[Neurodivegence] I remember when I learned about echolalia and teenage Nan immediately went "huh, how do they use that as an indicator when repeating things is so powerful there's whole religious rituals about it?"
I have noticed since that some people do it more than others and in different ways.
I do still think that some of the ways people talk about echolalia are based in stigmatizing communication strategies when they're used by people who are marked instead of by people who are unmarked but I have also learned that not everyone finds it comforting and fun to say people's words back to them and it can even be very rude! So there's nuance.
(And man speaking of rude the way some people talk about echolalia is uber rude. Like I said. Stigmatizing a behavior when it comes from a marked subject.)
Orion Kelly made a really great video on echolalia. I admit, it was the first time I'd heard of it and I wish kid me had seen that video, because I used to do that a lot as a kid. Not so much since school and adults in my life made me stop.
Echolalia & Autism - Understanding Why Autistic Peop...
Echolalia & Autism - Understanding Why Autistic Peop...