Ecopathy, or echomimia, is the involuntary repetition of words or actions. Echolalia is the repetition of words, while echopraxia is the repetition of actions. It can occur in various conditions, including Tourette’s syndrome, autism, and schizophrenia. Treatment involves addressing the underlying condition.
Ecopathy or echomimia is the involuntary repetition of another person’s words or actions. When words are imitated, this can be referred to as echolalia. When a person compulsively repeats someone else’s actions, this is called echopraxia. People may suffer from echolalia and echopraxia or simply from echopathy.
It should be understood that there is a very big distinction between willfully repeating another person’s actions or words and doing so without a conscious purpose. In the former, it is an annoying, often teasing gesture that occurs frequently among school-age children, especially siblings. In the latter, the movement or sounds that are repeated are unintentional and certainly not meant to tease or annoy others.
The distinction is valuable because there are some people who suffer from echopraxia, or more generally from echopathy, who can live in widespread environments. People with Tourette syndrome can suffer from this condition and, in a school environment, the movements of other students could be detected by the child and echopractically reproduced. Of course, teaching other students in a class to ignore this behavior would be important to successful mainstreaming.
It should not be assumed that echopraxia is suffered only by people with Tourette’s syndrome and that all people with Tourette’s syndrome do not have it. There are many diseases or conditions in which echopraxia can occur. Some people with autism are ecopractitioners, and the condition occasionally occurs in people with schizophrenia. Other diseases associated with ecopathy include Ganser’s disorder and occasionally major depressive disorder. From time to time, the medical literature features information about others who have had echopraxia, and this includes those who have suffered from brain tumors and some types of seizure disorders.
Because of the variety of conditions associated with echopraxia, it’s hard to say exactly what causes it in all cases or how best to treat it. Most of the time, treating the underlying disease is the best way to minimize the echopathy. Parents may find it especially difficult to help children with the condition when talking to doctors. Any demonstration of new movements or behaviors by the parent could prompt new tics in the echopractic child.
Children, especially to their advantage, are also extremely observant and can notice small movements in others that could easily be turned into a repetitive movement on their own. Sure it can be said that, for anyone, the condition of having unwanted repetitive movements is extremely difficult. This is especially true, as many times people with the condition are quite aware that the behavior is unusual, possibly uncomfortable, and very often attracts unwanted attention.
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