ABSTRACT

In neurolinguistics and psychology, term referring to the repetition of one’s utterances or of those of others by autistic persons ( autism), schizophrenic persons, mentally retarded people, and patients with aphasia, among others. The term connotes meaningless, rote repetition, but recent studies with autistic children have shown that ‘echolalia’ may actually have a range of communicative and non-communicative functions. Echolalia is distinguished from the more general term ‘imitation,’ which carries no connotation as to function.