Does echolalia last into adulthood?

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My son has Aspergers (pending definitive diagnosis within 2 weeks, but we already know). The biggest problem to date is the echolalia. He will be 4 years old in a few weeks and his conversations still consists of immediately repeating what is said to him or going off on a tangent from something he heard on tv or a youtube video. There are (obviously) other difficulties, but this is the most apparent. I was wondering, does echolalia last into adulthood for those with Autism/Aspergers? Are there any adults on here that still echo or did it at one time, but do not anymore?

I myself have Autism and I'm 25 years old...I tend to repeat what is said to me, I think it helps me (aswell as your son) to understand what is being said, as it takes a while for people like us to "process" information...I hope this helps.

Hmmm...I am not diagnosed with AS bu I do have ADHD and I used to recite commercials as a child. I still pay very close attention to commercials and I kind of recite them in my head while watching them but I probably quit doing it aloud at age 9 or so, I realized it wasn't really a normal thing to do. I think most adult aspies could probably control it.

I will switch into modes where I do the echolalia thing...I have different reasons for it...a. i am trying to process what is being said either in order to make sure I have heard correctly or when tying to understand it...b. I am spaced out and will find myelf absent-mindedly repeating things that I hear..or c. I am in a relaxed good mood and it is part of my my relaxed sing-songy vocalizations...I do lots of nonsense speak and plays on word and the echolalia is sorta mixed in with that...

I'm 50 and echolalia is fun. I repeat the TV and radio when something strikes me funny. After I repeat a couple of times, I play with what was said or the noise I heard. I like animal noises too. I used to get yelled at or hit by my dad when I was young because I could not control it very well. I enjoy the verbal stimming. I don't have to repeat things now, but it is good entertainment that I enjoy.

Nathansmom - thank you for posting this. Our 34 month old son is verbal with a huge vocabulary, but he uses it mostly to make requests, answer direct questions, point things out and label them - car, bike, triangle, and echolalia. His immediate echolalia has diminished a bit, but the delayed is still there and he will often try to engage me in "scripts." They are functional, but scripted nonetheless.

I too am curious about when (and if) the shift between this kind of speech and more fluent speech will take place. I think I read around 5. As of now, I describe his language like that of a tourist - just enough to get what he needs and heavy on the nouns - but not fluent and engaging. We don't have a formal AS diagnosis, but like you, we are in the midst of evaluations and I am pretty sure that is what he will receive as well.

My problem in childhood was in repeating what I said, not others. I stopped doing that sometimes around 12-13. After that I repeated others, but mostly in my head... and it would usually be over and over...

Now when it comes to animal and environmental noises I did that as a child and I never stopped. If a horn blasts or a bird chirps, I will immediately repeat it.

This might barely count, but when I was four, I would mouth what I just said right after I said it. I'd say a sentence, then repeat it silently. I think it stopped when I was between five and six. Maybe because I realized I was doing it and decided I wanted to stop, which probably took a few instances of catching myself mid-syllablle.

It hasn't, for me. That was because my peers, said that I had a problem, when I did repeat what another kid would say. I quit doing that, in a hurry, and I will never get over those cold comments.

I still do it, but not as much as when I was little.

Still have it slightly, but use it to remember things b/c I have a more auditory than visual memory. I can't "see things" in my head.

My "fluent" speech was only ever just very carefully managed delayed echolalia. And rarely even the communicative type.

It did somewhat for me.

I had full echolalia until I was around 3 and a half. I still do it sometimes, especially at home when I don't think much about my behaviour.

I'm 18 and technically a teenager but legally an adult. I still sometimes echo things that people say. Usually it's the last word of their sentence but I do it quite quietly so I don't think it's very noticable. I don't know why I do it. It just comes out of my mouth and I think to myself, "Did I just say that?".

I do this, but it's more subtle than it was when I was little. Now I can be fairly quiet about it so i don't think many people notice.It hasn't gone away but it's very minor, at least I think so.