Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T10:45:45.919Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An acoustic analysis of prosody in high-functioning autism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 July 2009

JOSHUA J. DIEHL ,
DUANE WATSON ,
LOISA BENNETTO ,
JOYCE MCDONOUGH  and
CHRISTINE GUNLOGSON
JOSHUA J. DIEHL*
Affiliation:
University of Rochester, Yale University School of Medicine, and Haskins Laboratories
DUANE WATSON
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
LOISA BENNETTO
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
JOYCE MCDONOUGH
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
CHRISTINE GUNLOGSON
Affiliation:
University of Rochester
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Joshua Diehl, Haskins Laboratories, 300 George Street, Suite 900, New Haven, CT 06511. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This paper examined the fundamental frequency variation in the narratives of individuals with high-functioning autism (HFA) and typical controls matched on age, IQ, and verbal abilities. Study 1 found increased fundamental frequency variation in the speech of 21 children and adolescents with HFA when compared to 21 typical controls. Study 2 replicated the findings from Study 1 with a younger sample of 17 children with HFA and 17 typical controls. In addition, Study 1 found evidence that acoustic measurements of prosody were related to clinical judgments of autism-specific communication impairments, although this was not replicated in Study 2. Taken together, these studies provide evidence for differences in expressive prosody in individuals with HFA that can be measured objectively.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 30 , Issue 3 , July 2009 , pp. 385 - 404
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Alpert, M., Pouget, E. R., & Silva, R. R. (2001). Reflections of depression in acoustic measures of the patent's speech. Journal of Affective Disorders, 66, 58–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Amoroso, H. (1992). Disorders of vocal signaling in children. In Papousek, H., Jurgens, U., & Papousek, M. (Eds.), Nonverbal vocal communication: Comparative and developmental approaches (pp. 192–204). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Asperger, H. (1944). Die “autistischen psychopathen” im kindesalter. Archive fur Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, 117, 76–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baltaxe, C. (1984). Use of contrastive stress in normal, aphasic, and autistic children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 27, 97–105.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baltaxe, C. A. M., & Simmons, J. Q. I. (1992). A comparison of language issues in high-functioning autism and related disorders with onset in childhood and adolescence. In Schopler, E. & Mesibov, G. B. (Eds.), High-functioning individuals with autism (pp. 201–225). New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berument, S. K., Rutter, M., Lord, C., Pickles, A., & Bailey, A. (1999). Autism Screening Questionnaire: Diagnostic validity. British Journal of Psychiatry, 175, 444–451.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boersma, P., & Weenink, D. (2005). PRAAT: Doing phonetics by computer (Version 4.3.14) [Computer program]. Retrieved from http://www.praat.orgGoogle Scholar
Capps, L., Losh, M., & Thurber, C. (2000). “The frog ate the bug and made his mouth sad”: Narrative competence in children with autism. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 28, 193–204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diehl, J. J., Bennetto, L., & Young, E. C. (2006). Story recall and narrative coherence of high-functioning children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 34, 87–102.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1997). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (3rd ed.). Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Services.Google Scholar
Eisenmajer, R., Prior, M., Leekam, S., Wing, L., Gould, J., Welham, M., et al. (1996). Comparison of clinical symptoms in autism and Asperger's disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1523–1531.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fay, W., & Schuler, A. L. (1980). Emerging language in autistic children. Baltimore, MD: University Park Press.Google Scholar
Fine, J., Bartolucci, G., Ginsberg, G., & Szatmari, P. (1991). The use of intonation to communicate in pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 32, 771–782.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fosnot, S. M., & Jun, S. (1999). Prosodic characteristics in children with stuttering or autism during reading and imitation. Paper presented at the 14th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences.Google Scholar
Frith, U. (1991). Autism and Asperger syndrome. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garcia-Toro, M., Talavera, J. A., Saiz-Ruiz, J., & Gonzalez, A. (2000). Prosody impairment in depression measured through acoustic analyses. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 188, 824–829.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ghaziuddin, M., & Gerstein, L. (1996). Pedantic speaking style differentiates Asperger syndrome from high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 585–595.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldfarb, W., Braunstein, P., & Lorge, I. (1956). A study of speech patterns in a group of schizophrenic children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 26, 544–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Halliday, M. A. K. (1967). Notes on the transitivity and theme in English (Part 2). Journal of Linguistics, 3, 199–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Henton, C. G. (1989). Fact and fiction in the description of female and male pitch. Language and Communication, 9, 299–311.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howlin, P. (2003). Outcome in high-functioning adults with autism with and without early language delays: Implications for the differentiation between autism and Asperger syndrome. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33, 3–13.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kanner, L. (1946). Irrelevant and metaphorical language in early infantile autism. American Journal of Psychiatry, 103, 242–246.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, E. S., Newland, E., Paul, R., & Scassellati, B. (2008). A robotic therapist for positive, affective prosody in high-functioning autistic children. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Ladd, D. R. (1980). The structure of intonational meaning: Evidence from English. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.Google Scholar
Leekam, S., Libby, S., Wing, L., Gould, J., & Gillberg, C. (2000). Comparison of ICD-10 and Gillberg's criteria for Asperger syndrome. Autism, 4, 11–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lord, C., & Paul, R. (1997). Language and communication in autism. In Cohen, D. & Volkmar, F. (Eds.), Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders (pp. 195–225). New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P. C., & Risi, S. (1999). Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.Google Scholar
Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Lecouteur, A. (1994). Autism Diagnostic Interview—Revised—A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 659–685.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayer, M. (1969). Frog, where are you? New York: Dial.Google Scholar
McCann, J., & Peppé, S. (2003). Prosody in autism spectrum disorders: A critical review. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 38, 325–350.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCann, J., Peppé, S., Gibbon, F. E., O'Hare, A., & Rutherford, M. (2007). Prosody and its relationship to language in school-aged children with high-functioning autism. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 42, 682–702.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McNeill, D. (1992). Hand and mind: What gestures reveal about thought. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Miller, J. N., & Ozonoff, S. (2000). The external validity of Asperger disorder: Lack of evidence from the domain of neuropsychology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 227–238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nilsonne, Å., Sundberg, J., Ternström, S., & Askenfelt, A. (1988. Measuring the rate of change of voice fundamental frequency in fluent speech during mental depression. Journal of the Acoustic Society of America, 83, 716–728.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paccia, J. M., & Curcio, F. (1982). Language processing and forms of immediate echolalia in autistic-children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 25, 42–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paul, R., Augustyn, A., Klin, A., & Volkmar, F. R. (2005). Perception and production of prosody by speakers with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 205–220.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paul, R., Shriberg, L. D., McSweeny, J., Cicchetti, D., Klin, A., & Volkmar, F. (2005). Brief report: Relations between prosodic performance and communication and socialization ratings in high functioning speakers with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 861–869.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peppé, S., & McCann, J. (2003). Assessing intonation and prosody in children with atypical language development: The PEPS-C test and the revised version. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 17, 345–354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Peppé, S., McCann, J., Gibbon, F., O'Hare, A., & Rutherford, M. (2007). Receptive and expressive prosodic ability in children with high-functioning autism. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 50, 1015–1028.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pierrehumbert, J., & Hirschberg, J. (1990). The meaning of intonational contours in the interpretation of discourse. In Cohen, P., Morgan, J., & Pollack, M. (Eds.), Intentions in communication (pp. 271–312). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provonost, W., Wakstein, M., & Wakstein, D. (1966). A longitudinal study of speech behaviors and language comprehension in fourteen children diagnosed as atypical or autistic. Exceptional Children, 33, 19–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rapin, I., & Dunn, M. (2003). Update on the language disorders of individuals on the autistic spectrum. Brain & Development, 25, 166–172.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rice, M. L., Warren, S. F., & Betz, S. K. (2005). Language symptoms of developmental language disorders: An overview of autism, Down syndrome, fragile X, specific language impairment, and Williams syndrome. Applied Psycholinguistics, 26, 7–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutherford, M. D., Baron-Cohen, S., & Wheelwright, S. (2002). Reading the mind in the voice: A study with normal adults and adults with Asperger syndrome and high functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 32, 189–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M., Le Couteur, A., & Lord, C. (2003). Autism Diagnostic Interview—Revised. Los Angeles: Western Psychological Services.Google Scholar
Semel, E., Wiig, E. H., & Secord, W. A. (1995). Clinical evaluation of language fundamentals (3rd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Setter, J., Stojanovik, V., Ewijk, L. V., & Moreland, M. (2007). Affective prosody in children with Williams syndrome. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 21, 659–672.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shriberg, L. D., Kwiatkowski, J., & Rasmussen, C. (1990). The Prosody–Voice Screening Profile. Tucson, AZ: Communication Skill Builders.Google Scholar
Shriberg, L. D., Paul, R., McSweeny, J. L., Klin, A., Cohen, D. J., & Volkmar, F. R. (2001). Speech and prosody characteristics of adolescents and adults with high-functioning autism and Asperger syndrome. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 44, 1097–1115.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Siegel, D. J., Minshew, N. J., & Goldstein, G. (1996). Wechsler IQ profiles in diagnosis of high-functioning autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 26, 389–406.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tager-Flusberg, H. (2001). Understanding the language and communicative impairments in autism. International Review of Research in Mental Retardation, 23, 185–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tager-Flusberg, H. (2004). Strategies for conducting research on language in autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34, 75–80.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tager-Flusberg, H., Paul, R., & Lord, C. (2005). Language and communication in autism. In Volkmar, F. R., Paul, R., Klin, A., & Cohen, D. J. (Eds.), Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders: Diagnosis, development, neurobiology, and behavior (Vol. 1, pp. 335–364). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thorndike, R. L., Hager, E. P., & Sattler, J. M. (1986). Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale (4th ed.). Chicago: Riverside.Google Scholar
Volkmar, F. R., Lord, C., Bailey, A., Schultz, R. T., & Klin, A. (2004). Autism and pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 45, 135–170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watson, D. G., Gunlogson, C. A., & Tanenhaus, M. K. (2006). Online methods for the investigation of prosody. New York: Walter de Gruyter.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1991). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wechsler, D. (1997). Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (3rd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wells, B., & Peppé, S. (2003). Intonation abilities of children with speech and langauge impairments. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 46, 5–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whiteside, S. P., & Hodgson, C. (2000). Some acoustic characteristics in the voices of 6- to 10-year-old children and adults: A comparative sex and developmental perspective. Logopedics Phoniatrics Vocology, 25, 122–132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Young, E. C., Diehl, J. J., Morris, D., Hyman, S. L., & Bennetto, L. (2005). The use of two language tests to identify pragmatic language problems in children with autism spectrum disorders. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 36, 62–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed