Children with autism spectrum disorder have good vocabularies but unusual ways of expressing themselves. They may talk in a monotone voice and do not recognize the need to control the volume of their voice, speaking loudly in libraries or movie theaters, for example.
One particularly rich indicator of social differences in autism is the voice. Children with autism often sound different from other people. Some may speak in a flat, monotone voice; others may use unusual modulation or stress different words or parts of words in their speech; and some may speak at an increased volume.
The speech of many children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) appears abnormal and is often described as machine-like, “monotonic,” or “sing-song.” These abnormalities of voice and speech were already noted in early descriptions of ASD (Kanner, 1943), but their exact characteristics and the underlying mechanisms, as ...
Autistic people may also be able to hear sounds from inside the building – such as voices or noises from other rooms, or water in pipes and electricity in the walls. A decibel meter can be useful to support this work (now available as a phone app for those in need).
Repetitive behaviour
For example, children might: make repetitive noises like grunts, throat-clearing or squealing. do repetitive movements like body-rocking or hand-flapping. do things like flicking a light switch repeatedly.
Many kids and teens with autism make frequent sounds and noises when excited or anxious. These vocalizations — which can sound loud or quiet, high-pitched or low-pitched, happy or upset — are often a form of self-stimulatory behavior (stimming).
Sometimes people with autism produce long strings of nonsensical speech sounds. We call this “jargon.” It can sound like the person is trying to express something because jargon is often produced with an adult-like intonation pattern. However, jargon is not easily interpretable.
People with autism often speak with a different rhythm, prosody, and/or volume than typical peers. Thus, even if the words themselves are appropriate, they may sound flat, loud, soft, or otherwise different. It's not unusual for people with autism to "script" their conversations.
Examples of vocal stims include the following:
Making or mimicking sounds. Groaning or grunting. Squealing or shrieking. Shouting, yelling, or screaming.
Autistic children and teenagers are sometimes oversensitive to things like noise, crowds or temperature. They try to avoid sensory experiences. Other autistic children are undersensitive. They seek out sensory experiences.
“[Adults with autism] tended to be louder when they were speaking, and they also took a longer period of time to say the statements than the controls.” When listening to the recordings, the adults on the spectrum had more trouble inferring emotion than the controls did, but, interestingly, their speech conveyed more ...
Many minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) develop idiosyncratic communication habits and ways of expressing themselves. It is difficult to say why your son developed this new habit of only whispering or mouthing words.
Speech pattern is marked by a lack of rhythm, odd inflection or monotone pitch. Isolation from social settings due to poor social skills and limited interests. Impaired ability to use or understand non-verbal behavior such as eye gaze, facial expressions or body language.
In the case of vocal stimming (or verbal stimming), the child might make noises such as groaning, grunting, high- pitched screeching, squealing, humming, or repeating random words, words to a familiar song, phrases, or lines from a movie.
Stimming is a term for self-stimulatory behavior. It often manifests as repetitive body movement, such as humming or hand movements. It is common among people on the autism spectrum. Stimming can bring enjoyment and help people cope with uncomfortable or stressful situations.
This can be grunting, clicking our tongue, whistling, or humming ?. Some people with ADHD often do vocal stimming when they are lost in thought or trying to focus on something. We tend to do this when we are having trouble with our ADHD symptoms, particularly while doing repetitive tasks for long periods.
Some children with autism may start talking at 12-16 months. Most don't start talking until later. Some will start talking between the ages of 2-3 years. Other children talk even later, and some children never learn to talk.
Mild autism is level 1 autism spectrum disorder. It means a person does not have severe symptoms and needs a lower level of support than someone else with autism. People with mild autism still have a hard time communicating and interacting with others.
Some children with ASD develop language after age 5. “There is a burst of kids in the 6 to 7 age range who do get language,” says Wodka, who currently leads recruitment and research efforts for the SPARK study at the Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore.
In children and teenagers with high-functioning autism, this can present as a limited social circle, difficulty completing group work, or problems sharing toys and materials. Many people with ASD have sensory difficulties. Certain tastes, noises, smells, or feelings can be intolerable.
Nonverbal autism is a form of autism that is characterized by a lack of or limited use of verbal communication. This can include difficulty using words to express needs or desires, speaking in single words or short phrases, and difficulty understanding language.
Children with nonverbal autism do not speak at all. In many cases, they babble like any other child and say their first words around 12 months of age. However, they regress as the symptoms of ASD become more severe.
Children with autism can be silent or chatty, bright or intellectually challenged. Their behaviors can range from quirky to aggressive. They may do well academically or face serious learning disabilities. All that said, though, children with autism do have certain qualities in common.
Likewise, a child with autism may not speak, look at other people or play with their peers. Both shy children and those with autism may appear quieter and more reserved than other children, and may find it harder to make friends.