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FEATURED BOOKS ON SCHIZOPHRENIA & AUTISM AT BARNES & NOBLE.COM:
Echolalia
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When someone repeats the speech of somebody else in an involuntary and meaningless way. People with echolalia may repeat a word, phrase, or entire sentences. For example, if somebody said to a person with echolalia, "It sure is a very nice day today," he or she would respond, "It sure is a very nice day today." In echolalia, the tone and accent of the speaker is repeated as well. Think of echolalia as being like something a parrot does, in terms of speech repetition. Echolalia is sometimes accompanied by echopraxia, in which the person involuntarily repeats the behavior of another person. Echolalia is sometimes (but unusually) seen in some patient's with schizophrenia, a type of mental disorder in which one loses contact with reality. Patients with schizophrenia sometimes present with delayed echolalia. That is, they don't repeat speech until hours, days, or weeks after they hear it. |
Echolalia is also seen in some patients who are mentally retarded (very low intelligence and a poor ability to adapt to their environment). Echolalia is also seen in some patients with autism. Autism is a type of mental disorder in which children fail to form relationships with others and have language disturbances. Autism usually lasts into adulthood. When someone repeats their own speech, this is not echolalia. If present in a child, this may reflect normal repetition in the development of language skills. However, if the words/phrases are repeated an abnormally high number of times or if present in adults, it may represent perseveration, which is in inability to inhibit oneself due to damage to the front part of the brain.
Echolalia is not always a bad sign. For example, it is normal for babies to display echolalia, since they imitate sounds and words heard by others. Thus, echolalia occurs normally in child development. It is when echolalia occurs outside of this context that it is considered abnormal. Echolalia is also known as echophrasia, echo speech, and echo reaction. Echolalia comes from the Greek word "echo" meaning "sound," and the Greek word "lalia" meaning "a form of speech." Put the words together and you have "sound a form of speech."
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