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Pe-Sun Ho, National Changhua University of Education, TaiwanAbstract
This study examines echolalia in two autistic boys (ages 7–8) in inclusive primary school classrooms, focusing on its pragmatic functions and the conditions under which echolalic utterances transform into context-fitting, interpretable responses. Adopting a multiple-case design, interaction episodes were analyzed as the embedded unit (adult trigger→child echolalia→adult response→outcome). Episodes were coded across five dimensions: contextual stability, echolalia form, pragmatic function, adult response type, and interaction outcome. Quantitative findings indicate that transformation occurred more frequently in predictable contexts than in variable contexts for both cases (Case A: 73.2% vs. 41.7%; Case B: 55.0% vs. 22.5%). Qualitative analysis further shows that supportive, semantically contingent adult responses (e.g., recasts, prompts, guided choices) increase the likelihood of transformation, whereas controlling responses tend to sustain echolalia or lead to breakdown. The findings suggest that echolalia transformation is best understood as a context-sensitive and interactionally mediated process, rather than a fixed deficit or developmental stage. The study highlights how contextual conditions and adult mediation jointly shape transformation outcomes and offers an episode-based perspective for analyzing communication in inclusive classroom settings.
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Conference: ACEID2026Stream: Education & Difference: Gifted Education
This paper is part of the ACEID2026 Conference Proceedings (View)
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