ASD and echolalia

[Marne]

Dd2's speech has come along so much in the past 5 months (going from non-verbal to using 3-4 word sentences), her understanding of language has improved and she can follow commands such as 'put the blue teddy under the chair'. I am happy with the progress she is making but we have started to get a lot of echolalia mainly when i ask her a question, so for example:

me: 'would dd2 like a biscuit?'

DD2: 'would dd2 like a biscuit?' sometimes followed by 'biscuit please'.

Me 'ok dd2, mummy get you a biscuit'

Dd2 "mummy get biscuit'

Other times she will listen to dh and i talking and repeat single words that she hears, she also repeats everything she hears on the TV including the Churchill dog and the PG tips monkey (which makes us smile).

Since she has been ill with scarlet fever (since last wed) the echolalia has got even worse and she is even mimicking peoples voices (she does her sister down to a T), everything i say to her she says back such as 'are you ok dd2?' .'lets put your shoes on' etc...ect..

Is this a part of her ASD that will always be there?

Is it just her way of learning language?

I can remember dd1 doing it but she was a lot younger (15 months) so it was less embaressing than it is with dd2 (almost 4).

Your DD2 sounds a lot like my DS2. He was like this last year when he became verbal, and echolalia was in full swing. I found that by reducing my language and then giving the answer helped his understanding of what he needed to say.

Using your example:
You: DD2 want biscuit
DD2: DD2 want biscuit
You: DD2 Yes
DD2: DD2 Yes

Or similar you could say "DD2 want biscuit yes or no", so giving her the oppertunity to pick up the responces.

DS2 learnt a lot of his responces by echolalia, and still does a few now, like when he says hello to someone, he will straight away say "you alright" EVERY time.

She sounds like she is doing really well with her language, well done

Oh yes definately in my experience I found that the echolalia got worse when he was very tired or under the weather and reverted back to the usual speech when he was better. I am also convinced that the echolalia was an essential part of his getting to grips with language so as much as it drove me mad I can now see that it formed part of a stepping stone iykwim.

Sounds like she's coming on really well, well done little Marne

Thank you, it sounds like its a good thing then (just very anoying), her sister seems to find it funny as what ever she says to dd2 gets repeated back to her (so dd1 is getting her to say silly things and then laughing).

When she does repeat things the words are so clear, just a shame that she rarely uses the words to make up her own questions (the only questions she ever asks are 'can i have ' or " where is ' but i guess that's a great start and the rest will follow.

I still do it but have trained myself not to, most of the time. It helps me to hear what you just said, and gives me time to convert your words into pictures in my mind (which is what makes sense to me personally).

Thanks Amber, i think with instructions that is exactly what she's doing (processing what i have said to her), for example if i ask her to put her shoes on she will repeat what i have said and the 5 seconds after she will do it.

Dh does a lot of mimicking people and repeating word for word what they have said, he often comes home from work and repeats a convosation he has has with his boss mimicking his bosses voice .

DS2 does this. It has diminished as he has got older but he does still do it when he needs to.

It does drive you a little bit up the wall....