Re: Autism Support Group

What you are describing is called delayed echolalia. It is often a self-stimulatory behavior, i.e. one that is automatically reinforced (they do it because they like it, is self-calming, entertaining, etc). But, it also sounds as though it is providing a method of escape from demand, since he is doing it during work time. I would recommend 1) having the family reduce the amount of movies he is allowed to watch over and over. He should watch them one time through, without stopping to rewind and replay his favorite parts. 2) Provide some sort of reinforcement for timed periods of independent work. Determine how long he can work without the echolalia, and divide that in half. For example, if he can work for 2 minutes before "movie talking" cut the time to 1 minute, and after every 1 minute of working independently, provide reinforcement (you can use a 10 piece token board that can be exchanged for something he likes to do, or even for a break at the end of 10 tokens. During the break he can do a reinforcing activity for a few minutes, and then return to work.) Systematically increase the amount of time he works before he earns a token. Remember, he only earns the token for working independently without the movie talk. A lot of parents have given their children a time at home to engage in this behavior, alone in their room, after school, for a timed period, since it can be a form of decompression for so many kids. Hope this helps.