Perseverating

The definition of perseverating is to recur or repeat continually. The example given is someone sandpapering a table until they've sanded through the wood.

Our current example is Josh perseverating on his bedding. It starts with him bringing a set of bedding (including the pajamas that belong to that set) into his room, then bringing a different set and taking the original back out. Over and over and over. When you think he’s finally decided on a set and you make his bed and get him into his pjs, get him tucked in and say goodnight, and he’s back out of bed and stripping his bedding in two minutes- THAT’S perseverating.

It’s been a really long time since we’ve gone through this particular obsession. In his younger years, Josh would do this every night, for months on end. I would make and remake his bed multiple times each night, and that was just “life.”

I don’t have the patience for it now. I will make it once (maybe twice) and if he strips his bed again, I lock his bedroom door and he’s sleeping on the futon in the living room. That’s where he is now, and I’m waiting patiently for him to fall asleep.

I wish I had the answers. I wish I knew what was going on in his brain, so I could help him navigate and stop the confusion. You would think after 23 years we’d have a better handle on this. But that’s Autism.🤷🏼‍♀️