Can a child ever have echolalia and NOT have ASD?

[Floopytheloopy]

Hi everyone.

It's been a while since i've posted on here actually. Mainly because things have been rather quiet with regards to my dd, thankfully!

Anyway, would just like to ask another question. As some of you may remember my dd is 4 and possibly ASD. We would assume that if you was she was on the milder end of the spectrum as her traits are fairly mild and she certainly doesn't tick all the boxes. Now, I know that most kids don't, but I just thought I should make that point clear.

Dd is actually settling into foundation class really well. I know they "have their moments with her", but overall I think everybody is shocked as to how she has responded. Especially with regards to authority. This was a real issue with her before and this was why we were wondering at one point with it was possible for her to actually have ODD rather than ASD.

Finally the question I wanted to ask was(as in subject), can a child have echolalia and not be on the spectrum? This, along with being "overly friendly" is definitely her biggest trait. Having said that, they haven't mentioned this at school.

I have to say and i'm rather ashamed to admit this, but dd echolalia can drive me insane!! Her nanna(my mum) insists that all children do it and that it's actually rather sweet that she remembers entire scripts from her favourite and sometimes not favourite films. It's not so sweet when you have to listen to it all day. Having said that, when we are out she's not so bad.

The other main issue we have with her, as I mentioned earlier, are her social skills. She tends to be overwhelming to other children and you can see they think she's "weird", which is heartbreaking to see. She tends to get on better with the older children I think.

School say that she isn't behind atall, although she does have 1:1, but that's more to prevent meltdowns, which i'm glad to say haven't really happened since the first week.

Thanks for reading and I would really appreciate your thoughts and advice. :)

Sorrry, I just read that back and some of it didn't make any sense!

I'm sure you got the idea. ;)

DID IT AGAIN!! I think I need a lie down.

Floopy - DS2 repeats things verbatim constantly - repeatedly - over and over - and over again you get the idea....LOL Entire scripts, the entire classroom roster (which he learned within a few days of starting school), songs... and once he's started his reciting something - nothing but NOTHING will stop him! ( I know - I've tried!! )

I think the difference is that NT kids will repeat favourite parts of things (like something funny or the highlights) whereas DS2 will repeat it ALL! At least, that's what I've found in comparing DS2 to our other children. And yes, it can drive me mad sometimes - I've just recently been asking him questions about what he is saying to force him out of the "loop" of repetition - so if he asks for an apple, when he keeps repeating it, I'll ask him a few questions such as "would you like a red or green apple?" and "would you like it whole?" and "shall we wash it first?"... even if it's something I already know the answer to, as long as it pertains to the situation, it makes me FEEL as if we're having a conversation, even if we're kind of not. Sanity-saving, if that makes sense! LOL And usually it breaks that loop just enough to get him answering questions and stop repeating it over and over (enough to head off that mind splitting headache that hits after about an hour of repeats! )

DS2 isn't behind in class at all (in fact is quite far ahead in maths and reading), but still has 1:1 for 30 hours (meltdowns, safety due to running off, inattention, sensory issues, etc etc etc).

As far as your question about whether echolalia is always ASD related, I wouldn't know. I've always really heard of it in relation to that, but like any other trait of ASD, there could be other issues causing it I suppose. It's such a hard thing to know as everything is so overlapping....

um, I know other conditions can cause it - but I've never heard of it happening without an underlying cause, a quick google seems to confirm that as well

see my understanding of it is that the normal copying that small children do isn't really classed as echolalia - because they stop doing it long before anyone would notice it as an issue (as babies really)

but yeah it can have other causes - like a language impairment or auditory processing (cos that made it sound like I was disagreeing, lol)

I think what I mean is that as far as I know for it to be noticed and called echolalia it's because it's happening at a later stage and there's a reason - but that reason isn't always ASD

Thanks very much everyone.

That really has genuinely shed some light actually.

I have an I.E.P metting next week as they want to assess her needs. I'm assuming this is because after easter lots of other children will be joining her class and her 1:1 will be needed for another child.

Not really sure what to expect really. I'm really nervous about the whole thing actually. It's so important to make sure we get this right. She's at such a crucial age with regards to getting everything in place.

I also have to be prepared that they may say they feel that she doesn't need 1:1 anymore in which case i'm sure i've got a long battle ahead of me.

I am taking a looooong list of questions with me. Has anyone got any advice in how to handle this? This will be my first meeting with the school after meeting dd and seeing her first hand as it were.

Thanks again for all the really usfull advice.

it might not be at all because other children are joining - best practice is to have an IEP review once a term anyway

my biggest bit of advice is to take someone with you, to remember what was said, to give another point of view, to make sure you get answers to the questions you have - it's blooming hard to do that alone as it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming

don't be afraid to ask what something means, or to question what they're doing and don't be afraid to disagree with something if you know better

find out what they're doing to help her social skills, there are plenty of social skills programmes they could be doing with her

and take notes

other than that it depends what happens really, if this is the first one you'll have to play it by ear a bit

tabu- I'm going to try to be as strong as I can. I've got dp coming with me, although I have to say i'm not sure how much good that will do. He really wants to be there, but I don't think he understands the situation fully and can be rather defensive when anything negative is being said. I'm not suggesting that I don't take him because that really would be me decaring war! I just hope for dds sake that he manages to control it and we move forward, rather than fuel the fire.

It seems madness to me the amount of fighting that parents have to do in order to make sure their children are getting what they need. And i'm only at the very begining!! Wish me luck.

Im not sure how much you have read, researched, but as a mum of 2 girls with ASD, I can happily say girls rarely present in the same way as boys with ASD.
My youngest has quite a lot of echolalia and it drives me nuts! DD1 has friends, is very clever and does so well in school. Of course we have bad days but in my experience girls manage the social difficulties so much better than the boys,
Something that helped me was the keep a diary for a few months and then you really see they diffixculties and traits that you just get used to seeing.

I am currently researching echolalia as part of my education degree. Agree with bdaonions - it is a normal part of language development. It is also a temporary phase of development - albeit not necessarily short.

Suggest you google ASD conference, 2009 for useful strategies. Whether or not your child has ASD, the strategies will be useful.

Agree with last post - keep a diary of echolalic speech. It may highlight need for development of useful phrases as well as situations where your child may feel anxious.

my nephew had echolalia and DX of tourettes.