McAllister Margaret L, McFayden Tyler, Harrop Clare
Department of Allied Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Autism Res. 2025 Mar;18(3):528-540. doi: 10.1002/aur.3298. Epub 2025 Jan 7.
Echolalia, the immediate or delayed repetition of speech, is a core diagnostic criterion for autism spectrum disorder. It has been studied for over 50 years and is well-described; however, no consensus on prevalence estimates exists for echolalia's occurrence in autistic youth. The current study sought to (1) describe endorsement of echolalia-related items using parent-, teacher-, and clinician-reports in a well-validated sample of autistic youth and (2) characterize relations between echolalia and other key factors, including age, language ability, and repetitive behaviors. Participants (n = 2555, 4-17 years, 13% female, 78% White) from the Simon Simplex Collection provided data from multi-informant ratings of echolalia and related behaviors. Nine parent-, clinician-, and teacher-report items were extracted from five measures to broadly capture echolalia through a composite score. Results indicated that as many as 90% of autistic individuals express echolalia at some point in their development. Hierarchical linear regression was conducted to evaluate relations between echolalia, verbal ability, and repetitive behaviors, controlling for age, sex, and autism severity. Results indicated the main effects of verbal ability and repetitive behaviors. A significant interaction qualified this main effect wherein age was negatively associated with echolalia for children with higher verbal ability, but not those with lower verbal ability, suggesting that adolescents with less generative speech may leverage echolalia as a communicative strategy. Echolalia was positively associated with repetitive behaviors across development. These associations support a dualistic interpretation of echolalia as functional communication and as a form of repetitive behavior. Future research is needed to understand the developmental trajectories of echolalia and develop affirming support for this autistic behavior.
模仿言语，即立即或延迟重复言语，是自闭症谱系障碍的一项核心诊断标准。对其进行研究已有50多年，且已有详尽描述；然而，对于自闭症青少年中模仿言语的发生率，目前尚无关于患病率估计的共识。本研究旨在：（1）在经过充分验证的自闭症青少年样本中，使用家长、教师和临床医生报告来描述对模仿言语相关项目的认可情况；（2）描述模仿言语与其他关键因素之间的关系，包括年龄、语言能力和重复行为。来自西蒙单基因队列研究的参与者（n = 2555，4至17岁，13%为女性，78%为白人）提供了关于模仿言语及相关行为的多渠道评分数据。从五项测量中提取了九个家长、临床医生和教师报告项目，以通过综合评分广泛捕捉模仿言语。结果表明，多达90%的自闭症个体在其发育的某个阶段会表现出模仿言语。进行分层线性回归以评估模仿言语、语言能力和重复行为之间的关系，并控制年龄、性别和自闭症严重程度。结果显示了语言能力和重复行为的主效应。一个显著的交互作用对这一主效应进行了限定，即对于语言能力较高的儿童，年龄与模仿言语呈负相关，但对于语言能力较低的儿童则不然，这表明言语生成较少的青少年可能会将模仿言语作为一种交流策略。在整个发育过程中，模仿言语与重复行为呈正相关。这些关联支持了对模仿言语的二元解释，即作为功能性交流和作为重复行为的一种形式。未来需要开展研究以了解模仿言语的发展轨迹，并为这种自闭症行为提供肯定性支持。
