Expert: Trey McGowan - 7/3/2007

Question
My daughter is 8 and has an autistic like syndrome. She memorizes and speaks all the time but most of it is just that---memorized quotes. She can speak to get her needs met. Is there a nice way to stop the constant chatter? She annoys everyone, and I am sad to say---even me at times.

Answer
Hello Carol!

The term for what your daughter is doing, clinically, is 'Echolalia'. I say this to you because this way, you can check it in websites and do some research. It's a fairly common incidence in autistic children and children with other speech disabilities, simply because it is easier to say what has been said than it is to formulate your own thoughts into something as complicated as words.

The best thing you can do for stopping chatting is teach her that sometimes there are times to talk and sometimes there are times not to talk. Without knowing how much she comprehends as well as chatters, I don't have good advice myself on the 'how', unfortunately. A better person to help with that would be a Speech Therapist, particularly one who specializes or at the very least works with autistic children.

If she very definitely comprehends, even if she doesn't talk, try teaching her a simple 'code statement' to get someone's attention. Maybe 'Excuse me, Mama?'. Then, at least, she knows that she can get your attention to talk to you (or at you), and other times, she should remain more quiet if she can. I'm no expert, though, so your mileage may vary with that suggestion!

Hope that helps at least a little!

Trey