Echolalia's types in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

ABSTRACT: The Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a syndrome characterized by persistent impairments in reciprocal social communication, social interaction with restricted and repetitive behavior patterns, interests and activities. Repetitive behaviors in language can be manifested by the occurrence of echolalia, persistent phenomenon characterized as a language impairment, with repetition of the speech of the other, divided into immediate or delayed. The study aimed to check the type of echolalia and communication skills in seven boys with ASD, ages between four and seven, who use oral communication. Two different activities were carried out: evaluation of children in a speech therapy session in playful situation, analyzed by the Behavioral Observation Protocol and the application of a questionnaire with parents and professionals to check their opinions on the use, type and frequency of echolalia. From the seven children in the study, six had immediate and one delayed echolalia; the child who presented delayed echolalia had lower scores on behavioral observation protocol, but for the other subjects there was no direct relationship between the type and number of echolalia to the score. The questionnaire with parents and professionals showed agreement on the presence of echolalia. Children with ASD in this study had communication skills and aspects of cognitive development compromised and more immediate echolalia. Studies with echolalia theme are still rare in the national literature. This case report can contribute to future research on the characterization of language in children with ASD and therapeutic management of speech.