'reading' them).

Why would you think it’s not typical? Seems completely normal. My children both did this and are NT, if that’s your concern.

I would echolalia other comments that this seems like completely normal development for the age. What made you concerned ? What made you concerned ?

sounds like most 2 year olds?
They repeat what you say as it’s how they learn.

ds age 2 famously started introducing everyone to our ‘ bloody cat’… after dh found the cat stealing his custard the month before.

You're a frequent poster I think - as ever, your child sounds like a totally normal toddler and you need to get some help for your anxiety

I agree with @Nonametonight .

I wish you and your daughter all the best, @Ladybug1235 !

Iit is mainly when i ask her open ended questions like ‘ what do you want or what are you doing ?” That she doesn’t answer

If it was only echolalia that she used then I’d be concerned, but with the rest of it, no, sounds normal.

How does it sound when it s considered a disorder ?

Everyone seems to think that early therapy does help but i don’t have access to it given that everybody thinks there’s nothing wrong and wait and see approach . I was wondering to bump into a mum who has had the same experience as me

At 26 months I don’t think Ds could have answered ‘ what would you like to do’. Would have been at best a one word answer.

He was barely talking at just turned 2. By 3 he couldn’t stop talking.

26months and 200 words - she is doing fantastically.

mine had severe speech delay and didn’t have 2 sounds let alone 2 words or 200 like yours at 26 months!!!

honestly - the list of things she can do is fabulous. She sounds amazing .

Stop worrying unnecessarily and enjoy her - believe me - you’ll know if there is a major speech issue or communication issue and from all the things you’ve listed that she is doing she sounds like she is developing beautifully.

Hi OP I have 2 diagnosed autistic girls age 10 and 8. Well done for being aware of the signs of autism and being 'on it' there is absolutely nothing wrong with that and it's a good thing. If your DD is autistic this is something which will be impossible to diagnose yet due to her having lots of typical signs. Eg. She would not yet be a concern to a paediatrician. Stay vigilant but remember than a few autistic traits are also in typically developing toddlers and she would need lots of traits in each of 3 catagories (social/communication/rigid thinking) to be considered autistic. Keep an eye out but feel reassured by this.

My 10yo was diagnosed at 3 and was obvious from 2.
My 8yo had lots of signs but could speak well and wasn't diagnosed until she was 5.

She’s only two, and it will be fine for her to not have instant answers to those questions for many years yet.

Think about how it might feel to be asked those questions regularly with a clear expectation on you to answer with something satisfactory.

Thanks I know in my heart that she is autistic and that echolalia is not something that’s normal for all the toddlers so she certainly showing signs ..

I am concerned about the echolalia as I know not every toddler go through that phase and I don’t understand why mine does .

I’m not sure what the problem is. Sounds normal to me.

If I have to be honest with all of you I have no idea what a neurotypical child should be /sound at my daughter’s age

Were you asking similar questions last week, and the week before by any chance? I think people are at risk of wasting their time repeating what others have already said to you, or to similar threads in the last few months. Apologies if I've got that wrong but it all feels remarkably familiar.

I have posted on BabyCentre before and got nowhere. X

Oh come on, you’re still doing this? How many times do people have to tell you you’re daughter is currently reaching typical development?

she's 26 months old.
Most won't understand open ended questions like that