Vocal Stims

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Is rhythmically babbling short phrases from songs over and over considered a vocal stim? Is this also considered a form of echolalia? Is there a difference between vocal stimming and echolalia?

I vocal stim, but it's not what anyone here is thinking. It evolved as follows: I LOVE smelling my hair. When you smell something really good, you have a tendency to go "Mmmmmm."

So I'd always go "Mmmmm" when taking deep inhalations of my hair pressed against my nose and mouth. "Mmmm!"

Over time, the "Mmmm" got shorter and more abrupt or blunt sounding, like "MMM!"

I then found myself going "MMM!" in the absence of smelling my hair, but when I was thinking about my hair. I'd do this several times throughout the day out of the blue, including at the gym under my covid mask. In fact, if anyone heard me at the gym, they probably thought it was related to my workout (taking a deep breath, or psychologically gearing up for the next set -- grunting isn't uncommon at gyms).

It then got shortened to "MM!" even more abrupt. It's a way of paying private homage to my hair--my most intense, most wonderful stim. It's a way of smelling it when I'm unable to, such as in public or when it's tied back in a ponytail (I prefer to smell it when it's down and easier to place across my lower face in a thick wad).

So when I go "MM!" it's clearly a vocal stim.

I don't know, but I kind of do it.
Except I whistle or hum short parts of the melody over and over, sometimes adding tones/parts of scales or modifying the melody slightly.
I do it most all the time, but in particular when working on something monotonous or when I'm stressed or otherwise don't feel well.

/Mats

I used to repeat unnecessary words to my mum when out in a busy shopping mall. I kept uttering ''excuse me'', as if I wanted her to get out of my way but I didn't, I just said it for something to say, to use my vocals when there was nothing that needed to be said. She knew this was the case, and she finally said, ''stop keep saying 'excuse me' all the time''. I think it was just a nervous habit.

Hmm not sure. But my only experience with vocal stims is me and my sister. She has made up random words that she says randomly, as well as meow. With me I say "beep" or "beep boop". Occasionally I will also make the noise of a smoke alarm that has run out of battery.

I usually say things like bum-ba-ba-ba in a sort of rhythmic fashion. Sometimes I will mix words in with it as well. I wonder if this is a typical autistic trait.

I hum or sometimes sing songs under my breath regularly and unconsciously, mostly at work. I entertain the secretaries who sit outside my office. I have never known another lawyer of the hundreds I have worked with who does this. I am certain it soothes me and regulates me in a career that can be quite anxiety inducing on almost a daily basis. I would never have thought of it as a stim, though, without my late in life diagnosis.

It's both.

Vocal stimming is making repetitive sounds because it feels satisfying to make those sounds. Echolalia is repeating things you've heard.

If you're repeating things you've heard over and over because it feels satisfying, that's both echolalia and vocal stimming. If you're making made-up sounds because it feels satisfying, that's vocal stimming but not echolalia. If you're repeating things you've heard for a reason other than feeling satisfying (eg, saying "do you want milk" because you want milk and don't know how to make a sentence except by copying one you've heard) that's echolalia that isn't vocal stimming.

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense.