Echolalia is the repetition of vocalizations made by another person. Echolalia can be present in autism, Tourette syndrome, aphasia, Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome, developmental disability, schizophrenia, Asperger syndrome and, occasionally, other forms of psychopathology. It is also frequently found in blind visually impaired children, although most will outgrow this behavior. When done involuntarily, echolalia may be considered a tic.

The word "echolalia" is derived from the Greek ἠχώ meaning "echo" or "to repeat",¹ and λαλιά (laliá) meaning "babbling, meaningless talk"² (of onomatopoeic origin from the verb λαλέω (laléo) meaning "to talk").

Immediate echolalia is when a word or phrase is immediately repeated. In some autistic and Asperger's cases it may be a method of buying time to help process language. In an instance a child with autism is asked, "Do you want dinner?" the child echoes back "Do you want dinner?" followed by a pause and then a response, "Yes. What's for dinner?"³

Delayed echolalia is repeating a phrase after a delay, such as a person with autism who repeats TV commercials, favorite movie scripts, or parental reprimands.

References

Further reading

Simon N (1975). "Echolalic speech in childhood autism. Consideration of possible underlying loci of brain damage". Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 32 (11): 1439–46. PMID 812450.