When your child on the autism spectrum repeats yours or others’ words, or even phrases and sentences from their favourite shows, he is using echolalia. Why does your child with ASD use echolalia? First, let’s understand the two different types of echolalia.
Recently I had asked a child, “Can I go to your school?” He looked away with an amused smile and replied, “Maybe I think it (school) is for kids!” The adults in the room broke out in laughter, before I went on to explain myself more clearly, “Can I visit you in your school?” This time, I got the answer I was looking for, “Yes.” This example struck me that what we often assume to be easily understood could hold an entirely different meaning for a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It leads us to ponder - how clear are we in communicating our intentions to our children with ASD?
When autism is discussed, one oft-recurring concern is that of problem behaviours and how they can be eliminated. With regards to this topic, it is critical to highlight that the focus cannot be solely on the behaviour but on the factors surrounding their occurrences. In the words of Ros Blackburn, an internationally known speaker who is on the autism spectrum, “’Behaviour’ is not the issue. It is a by-product, the end result of autism.” Let’s take a closer look at the characteristics of autism and why Ros Blackburn refers to “behaviour” as the end result of autism.
Recent research has highlighted an interesting alternative perspective on how our brains interact with the sensory stimuli in the environment. For a long time, it has been widely accepted that our brains first process sensory inputs before we experience it. However, new research has suggested that our brains first predict the sensory input then process the difference between the predicted input and the additional feedback from the actual experience. This is understood as the prediction error. Regardless of this, one thing we know for certain is that our brain is a supercomputer. It filters tonnes of information at lightning speed which allows us to go about our daily lives. So how does this supercomputer work for our children on the autism spectrum?