Is this Echolalia?

[black2black]

My DS3 has always enjoyed copying people since he was a baby. I remember him when he was about 1 copying the noise a baby was making at the other side of co op with a huge grin on his face.

If we take him to the park he’ll run and play with the kids but he’ll copy what they say. So if they say “shall we play on the slide?” He’ll repeat that sentence in exactly the same way. If one of them runs up to their mummy and then jumps and then says eg ”my brother fell off the slide, he’ll copy their movement of running, jumping and repeat the same sentence.

We went to a bouncy castle recently and a kid was jumping and then lying down. DS copied this exactly behaviour lying next to the other child until the other child stood up and did something else. DS then copied this.

He’s fine in everything else, talks well, very social, it’s just this copying behaviour which I find very strange.

Bump - anyone got any experience of this?

Echolalia for my ds is usually repeating phrases again and again rather than copying it once. His favourite phrases often become part of a stim for him, usually if he's nervous or excited.

Could it be that he wants to see how something feels/sounds when he does it? Sometimes my ds will copy lines or actions (usually from a TV show rather than real life) because he finds it interesting or exciting.

It doesn’t sound the same then as he does it immediately. Well he does seem relent excited by copying people, he looks delighted and the other kids don’t seem to mind. I just get very embarrassed

Bump - any other experiences of this?

I'm not an expert by any means but I have seen children doing this who were later diagnosed with autism. It seems to be part of fitting in and perhaps a way of being social. I'm sure adults with autism also do this but in a much more covert way.

@jclm interesting. Is it friends/familychildren you’ve seen do this ?

Yes, I've seen a few friends' children do this. No learning disabilities, just autism, if that helps.