Child repeating same thing everyday...part of SCD/ autism?

[Elmo311]

Hello,

DD is 4. Had one assessment at 2yr and paediatrician said possible SCD/ 'mild' autism.
She has a speech delay and she has a long history!

My question is about whether anyone else's child did/ does this and whether it's related to autism or not?

For example, about 6 weeks ago she fell over a crack on the pavement when on her scooter. Since then every-single-day when we go past that crack she will stop where it is, point to it and say something like "we fall over".

When we were on holiday a few months ago, one of our cats vomited and our neighbour let us know, she heard that conversation and everyday for ages she would say "cat got sick on sofa". Just randomly at any point throughout the day!

It is a little annoying sometimes. What should I do or say to her? I do acknowledge what she's said every time but maybe I should distract her or move on from it quickly?

I think DC had a similar phase around 3, it’s passed now. Perhaps acknowledge, maybe explain how that event was in the past and you are now in the present- expand on language and develop understanding of time…

This is really common in autistic children for a number of reasons fixed mindset, good memory etc. It can also be a feature of language and a child may be seeking a predictable response to a set phrase.

If something happens especially something memorable or significant then often the child just assumes or expects the same in the same place or situation or may just want to recall it.
With negative experiences this can lead to anxiety.

Thank you for your reply. I do think she can be quite anxious sometimes, and she also used to bite her nails.

You seem to have experience with this?
Do you have any advice on how to help her in these situations? Do I say the same thing every time ?

@EHCP22 Thank you.
I will try this. My DD is probably at the level of a 2.5/3yr old so this makes sense

Hi yes well spotted OP our daughter was diagnosed with autism age 3. I’m a retired SEN Advisory teacher.

Difficult re her saying the same things as you don’t want to discourage communication. She may be saying the same things out loud to process them. You can provide a minimum response such as yes or it’s ok but children can become reliant on these verbal responses.
Some subjects you might not want repeated e.g. cat vomit You can try saying “talking about cat has finished.” then distract her if you can.
Does she have SALT involvement?

As she gets older or her understanding improves you can use social stories to explain for example that she fell over but it is ok now if it becomes a problem.

Re anxiety picking at skin around nails, biting nails etc can be replaced with something worse if discouraged.
Sometimes things we think hurt may not be painful and can continue for many years.
I’m sure you are finding lots of strategies or resources that help to calm her e.g. items to cuddle, stroke, chew, lights, calming music, beanbag, Slanket etc.

Also might be worth looking at Gestalt Language Processing.