Abstract

This study is an examination of how prosodic pitch and intensity compare in autistic individuals and neurotypical individuals. Ten-minute recordings of casual conversation were taken and analyzed. Participants included 11 autistic individuals and 11 neurotypical individuals with six males and five females in each group. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition (ADOS-2; Lord et al., 2012) prosody rating scale was used to collect a perceptual evaluation of each participan's prosody, and Praat acoustic analysis software was used to collect measures of pitch and intensity over the 10-minute period to investigate how speech characteristics change with conversation partner familiarity. Results revealed significant prosodic differences between autistic and neurotypical individuals. Both mean speaking pitch and intensity were found to be lower in the autistic group compared to the neurotypical group. The ADOS-2 (2012) measure of prosody was found to be ineffective in accurately capturing all individuals in the study who were autistic. A more comprehensive rating scale was suggested in order to adequately identify autistic individuals according to their prosodic characteristics. Results showed significant differences across sex in pitch and intensity, with males having a lower mean speaking pitch than females, as was expected. Remarkable differences were also observed between autistic male speakers and neurotypical male speakers. A lower pitch variability and lower pitch range were discovered in the autistic male speakers compared to neurotypical male speakers. Male speakers demonstrated greater intensity variability than female speakers. No changes were found in pitch or intensity for either neurological group as conversation partner familiarity increased. This may have been due to the nature of the conversation, which was structured as an interview in a single session. The findings of this study have clinical implications and are hoped to be helpful in understanding prosodic features of autistic adults. This can lead to better assessment and treatment of autistic individuals, supporting them in their daily functioning and ability to form and maintain relationships.

Degree

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Communication Disorders

Rights

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