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Updated: Jun 13, 2026

Testing Sensory and Multisensory Function in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Published on: April 22, 2015
Sounds of melody--pitch patterns of speech in autism
Megha Sharda1, T Padma Subhadra, Sanchita Sahay
1National Brain Research Centre, NH-8, Nainwal Mode, Manesar 122 050, India.
Abstract:
The objective of this study was to find a pattern in vocalizations of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). We compared the intonational features of 15 children with ASD who showed speech, aged 4-10 years, with 10 age-matched typically developing controls. Exaggerated pitch, pitch range, pitch excursion and pitch contours were observed in speech of children with autism, but absent in age-matched controls. These exaggerated features, which are distinctive characteristics of motherese, were also seen in interactions of an independent group of 8 mothers of typical infants using child-directed speech. Our findings provide the first evidence of a distinct pattern in vocal output from children with autism. They also demonstrate that speech patterns might follow a delayed developmental trajectory in these children.
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