Repetition, response mobilization, and face: Analysis of group interactions with a 19-year-old with Asperger syndrome

•We used Conversation Analysis to examine repetition in a 19-year-old with Asperger syndrome (Nathan) in peer interactions.•Concepts of response mobilization, face-work, and agreement preference were used as analytic frameworks.•Repetition was occasioned by surrounding talk, occurring when there was minimal uptake to original utterance.•Nathan's repetition showed that he did not orient to face-work aspects of interaction in the same way as his peers.

This Conversation Analytic study examined the talk of an adolescent with Asperger syndrome (under previously used diagnostic criteria), Nathan, as he interacts with peers in a small group setting. We focused on Nathan's repetition aimed at pursuing response, and rely on analytical frameworks including response mobilization, face-work, and agreement preference. We found that while Nathan's repetitions resembled ‘topic perseveration’ previously described in the literature, they showed evidence of interactional awareness as they were employed when peers offered little or no response to his original utterance. However, we also found that while much of Nathan's talk was sophisticatedly structured, his repetition to pursue response eschewed interaction rituals that work to maintain social cohesion. As a result, Nathan's interactional priorities appeared mis-aligned with those of his peers, and failed to produce extended interactions in most cases.Learning outcomes: Readers will be able to describe features of conversational interaction, including response mobilization, agreement preference, and face work. They will understand the relevance of conversation analysis to the study of interaction in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Lastly, they will be able to describe the conditions under which the subject used repetition within peer interactions, and the effects of his repetition on interaction.