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.
The function of perseverative speech for an adult man who had
been diagnosed with autism and mental retardation was examined.
Results showed that verbal perseverations were maintained by
social attention. An intervention consisting of differential
reinforcement of appropriate verbal responses and extinction of
perseverative verbal responding was effective in decreasing
verbal perseverations.
DESCRIPTORS: _verbal perseverations, functional analysis, autism