What are Memorised Phrases?
There is not one set route for children to learn language. Sometimes children learn words as units, starting with single words and building these up to create longer phrases and sentences. However, other times children memorise chunks of language or phrases as a single unit of language which they then use to communicate. Over time, children learn to use these more flexibly, breaking these memorised phrases down into smaller components and individual words which they then learn to join back together.
Some people also use the term ‘delayed echolalia’, ‘gestalts’ or ‘scripts’ to describe this type of communication.
To learn more about memorised phrases, please see our resources below.