Often times children with autism tend to have perseveration issues. Does your child get fixated on something? A certain TV show, a video or activity? Perseveration is normal for children on the autism spectrum.
FamilyAffaires.com Contributors, Just2Moms, Christy Carlson & Debbie Schmidt explain what perseveration is and how to use it as a tool for your child to communicate and express themselves. Christy & Debbie have lead many support groups for families of special needs children and have shared their years of experience with the community.
As always, hey tell their story in a caring and humor filled way. Do you have a questions for Christy or Debbie? Please visit our Forum and ask a question or share your story. The more stories we tell, the more families we can help.
My son is now 21, but when he was much younger, I used his perservations to help him learn, especially in subjects that were difficult for him. One of his perseverations was cars. He was struggling with learning subtraction in math, so if the problem was 7-3, I would say, “There are seven cars in the parking lot, three cars drive away, how many are left?” He could visualize the parking lot with seven cars, and three cars driving away and the four cars remaining. He could get the answer instantly, every time. If you said, “What’s seven minus three?” he’d never get it. It helped a lot!
Hi Karen! Thank you so much for sharing your story about your son and how you also used one of his perseverations (his love of cars) to help him with math when he was younger!! How clever and creative! Bravo to you!! Christy and I love hearing stories like that.