Why Babies and Toddlers Repeat What You Say (and What to Do If It Goes on Too Long)
Part of a child’s early language development involves repeating the words you say, so generations of young parents have stood in front of their child and said things like, “Mom? Can you say “mom”? Mother!” However, while this repetition, called echolalia , is an essential part of early speech development, if it goes on for too long or is associated with other symptoms, it could be a sign of something more, including an autism spectrum disorder or other medical condition. type of developmental delay.
“That’s how kids learn language, they imitate and repeat,” said Madeleine Racine, an instructor at Baylor College of Medicine and a psychologist at Texas Children’s Hospital . Over time, this repetition will begin to decrease. “When kids learn a language more, they start mixing up their own sayings and words,” Racine said.
Generally speaking, a very young child will repeat a lot in the first months of language use, and this proportion will decrease over time. “It’s a stepping stone to developing a more flexible language,” Racine said.
In most children, echolalia decreases significantly as they get older. “Closer to age three, the echo decreases and the child uses more spontaneous speech,” Racine said. “They may repeat something, like something funny they heard on TV, but they have a lot of spontaneous and flexible speech to communicate their wants and needs.”
When to Consult a Doctor
While repetition is normal in the early stages of language development, if it continues for too long or is severe, you should talk to your doctor, as persistent echolalia is usually associated with autism spectrum disorder or other developmental delays.
Other signs to look out for include if your child struggles to communicate their wants and needs, or if they tend to repeat the intonation of words. “Children with autism, when they echo, they usually repeat the same intonation they hear,” Racine said. “If a parent says, ‘Hurrah, good job,’ the child can say exactly that.”
Another common warning sign is if echolalia is accompanied by speech delay. “When it comes to what’s atypical, it’s really about the child’s developmental history,” said Gabriel Ansueto, an instructor at UTHealth’s Houston McGovern School of Medicine . “If you have a child who doesn’t reach his speech milestones and suddenly his first words repeat words, then that’s not normal.”
In Ansueto’s experience, parents of children with speech delays are often so relieved when they hear those first words that they think everything is fine, when in fact they still need further testing.
While echolalia can be a sign of an underlying problem, the goal is not to get rid of it, but to diagnose the underlying problem and find ways to support your child, which often includes speech therapy. “We don’t necessarily want to stop or prevent echolalia,” Racine said. For children with a speech delay or on the spectrum, echolalia is part of how they learn language, even if it lasts longer than usual. And for some children, it can serve as a self-soothing mechanism. “Often, echolalia is used for its intended purpose,” Racine said.