Repeating the words that are spoken by the caregiver is known as?

Appeared in: NIMHANS Nursing Officer - 2021

Explanation

Echolalia is the unsolicited repetition of vocalizations made by another person.
It is considered a speech and thought process abnormality, often documented during a Mental Status Examination (MSE).
The repetition can be immediate or delayed.
This symptom is associated with several neurological and psychiatric conditions, including autism spectrum disorder, schizophrenia (particularly catatonic types), and developmental delays.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option A: Registration is a cognitive function, not a speech abnormality. It refers to the ability to immediately recall and repeat information, which is a test of attention and short-term memory.
Option B: OCD involves obsessions (intrusive thoughts) and compulsions (repetitive behaviors), but these are driven by internal anxiety and are not typically a direct imitation of another person's speech.
Option D: Echopraxia is the involuntary imitation of another person's movements or actions, not their words.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Psychiatric Terminology and Symptomatology as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Identifying echolalia is a crucial part of the Mental Status Examination (MSE), as it provides valuable clues about a patient's thought process and potential underlying neurological or psychiatric disorders.
Nurses should document the presence of echolalia, noting whether it is immediate or delayed, as this can help the interdisciplinary team in diagnosis and treatment planning.
What if the patient was repeating the caregiver's actions, such as tapping their foot or folding their arms? This would be documented as 'echopraxia,' which points to similar underlying conditions as echolalia but manifests as a motor symptom instead of a verbal one.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key action described in the question stem: 'Repeating the words that are spoken'.
Next, analyze the options provided. The terms 'Echolalia' and 'Echopraxia' have similar prefixes ('echo'), suggesting they relate to imitation.
Recall or deduce the meanings: 'Lalia' relates to speech (like glossolalia), and 'praxia' relates to action or movement.
This differentiation immediately points to Echolalia as the term for repeating words and Echopraxia for repeating actions.
Eliminate 'Registration' as it's a memory test and 'OCD' as it's a broader disorder not defined by this specific symptom.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Psychiatric Terminology and Symptomatology
Stem keywords: Repeating the words, caregiver
Lead-in keywords: known as
Negative lead-in flag: false

Question ID

Q2cIou--kJZNQiMcbN8Buk

Reference Book

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 15337-15339

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