The Functional Use of Verbal Perseverations by Adults who are Mentally Retarded

The use of excessive verbal perseverations pertaining to a particular topic of interest is manifested in a subgroup of persons who are mentally retarded. This type of verbal behavior has traditionally been perceived as undesirable and inappropriate. The purpose of this study was to assess whether verbal perseverations are used communicatively, and if so, with what types of communicative intent they are used. Of the 6,497 observed utterances by 12 speakers who are mentally retarded, 16% were verbal perseverations. The majority of all utterances were used communicatively. Furthermore, verbal perseverations were more likely to be used primarily to maintain social interactions than were utterances that were not verbal perseverations. Educational and research implications were discussed.