[senco-forum] (no subject)

Can anybody help? I have just been speaking with the concerned parent of a highly intelligent year 10 student who has started to refer to herself in the third person e.g 'Ellie would like to go to the shops',  'Yes, Ellie would be quite happy to do such and such' etc. Also, when, for example she loses something, she walks around the house asking herself questions such as 'if I were a tapemeasure where would I like to go?', or 'If I were a spoon what would I most like to be doing at this moment?'

Mother is rather concerned because this way of speaking is most unusual for her daughter. Anybody ever come acroos this sort of thing? 
Janet