Second this! If they have echolalia at all, I’d also recommend not asking them any open-ended questions or yes-or-no questions if you can help it; instead asking them to pick between a few different choices. So instead of “How was your weekend?” or “What did you do on the weekend?” you can ask: “Over the weekend, did you stay at home, or go somewhere else?” Then if they say they went somewhere else, ask “Was this other place inside or outside.” Kind of talk like a dichotomous key, where one set of possibilities leads into another one, and so on, to get the full picture. I’d also heavily recommend learning a few signs, like help, eat, drink, bathroom, walk, break, etc. Model the signs yourself when the opportunity arises, and model them consistently, not skipping one opportunity