Echolalia and Autism

This is quite an interesting one when you consider the fact that there are already issues with speech already.  But I guess that copying what is said again and again or repeating what they say again and again is not that much of a surprise.

I would say that Johnathan doesn’t have echolalia per se, but when he gets in trouble (or thinks he is going to be) he will put his hands over his ears and run to his bedroom saying really fast “sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry”  And when he gets into that state we have to go to him and help him return to a state where he can listen to us before he starts again.

This is a recognised sign of autism, but as autism is a spectrum that doesn’t mean every person with autism has it.  You have to have more signs of the child being on the spectrum/

For me, it shocked me when I read somewhere that if the person with autism behaved totally at odds with their behaviour in school/ nursery/whatever it is a clear sign of autism.  But you can’t just have one sign of autism and believe they have it.

One of the things I have seen in every autistic child I know (so far) is flapping hands when excited.  Johnathan has always done it, but there was one year where he tried to stop because a teacher had suggested it, but it made other behaviours worse so I’m glad he does it again.  And quite frankly that’s a harmless stimming that doesn’t do any damage so why try to hide it?

I think what I’m driving at is that all the distinctiveness of people on the autism spectrum don’t need to be “solved/cured/whatever you want to call it”.  The gift they have is how their brains are created is immeasurable.  They are some of the greatest scientific minds and inventors and creatives in the world.

And why would you want to get rid of these different things?  There is no medical reason to stop them doing so because it always leads to trouble in the future.  

I think I’ve said before I am trying to discover what it is Johnathan really needs for playing with using his hands during the day to help him focus and listen.  Not got there yet, but I will.  Found some interesting things along the way….but not what he needs.  There must be something on the earth but I haven’t found it yet.