Pronoun reversal or pronominal reversal is when children refer to themselves as "he", "she", "they", or "you", or by their own proper name (pronoun avoidance).^[1] While it may signal an autism-spectrum disorder when it persists for an unusual length of time, some degree of pronoun confusion can occur as a part of allistic speech development, and it is common in toddlers. Pronoun reversal is closely linked to echolalia: referring to themselves as they have heard others speak of them, resulting in the misapplication of pronouns.

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article has an unclear citation style. The reason given is: Titles should be specified. (March 2012) This article needs attention from an expert in Psychology. Please add a reason or a talk parameter to this template to explain the issue with the article. (December 2022) This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2022)

For example:

Parent: What are you doing, Johnny?

Child: You're here.

Parent: Are you having a good time?

Child: You sure are.

As with many other autistic traits, if speech continues to develop more normally, this pronoun reversal might be expected to disappear. However, it can also be highly resistant to change. Some children require extensive training to stop pronoun reversal, even after they have stopped echolalia.