Perseveration vs. Echolalia

Perseveration 

Perseveration is repetitive thoughts.  If you have ever met a person who cant stop talking about a band, or knows everything about a specific war?  What about someone who cant stop thinking and talking about a perspective or new partner?  All of these are of course beyond the typical.  We aren't talking about just the basic overly interested person either.  My son for example can weave Minecraft into literally any conversation, and explain how it fits into his view of the real world.  

Perseveration on more personal events can be challenging.  Having one negative interaction with someone can stick and come up in a festering way that makes it challenging to forgive people. For instance he had a fight with another child in the neighborhood 3 years ago and every time someone mentions that person now. He then has to talk about how they fought, and how the kid was really mean that one time.  This will go on for a long period of time. This also happens with new friends, with events such as my grandmother dying, or moving to a new house.  

Perseveration is symptomatic of autism but is also seen many other mental illness.  Namely OCD, however evidence shows that perseveration has different functions in OCD and autism.  So do not assume that because someone fixates on something and cant stop talking about it they are autistic. There are other causes of this behavior    

Here are some helpful links on perseveration. 

https://youtu.be/yUEoRK8TbJM

Echolalia 

Echolalia is essentially repetition of words.  Its similar to perseveration in its obsessive and rigid presentation its purpose is not the same.  I am now beginning to think that my sons cussing is more likely echolalia rather than perseveration.  Echolalia is a natural part of learning speech, and since children with autism tend to not learn speech as much through social interaction it is a large component to this learning.  Echolalia is way for people with autism to script their language.  The video I have connected with this is post from Amethyst does a great job explaining the purpose of this behavior. I always start with the assumption that my son doesn't want to scream obscenities at people but lacks the tools and self regulation not to. He is trying to communicate his feelings in the most effective way he knows how.

The weirdest thing is that he never babbled.  My son started speaking in sentences at around a year old.  He was mind bogglingly fast to learn things.  But over the years he has adapted his own sounds.  When he was bored he would click like Perry the Platypus, when hes excited he does this shrill sound that's somewhere between a scream and a squeak...like air brakes.  

My son will when he is stressed repeat the word B***ch until he falls asleep.  When he gets really upset he yells cuss words.  What I am beginning to see is that maybe its a stress reliever to do so.  I thought he was perseverating on the words but as I understand echolalia better I think that is what is happening instead.  Replacing the words, or explaining why people wouldn't like it doesn't seem to work.  All the tools I have to help ease his perseveration into manageable thought patterns doesn't work.   But it wouldn't right?  

Really I am sure someone will read this and ask why I am not just seeing the cussing as a behavior problem. I would say aside from his having and ASD disorder, that I don't see a difference.  Behavior problems are stemming from a response to the environment, kids and adults like to make their environment respond to them and need to relive themselves of those types of pressures. So I personally knowing my son and how embarrassing the cussing episodes are believe there is an involuntary component but also that doesn't actually matter to me in terms of dealing with the behavior.  The goal should be to restructure the environment so that he doesn't need to to yell cuss words and helping him adapt better coping mechanisms. 

Some Helpful Links on Echolalia

https://youtu.be/ome-95iHtB0