Types of Echolalia
After being asked, “Do you want to play?” a child repeats, “Do you want to play?”
A) Immediate
B) Delayed
C) Mitigated
D) Nonfunctional
A) Immediate
During recess, the child says, “The snack that smiles back!”
What function does this serve?
A) Self-regulation
B) Request
C) Protest
D) Topic maintenance
B) Request
A child runs around the room shouting, “To infinity and beyond!” (Buzz Lightyear).
Which GLA stage?
A) Stage 1 – Echolalia
B) Stage 2 – Mitigation
C) Stage 3 – Isolation/Recombining
D) Stage 4 – Generation
Stage 1- Echolalia (repeating a full script as a chunk)
A preschooler echoes, “Do you want to play?” after the teacher asks. What’s the best modeling strategy?
A) “Yes, I want to play.”
B) “You want to play?”
C) “Play.”
D) Ignore the echo
A) “Yes, I want to play.”
True or False: The main goal of therapy should be to eliminate echolalia.
A) True
B) False
B) False
Two days after watching The Lorax, a child blurts, “You greedy dirt bag!”
A) Immediate
B) Delayed
C) Mitigated
D) Nonfunctional
B) Delayed
A 6-year-old trips on the playground and chants “Shake it off, shake it off!” (Taylor Swift) while brushing off their knees.
What function does this serve?
A) Self-regulation
B) Request
C) Protest
D) Topic maintenance
A) Self-regulation
A 7-year-old repeats “Some people are worth melting for” (Frozen) after watching the movie. Later, they shorten it to just “Worth melting for” when hugging their pet.
Which GLA stage?
A) Stage 1 – Echolalia
B) Stage 2 – Mitigation
C) Stage 3 – Isolation/Recombining
D) Stage 4 – Generation
B) Stage 2 – Mitigation
A child echoes “Want juice?” when they really want juice. What’s the best model?
A) “You want juice?”
B) “Juice.”
C) “I want juice.”
D) Ignore the echo
C) “I want juice.”
Every child with autism is a Gestalt language processor...
True or false?
False
A teen repeats “Just keep swimming” from Finding Nemo but adapts it to “Just keep going” during exams.
A) Immediate
B) Delayed
C) Mitigated
D) Jargon
C) Mitigated
At McDonald's, a parent asks their child, "What do you want for lunch?" The child screams, ” Have it your way?"
What function does this serve?
A) Self-regulation
B) Request/protest
C) Turn-taking
D) Topic maintenance
Answer: B) Request/protest
Name the first 4 stages of Gestalt Language Processing
Stage 1 – (Whole Gestalt) Echolalia
Stage 2 – Mitigation
Stage 3 – Isolation/Recombining words
Stage 4 – Generation
A child constantly echoes “What’s that?” while pointing at familiar objects they already know. What’s the best strategy?
A) Ignore the question.
B) Answer literally, “That’s a cup.”
C) Expand: “That’s my red cup.”
D) Redirect: “Don’t ask that.”
C) Expand: “That’s my red cup.”
Delayed echolalia can sometimes serve a self-regulation function. True or False?
True
(Scripts recalled later can help a child cope with stress or transitions.)
An 8-year-old repeats a Geico commercial word-for-word while walking around the house, even when no one is present.
A) Immediate
B) Delayed
C) Mitigated
D) Nonfunctional
D) Nonfunctional
During dinner, a 10-year-old starts repeating “I’ll be back” (Terminator) after their sibling says they’re leaving the table.
What function does this serve?
A) Self-regulation
B) Request
C) Protest
D) Topic maintenance
D) Topic Maintenance
Name all 6 stages of Gestalt language processing
Stage 1 – (Whole Gestalt) Echolalia
Stage 2 – Mitigation
Stage 3 – Isolation/Recombining words
Stage 4 – Generation
Stage 5 - Advanced Grammar
Stage 6 - Complex/Abstract Language
During free play, a child runs around singing “C’mon Barbie, let’s go party!” (Barbie Girl) while trying to get peers to join them at the playground.
What’s the best strategy?
Replace the script with, “C’mon [child’s name], let’s go ___” using the same intonation.
True or False: Immediate echolalia is always non-communicative.
False
(Immediate echolalia can be communicative. For example, echoing “Do you want to play?” as a way to accept an invitation, or repeating “Want juice?” as a request. It’s not always meaningless.)
A 9-year-old watched Avengers: Endgame over the weekend. During playtime at school, he shouts “Avengers, assemble!” to get his friends to join the game.
A) Immediate
B) Jargon
C) Mitigated
D) Nonfunctional
C) Mitigated
Mitigated echolalia ≠ just changing the words.
It’s about transforming or reshaping a stored gestalt (script) in form and/or function. That can look like:
Structural: Altering the script’s words.
Functional: Keeping the words but using them in a new, flexible, meaningful way.
At breakfast, an 8-year-old sees their sibling reach across the table to grab the last pancake. The child looks directly at the sibling, points, and loudly sings “You better watch out, you better not cry” (Santa Claus is Coming to Town).
What function of echolalia does this serve? Give your rationale.
A) Self-regulation
B) Request
C) Protest
D) Topic maintenance
C) Protest
By using the Christmas lyric in a playful but firm way, the child is rejecting their sibling’s action and marking an objection. The eye gaze and pointing shift this from “random singing” to a functional protest.
A child loves SpongeBob’s catchphrase “I’m ready!” and scripts it often. How might this phrase appear at each of the first 4 GLP stages?
Stage 1 – Echolalia: The child repeats “I’m ready! I’m ready! I’m ready!” exactly as SpongeBob says it, word-for-word.
Stage 2 – Mitigation: The child shortens it to “Ready!” before starting a game.
Stage 3 – Isolation/Recombining: The child mixes it with other scripts, saying “I’m ready for lunch!” or “Ready, set, go!”
Stage 4 – Generation: The child independently creates a new phrase like “I’m ready to play soccer now!”; flexible, novel, and context-specific.
During gym class, a child shouts “Autobots, roll out!” (Optimus Prime from Transformers) while running to line up. The intent is to get peers to move with him.
What’s the best strategy? Why?
Replace the script with, “Friends, let’s line up!” (same intonation and excitement)
Captures the child’s social intent (inviting peers to move together) while providing a clear, functional model. Keeping the same commanding tone helps bridge from the gestalt to generative language.
True or False: If a child echoes a phrase with no clear purpose, it is always “nonfunctional.”
False
(What looks nonfunctional at first may carry hidden meaning: emotional, sensory, or contextual. Careful observation often reveals a function.)