Echolalia; Regression or Development?

Post Reply New Topic

Read about this and the idea is that the autie/aspie is grasping for a improved competence in language skills by repeating things, so that it's not a meaningless thing, but a purposive thing.

My own experience is that, as a child, I sure would tend to repeat things occasionally, to the great exasperation of my father. I don't recall that it was a striving for increased language competence, however. Just seems like I was having fun with the combination of words and music, as most of those things were commercial and political jingles.

From early adulthood on though, this vanished.

However . . .

There is something else. I now tend to repeat specific phrases from films/tv shows on occasion. Seems as if specified stimuli produce the responses. Seems as if, rather than improvise a verbal response to a stock situation, instead, I substitute a line from a movie/film/tv show whenever I feel that it "fits." More often than not, these lines said are highly idiosyncratic and sound like non-sequiturs to the people around me. I find myself explaining sometimes, after which, blank looks. lol. This totally makes sense to moi, but apparently far less to others.

Does anyone else do this, or can anyone shed some light on this thing?

I do this too. No one has been able to quote more simpsons episodes than me.
I always drop in a few simpsons quotes in normal conversation.

Mention Judy Dench:
"Judy Dench's Fish and Chip Shop, now completely free of mad fish disease"
"Hmm, fish I'm not really into vegetarian food."
"Please order something, she'll beat us she will."
"Who are you talking talking to?"
"No one mum."
"I'll no one mum you!"

My sister and a few other NT friends do it too.

In terms of learning, many 'games' and a great deal of childrens' play is learning. But they do not view themselves as striving to acquire skills X, Y and Z. To them they are simply playing. I expect the same is true of echolalia. It is part of an autistic learning behavior in the same way an NT child who mimics their parent is engaging in an NT learning behavior.

Yes, I do.
Evidently, NTs sometimes do too (although not as commonly). Interestingly, they often all do it with the same idiosyncratic sound bite. For instance there was a time when it was very common (where I live) for people to chuck 'it won't happen overnight, but it will happen' into conversation (followed by group laughter), this line came from a shampoo advertisement featuring model/actress Rachael Hunter.
I think this might be another instance of AS people simply being 'more'. This 'pick up and repeat' is clearly something NTs will do also, but the triggers tend to be rarer and the effects less long lived. I cannot help but add 'but it will happen' whenever someone says 'it won't happen overnight'. Some of the people who give me blank looks in response, actually were the same people chucking the sound bite into conversation when it was a current meme. If I explain, they will react with 'oh yeah that advert' type responses. Not only has the phrase left their active lexicon, they've forgotten it was even there, and even what they found funny about it people chucking it into conversation.

I do this quite a bit as well, though usually with song lyrics rather than movie lines.
An NT friend asked me the other day exactly how much of my working memory was devoted to 70's song lyrics. Far too much, I'm afraid.
I think NT's more commonly do it with things that are current and hip, and aspies are more likely to do it with things that have fallen out of fashion and are thus more obscure. But that's only speculation based upon personal observation.

There are many times after I say something that I need to whisper it to myself over and over again...over and over again...over and over again...over and over again...but seriously, I guess the reason I do it is to make sure what I said sinks in.