When one of our listeners wrote in to ask about an episode on perseveration, we realized that we’d never directly discussed one of the original markers described in diagnosing Asperger’s syndrome. And boy were we shocked and mildly appalled at what we found! This week, we reflect on exactly what perseverative behavior really is, whether it should be categorized as a problem behavior at all, and if previous treatment research has missed the point.

This episode is available for 1.0 LEARNING CEU.

Articles discussed this episode:

Horr, J.A.M. & Michael, A.V. (2021). Functional analysis and noncontingent reinforcement with extinction in the treatment of perseverative speech. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 14, 208-213. doi: 10.1007/s40617-020-00523-x

Rehfeldt, R.A. & Chambers, M.R. (2003). Functional analysis and treatment of verbal perseverations displayed by an adult with autism. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 36, 259-261. doi: 10.1901/jaba.2003.36-259

Fisher, W.W., Rodriguez, N.M., Owen, T.M. (2013). Functional analysis and treatment of perseverative speech about restricted topics in an adolescent with asperger syndrom. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 46, 307-311. doi: 10.1002/jaba.19

Kuntz, E.M., Santos, A.V., & Kennedy, C.H. (2020). Functional analysis and intervention of perseverative speech in students with high-functioning autism and related neurodevelopmental disabilities. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 53, 2421-2428. doi: 10.1002/jaba.669

Hood, S.A., Gopez, J.M., Fallon, M.J., Byczynski, F.A., Aquino, S.C., & Monroy, S. (2022). The beginning of a friendship: Teaching individuals with autism to identify shared interests. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 55, 1030-1058. doi: 10.1002/jaba.951

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