Atypical Prosody in Asperger Syndrome: Perceptual and Acoustic Measurements

Abstract

The turn-taking prosodic ability in children with Asperger Syndrome (AS) was explored using perceptual and acoustic measurements. Eight-and nine-year-old children with AS (N = 12) were matched on age and non-verbal intelligence to typically developing peers. Although the turn-taking ability in children with AS was not functionally impaired, perceptual ratings revealed atypical prosodic features, and acoustic measurements showed alterations in the duration and pitch of one-word productions. Additionally, the children with AS had greater variability in fundamental frequency contours compared to typically developing peers. Naive adult listeners reported an impression of oddness in the prosody of children with AS, which may have consequences for social interactions. Clinical and scientific implications of these results are discussed.

“Is Voice A Marker for Autism Spectrum Disorder? A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis”

“…During vocal production, individuals often modulate their pitch to convey pragmatic Pitch mean was investigated in 16 studies (255 participants with ASD and 239 comparison participants). Only two of these studies reported a significant group difference with higher pitch mean in the ASD groups (Filipe, et al, 2014;Sharda, et al, 2010). The remaining 14 studies report null findings.…”

“…6 studies have investigated intensity through quantitative measures (Table 3). Intensity Mean was available for 3 studies (63 ASD and 56 comparison participants), one with significantly lower intensity for ASD and the others with null findings (Filipe, et al, 2014;Grossman, et al, 2010;Scharfstein, et al, 2011).…”

Perceived closeness and autistic traits modulate interpersonal vocal communication

“…Autism has been associated with atypical production of and wider variation in prosody (Bone et al, 2012;Joshua John Diehl & Paul, 2011;Joshua J. Diehl, Watson, Bennetto, McDonough, & Gunlogson, 2009;Filipe, Frota, Castro, & Vicente, 2014;Peppé & McCann, 2003). While this result supports reports of atypical intonation and anecdotally 'monotonic' voice in individuals with ASD, an increased pitch range has been noted in ASD in paradigms using single word utterances as well as narratives (Joshua John Diehl & Paul, 2011;Joshua J. Diehl et al, 2009;Filipe et al, 2014;Sharda et al, 2010). It is worth noting that articulation space captures a wider set of acoustic features than pitch range per se.…”

The Tilt Model Acoustic Survey of Intonation in Children with Severe Autism

“…McCann & Peppē (2003) believe that individuals with autism spectrum disorder speak with an unusual or odd-sounding prosody. Filipe et al (2014) also believe that individuals with Asperger Syndrome (AS) may show prosodic impairments. They explored the sentence-type difference between statements and questions that is conveyed by intonation, using perceptual and acoustic measurements.…”