The paper examines theoretical issues regarding the symptomatology of echolalia in the language of visually impaired children. Literature on echolalia is reviewed from a variety of perspectives and clinical work and research with visual impairment and with autism is discussed. Problems of definition are cited, and explanations for occurrence of immediate and delayed echolalia in visually impaired children are offered. Consideration of the role of verbal repetition in language acquisition suggests qualitative differences in language acquisition of echolalic visually impaired children compared to normal children. A discussion of individual differences in language acquisition is followed by an analysis of the possible relationship between visual impairment and echolalia. (CL)