Some children with autism are only able to parrot what they hear, a condition called echolalia. Without persistent training, echoing other people's phrases may be the only language that people with autism ever acquire. What they repeat might be a question they were just asked, or an advertisement on television. Although children without autism go through a stage where they repeat what they hear, it normally passes by the time they are 3. People with autism also tend to confuse pronouns.
Some children say the same phrase in a variety of different situations.
While on the surface, her statement seems bizarre, there may be a meaningful pattern in what the child says. It can be equally difficult to understand the body language of a person with autism. Most of us smile when we talk about things we enjoy, or shrug when we can't answer a question. But for children with autism, facial expressions, movements, and gestures rarely match what they are saying. Their tone of voice also fails to reflect their feelings.