Auditory processing and communication in autism: exploring verbal abilities and vocal affective cues

This study examined the role of auditory processing in autism spectrum disorder, focusing on its association with verbal and non-verbal vocal communication skills in children and adolescents. A total of 97 English-speaking autistic participants (ages 7.9-17.4 years, mean = 12.3) and 44 neurotypical peers (ages 8.4-16.8, mean= 12.3) completed assessments of auditory processing and communication skills. We analyzed the relationships between scores on the SCAN-3 Tests for Auditory Processing Disorders time-compressed sentences, auditory figure-ground (+ 8dB), gap detection, and competing words-free recall subtests, the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Fifth Edition (CELF-5) expressive and receptive language indices, the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation-3rd Edition (GFTA-3) Sounds-In-Words subtest, and the Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy-2nd Edition (DANVA-2) paralanguage subtests. Measures of auditory processing were associated with both verbal and non-verbal communication skills in the autistic participants. Specifically, we found that SCAN-3 time-compressed sentence and gap detection scores were associated with expressive and receptive language skills, receptive vocabulary scores, and ability to recognize vocal emotional cues. Gap detection abilities additionally correlated positively with expressive and receptive language skills, while auditory figure-ground task performance was related to articulation. In conclusion, this study suggests specific aspects of auditory processing may be important for development of specific aspects of auditory communication skills in children on the spectrum. Specifically, spectral aspects of auditory processing abilities were associated with articulation accuracy whereas temporal components of auditory processing may impact broader verbal and nonverbal communication skills. Further research is needed to better understand the underlying mechanisms of these associations and potential directions of causality to inform development of interventions that target auditory processing and auditory communication skills in ASD.