Parental perceptions of echolalia in neurotypical children aged 1-2.5 years

Echolalia is a developmental phenomenon that has been studied almost exclusively in neurodivergent children. The aim of this study was to investigate echolalia in neurotypical children by analysing parental perceptions of echolalia.

Parents of 106 neurotypical children aged 1 to 2.5 years completed a questionnaire on their views on echolalia, possible function/s, age of onset and frequency of echolalia, and other characteristics of echolalia in their children. The differences in the responses of parents of children of different ages and sexes were also analysed.

A total of 82.3% of the parents considered echolalia to be a typical behaviour. However, 57.1% of the parents did not attribute a specific function to echolalia and considered it a non-functional behaviour. The parental reports differed from the data of studies based on transcript analysis in that the parents reported less frequent echolalia and a later onset of echolalia.

Parents of neurotypical children predominantly perceive echolalia as a typical but largely non-functional behaviour. These findings contrast with those in neurodiverse populations (e.g. autism spectrum disorder) and underscore the need for further research to better understand the role and impact of echolalia in different developmental contexts.