Interesting Stuff About Matt Man: Perseveration

Since this is Autism Awareness month, I thought throughout the month I'd share some things about Matthew that are different about him.  Evangeline and I have a whole new vocabulary we didn’t know existed.  We now have full use of words like Perseveration.

As you may be able to deduce, Perseveration is similar to Persevere.  Good Old Merriam-Webster defines it as, “continuation of something (as repetition of a word) usually to an exceptional degree or beyond a desired point.”  That is, Matthew gets something in his head and he can’t get it out of his head, and he talks about it until you think your own head will explode.

The other day, we were at a restaurant, and when Matthew got a menu in his hand, for some reason, the menu brought pancakes to his mind.  From that moment on, his world revolved around pancakes.  He couldn’t stop thinking about pancakes  All he wanted for the rest of the day were pancakes.  The restaurant we were at didn’t serve pancakes for lunch, so his mini corn-dogs were simply that thing he had to do before he could get pancakes for dinner.  Through the whole meal, he asked for pancakes.  On the car ride, he kept telling us, “You want pancakes for dinner” (often he refers to himself in the second person; he meant “I want pancakes...”).  By the time the car ride was over, we were well beyond a desired point for talking about pancakes

Daddy’s making pancakes

Mommy’s going to buy some pancakes

Pancakes, where are you?

You can have pancakes in 10 more minutes

The pancakes are in the fridge

I can wait patiently for a pancake

Where’s the syrup for the pancakes?

You don’t want hot sauce on your pancakes!

We had lunch around 11.  We finally ate dinner at 6.  That means for 7 solid hours, Matthew perseverated on pancakes.  By dinner time, with respect to pancakes, we had reached the 'roid-raging level of "exceptional degree."

It isn’t always pancakes.  Sometimes it’s mini-wheats.  Sometimes it’s hot sauce.  Today in particular, it's bacon.  Usually his perseveration is food-related.  We often try to redirect his attention to something else - anything else.  At times this works.  Yes, Matt, we will have pancakes for dinner.  Let’s go play trains together.  So we play trains and I ask, Where is Thomas the Train going?  Where else... To the grocery store so he can get pancakes!

So we gave in and had pancakes for dinner.  The tradition in our home is “Friday Night - Breakfast Night,” so pancakes is not out of the ordinary.  And all throughout dinner, for Matthew, pancakes was still the topic of conversation:

Can I have pancakes please?  

You want some more pancakes!

You have syrup on your pancakes!

I love pancakes!

Then when we cut him off after 4 pancakes, he said, 

You can have pancakes for breakfast!

Up to this point, in this little post, I have used the word “Pancakes” 33 times.  And that, my friend, is Perseveration!