Page 1 of 1 [ 5 posts ] 

soloha
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 7 Jul 2017
Gender: Male
Posts: 348
Location: Pennsylvania

11 Oct 2017, 6:06 pm

I've read echoalia is a normal part of speech development. None of what I've read indicates how many repetitions is normal. If a toddler frequently repeats a word over and over again (say 10 times) every night after the parent finishes reading a bed time story, is this normal? Is it age dependent?



Exuvian
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Aug 2016
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 822

11 Oct 2017, 8:18 pm

The Wikipedia paragraph under "Imitation and learning" helps distinguish echolalia as a function of imitative learning vs. disorder.

Skipping to the point... (sorry for the copy-paste)

Wikipedia wrote:
"It is not possible to distinguish the imitative learning form of echolalia that occurs as part of normal development from automatic imitation or echolalia characteristic of a disorder until about the age of three, when some ability for self-regulation is developed. A disorder may be suspected if automatic imitation persists beyond the age of three."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echolalia



soloha
Deinonychus
Deinonychus

User avatar

Joined: 7 Jul 2017
Gender: Male
Posts: 348
Location: Pennsylvania

11 Oct 2017, 9:20 pm

Thank you very much for your post. I wonder if some number of repetitions is "typical" though. Is there no difference between once as an immediate echo in response to another, or a few times later, and, say, ten or twenty times. Does it matter if it is monotone or sing-songy? I can't find many examples that are specific.

This is regarding a one year old that will take the last word of a bedtime story and repeat it again and again with a variety of intonations. I didn't get an exact count but the mother described it as creepy; she seemed to find it abnormal compared to her three other children. A strange way for a mother to describe a child's behavior. I've read repeating the same words over and over can be a sign of Autism and some parents know their child is Autistic before two years old. I am not advising the mother in any way. It is just personal curiosity.



Exuvian
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 16 Aug 2016
Age: 45
Gender: Male
Posts: 822

11 Oct 2017, 10:14 pm

Based on the experts' asseveration, it seems it's too early to say as it's not considered atypical for a 12-month old. If this is still occurring by Kindergarten age, then it's probably worth checking into.



BeggingTurtle
Veteran
Veteran

User avatar

Joined: 11 Jun 2013
Gender: Male
Posts: 1,374
Location: New England

11 Oct 2017, 11:32 pm

It's fairly normal in children. For me, I still exhibit symptoms of it, not as much as when I was younger. Used to have vocal tic where I would repeat words.


_________________
Shedding your shell can be hard.
Diagnosed Level 1 autism, Tourettes + ADHD + OCD age 9, recovering Borderline personality disorder (age 16)