AUTISM SPEECH PATTERNS IS AN INTRIGUING SUBJECT AS THE WAY PEOPLE SPEAK PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN CONVEYING EMOTION AND MEANING TO OTHERS. IF A CHILD ON THE SPECTRUM STRUGGLES WITH TONE, RHYTHM, AND PITCH, THE INTENTION BEHIND THEIR WORDS CAN SOMETIMES BE MISUNDERSTOOD.

By Yolande Loftus, BA, LLB

Aneurodivergent friend told me about an interesting interview question recently. Her prospective employer, aware of her condition, asked whether her personality shone on paper or in person. She didn’t find the question offensive at all, she answered: “Paper,” without any hesitation.

For many people, especially those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), atypical speech patterns interfere with social communication and interaction. Neurotypical society places enormous value on tone, inflection, speed, and pattern of speech, to convey meaning and emotion.

Autistic individuals, who sometimes speak in a flat tone or with an atypical pitch, may be misunderstood or even shunned when they don’t adhere to expected speech patterns. Research (Depape et al., 2012) suggests impaired speech patterns like “abnormal” use of prosody could impact social communication, leading to difficulty making and keeping friends. It could also affect a person’s employment prospects.

“Big Deal!”

The phrase big deal is an interesting example of the use of tone when thinking about autism. It’s a comment used in a sarcastic or ironic way with such regularity, it’s now mostly used to say something is not that significant or important.

To convey this meaning, the phrase has to be said in a specific way, using the correct pattern of speech. Adhering to such unwritten speech rules may be an actual big deal for autistic individuals—especially as many on the spectrum tend to interpret and use speech literally.