Perseveration... Okay? Not Okay? When To Intervene. | MyAutismTeam

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Perseveration... Okay? Not Okay? When To Intervene.
A MyAutismTeam Member asked a question šŸ’­

My 3 year old daughter is the biggest sweetheart, but she perseverates much of the day. If she's not being directly engaged (having a conversation, discussing a book or what she is playing, etc.) and is left to amuse herself (ie during playtime, eating, getting dressed, etc.), she fixates on one of a handful of topics. All day long, she will happily ask the same couple questions over and over ("What's your favorite movie?"), rehash the same favorite stories/songs/tv episode scenes, or repeat aā€¦ read more

posted December 28, 2020 (edited)
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A MyAutismTeam Member

VERY common for kids on the spectrum who are starting to delve into adaptive speech they are using repetitive language or scripted language that they've picked up along the way. I definitely agree with @A MyAutismTeam Member don't discourage it at all that tends to cause anxiety as they get older because they never want to say the wrong thing so then they don't say anything at all...it's usually something they work on in speech and social groups at home I use to work with my daughter on it by turning the question on her...

What's your favorite color?
Green...What's your favorite color? Then once we go through the regular questions I'll start adding to them until they get silly and she would laugh like...what's your favorite monkey? A monkey that throws his poo and she would die laughing lol....

I just find it easier when you try to turn these things into a game...they make progress and have fun, they dissecting and boring junk I save for school šŸ˜

posted December 29, 2020
A MyAutismTeam Member

Iā€™d say the bright side of this is that your daughter is verbal at 3 years old and can actually ask questions whether it is relevant to the situation or not. A good speech therapist can help her fine tune things when sheā€™s ready. As mentioned above, it can be calming to some kids. When my daughter (who could utter a few single words at that age) started doing that, I chalked it down to her just wanting to use words and sentences because she felt good about using words whether relevant or not. Also her words and vocabulary were very limited and so this was her way of keeping the conversation going. Being ā€œverbalā€ was the sole purpose for us at that time. These days (sheā€™s 7) the ST works with her on conversation skills,staying on topic, cues on when to change topic, cues on how not to interrupt.. etc. Its a slow process and sheā€™s very very far from achieving these goals ( itā€™ll take many years) but Iā€™m satisfied for now that she is aware of the fact that there are these components of back and forth conversation and sheā€™s a happy participant because she wants to learn. Iā€™ve seen her count to 4 ( she came up with that number) when thereā€™s a break in conversation before speaking to prevent herself from interrupting. I had to tell her to count in her head not aloud :) hopefully with time itā€™ll be a learned exercise she will do without having to count .

As far as limiting her, I wouldnā€™t. If at all, Iā€™d probably guide her on changing topic or asking other things. Teaching them to use ā€œwhy, when, how, whereā€ could potentially help but sheā€™s so young I donā€™t know whether itā€™d help, but no harm in trying.

posted December 29, 2020
A MyAutismTeam Member

If she is asking the same question again and again, she is probably not comprehending the answer but repeating what she learnt in speech. Other reason could be that she wants to talk but doesnā€™t know what to say. Repetitive speech is also calming to some ASD kids so could be just a calming mechanism. Either way, donā€™t discourage it- she is 3. As far as the outside world, some will be kind others not. Both experiences will help, but try to have her around kind kids more.

posted December 29, 2020
A MyAutismTeam Member

I agree with Wse & Sumrae. She is only 3 & you want her to develop without the stress of trying to learn right from wrong. You never want to discourage speech, no matter how she goes about communicating.

posted December 29, 2020
A MyAutismTeam Member

Its not a matter of how much, its a matter of why.

posted December 29, 2020

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