E is for Echolalia – Repeated Phrases Are Communication

If you’ve ever heard a child repeat a question over and over—or quote the same line from a favorite show all day—you’ve experienced echolalia.

And if your first instinct was to say, “I already answered that,” or “You don’t need to say that again,”—you’re not alone. Most of us were never taught what echolalia actually is.

Here’s the truth: Echolalia is communication. It’s not nonsense. It’s not defiance. It’s not a behavior to fix.

Echolalia is how many neurodivergent children make sense of the world, build language, self-regulate, and connect with others—especially when they don’t yet have the words they need.