I was on the 77 bus making my way home from school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, there was a male passenger (probably between 30 – 40 years old), he’d say hello whenever he saw somebody come on the bus at every stop. It was clear he was a special needs person. I thought i’d talk to him a little bit. He had a soft-spoken voice with a good sense of humor. Some of the questions I’d ask him, he’d repeat the question a little, and he’d answer. Suppose I asked him “Are you familiar with the Salt and Pepper bridge?”, he’d say “f’miliar wit Salt n’pepper b’idge? Yes, of course, blah blah blah”. He works at a hotel in Boston as a man who cleans the room in the hotel. He would sometimes repeat at some questions I ask. I didn’t know whether or not he was Autistic, or whether or not he had Echolalia, or Mental Delays.
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It was really nice of you to start up a conversation with this man – but stop thinking of him as a special needs person, but simply as a person who happens to live his life with a disability. It might be echolalia. It might be what is called self-talk —- a person has difficulty comprehending until they verbalize it them self. It is like what any of us might do when we are trying to remember what we are going to do next. We say out loud what we remember to try to trigger our memory.
He’s probably just a little slow…..sometimes known as EMH…or educatabe mentally handicapped. These persons usually graduate from high school and some even learn a trade.
You mentioned that he worked at a hotel, and he was riding the bus alone, so he’s not really as bad off as some with mental handicaps.
Echolalia is the repetition of vocalizations made by another person. A 1983 report indicated that up to 75% of verbal people with autism have some form of echolalia,[1] but it may also be present in Tourette syndrome, developmental disability, schizophrenia and, occasionally, other forms of psychopathology. When done involuntarily, it is considered a tic.
So most likely that you’re son is Autistic.
My son who is 14 and has Asperger’s does this to an extent. He memorizes commercials and will quote them while we drive in the car for no reason. He will sometimes start conversations with people who know him by saying, “Hi my name is _______.” It’s like he has to say this to get started. There are people who think that there is nothing wrong with him because he is very verbal, but you have to look at what he is saying.
Echolalia can be present in autism, schizophrenia and in general, developmentally disabled people. It would be hard to tell without meeting the person and evaluating them what his diagnosis is. It was very kind of you to talk to him. Most people dont take the time to do that. Thank you.