Autistic adults display different verbal behavior only in mixed-neurotype interactions: Evidence from a referential communication task / Philippine GEELHAND in Autism, 29-5 (May 2025)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism > 29-5 (May 2025) . - p.1129-1142 Titre : Autistic adults display different verbal behavior only in mixed-neurotype interactions: Evidence from a referential communication task Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : Philippine GEELHAND, Auteur ; Fanny PAPASTAMOU, Auteur ; Solène JASPARD, Auteur ; Mikhail KISSINE, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.1129-1142 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : neurotype (mis)match  oral versus written language  referential communication Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Recent accounts of social difficulties in autism suggest that autistic and non-autistic individuals mutually misunderstand each other. This assumption aligns with findings that mixed-neurotype interactions are less efficient than same-neurotype interactions. However, it remains unclear whether different outcomes between mixed- and same-neurotype interactions are due to contact with a different neurotype or to inherently different communication styles, specific to each neurotype. A total of 134 adult participants were divided into three same-sex dyad types: 23 autistic dyads, 23 non-autistic dyads, and 21 mixed-neurotype dyads. Participants were unaware of their partner?s neurotype. Dyads completed an online referential communication task where a "Director" guides a "Matcher" to rearrange abstract images, using both written (chat) and oral (microphone, no video) communication modes. Interaction outcome measures were task duration and verbosity of the Director. Across both communication modes, non-autistic dyads completed the task faster than autistic and mixed dyads, indicating that dyads with at least one autistic partner were generally slower. Notably, in mixed dyads, autistic Directors were more verbose than non-autistic Directors across both communication modes. These results, in conjunction with partners' unawareness of each other?s neurotype, suggest that even in the absence of non-verbal cues neurotype mismatch triggers autistic adults to display different verbal behavior.Lay abstract Recent research shows that in conversations, both participants influence the outcome. More specifically, conversations do not go as smoothly when autistic and non-autistic people talk together compared to when people of the same neurotype (either all autistic or all non-autistic) talk to each other. In studies finding a "same-neurotype communicative advantage", interaction partners knew about each other?s neurotype. Because of this methodological choice, it is unclear whether mixed-neurotype interactions go less smoothly because participants knew they were interacting with a different neurotype or because each neurotype really has a distinct communication style. In our study, 134 adults were grouped into same-sex pairs: 23 autistic, 23 non-autistic, and 21 mixed-neurotype pairs. The pairs did not know if the other person was autistic or not. They completed an online task where the "Director" instructs the "Matcher" to reorder abstract pictures. Pairs did this task in two ways: by typing in a live chat and by speaking into a microphone without video. The study looked at how long the task took and how much the Director talked/wrote. Results showed that non-autistic pairs were faster to complete the task than autistic pairs and mixed pairs, meaning pairs with at least one autistic person were slower in general to complete the task. Interestingly, in mixed pairs, only autistic Directors produced more words than non-autistic Directors, in both typing and speaking. These findings suggest that even without knowing about their partner?s neurotype and seeing/hearing their partner, autistic adults communicate differently when they interact with a non-autistic person. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13623613241298376 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=555 [article] Autistic adults display different verbal behavior only in mixed-neurotype interactions: Evidence from a referential communication task [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / Philippine GEELHAND, Auteur ; Fanny PAPASTAMOU, Auteur ; Solène JASPARD, Auteur ; Mikhail KISSINE, Auteur . - p.1129-1142. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism > 29-5 (May 2025) . - p.1129-1142 Mots-clés : neurotype (mis)match  oral versus written language  referential communication Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Recent accounts of social difficulties in autism suggest that autistic and non-autistic individuals mutually misunderstand each other. This assumption aligns with findings that mixed-neurotype interactions are less efficient than same-neurotype interactions. However, it remains unclear whether different outcomes between mixed- and same-neurotype interactions are due to contact with a different neurotype or to inherently different communication styles, specific to each neurotype. A total of 134 adult participants were divided into three same-sex dyad types: 23 autistic dyads, 23 non-autistic dyads, and 21 mixed-neurotype dyads. Participants were unaware of their partner?s neurotype. Dyads completed an online referential communication task where a "Director" guides a "Matcher" to rearrange abstract images, using both written (chat) and oral (microphone, no video) communication modes. Interaction outcome measures were task duration and verbosity of the Director. Across both communication modes, non-autistic dyads completed the task faster than autistic and mixed dyads, indicating that dyads with at least one autistic partner were generally slower. Notably, in mixed dyads, autistic Directors were more verbose than non-autistic Directors across both communication modes. These results, in conjunction with partners' unawareness of each other?s neurotype, suggest that even in the absence of non-verbal cues neurotype mismatch triggers autistic adults to display different verbal behavior.Lay abstract Recent research shows that in conversations, both participants influence the outcome. More specifically, conversations do not go as smoothly when autistic and non-autistic people talk together compared to when people of the same neurotype (either all autistic or all non-autistic) talk to each other. In studies finding a "same-neurotype communicative advantage", interaction partners knew about each other?s neurotype. Because of this methodological choice, it is unclear whether mixed-neurotype interactions go less smoothly because participants knew they were interacting with a different neurotype or because each neurotype really has a distinct communication style. In our study, 134 adults were grouped into same-sex pairs: 23 autistic, 23 non-autistic, and 21 mixed-neurotype pairs. The pairs did not know if the other person was autistic or not. They completed an online task where the "Director" instructs the "Matcher" to reorder abstract pictures. Pairs did this task in two ways: by typing in a live chat and by speaking into a microphone without video. The study looked at how long the task took and how much the Director talked/wrote. Results showed that non-autistic pairs were faster to complete the task than autistic pairs and mixed pairs, meaning pairs with at least one autistic person were slower in general to complete the task. Interestingly, in mixed pairs, only autistic Directors produced more words than non-autistic Directors, in both typing and speaking. These findings suggest that even without knowing about their partner?s neurotype and seeing/hearing their partner, autistic adults communicate differently when they interact with a non-autistic person. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13623613241298376 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=555

Brief Report: Acoustic Evidence for Increased Articulatory Stability in the Speech of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder / M. KISSINE in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49-6 (June 2019)  

Public ISBD [article]  inJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders > 49-6 (June 2019) . - p.2572-2580 Titre : Brief Report: Acoustic Evidence for Increased Articulatory Stability in the Speech of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : M. KISSINE, Auteur ; Philippine GEELHAND, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.2572-2580 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Acoustics  Autism  F0  Formants  Jitter  Prosody  Shimmer  Voice quality Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Subjective impressions of speech delivery in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as monotonic or over-precise are widespread but still lack robust acoustic evidence. This study provides a detailed acoustic characterization of the specificities of speech in individuals with ASD using an extensive sample of speech data, from the production of narratives and from spontaneous conversation. Syllable-level analyses (30,843 tokens in total) were performed on audio recordings from two sub-tasks of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule from 20 adults with ASD and 20 pairwise matched neuro-typical adults, providing acoustic measures of fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer and the first three formants. The results suggest that participants with ASD display a greater articulatory stability in vowel production than neuro-typical participants, both in phonation and articulatory gestures. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-03905-5 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=400 [article] Brief Report: Acoustic Evidence for Increased Articulatory Stability in the Speech of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / M. KISSINE, Auteur ; Philippine GEELHAND, Auteur . - p.2572-2580. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders > 49-6 (June 2019) . - p.2572-2580 Mots-clés : Acoustics  Autism  F0  Formants  Jitter  Prosody  Shimmer  Voice quality Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Subjective impressions of speech delivery in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as monotonic or over-precise are widespread but still lack robust acoustic evidence. This study provides a detailed acoustic characterization of the specificities of speech in individuals with ASD using an extensive sample of speech data, from the production of narratives and from spontaneous conversation. Syllable-level analyses (30,843 tokens in total) were performed on audio recordings from two sub-tasks of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule from 20 adults with ASD and 20 pairwise matched neuro-typical adults, providing acoustic measures of fundamental frequency, jitter, shimmer and the first three formants. The results suggest that participants with ASD display a greater articulatory stability in vowel production than neuro-typical participants, both in phonation and articulatory gestures. En ligne : https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-03905-5 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=400

Investigating sex differences in narrative production of autistic pre-adolescents and adolescents / Charlotte DUMONT ; Philippine GEELHAND ; Mikhail KISSINE in Research in Autism, 124 (June 2025)  

Public ISBD [article]  inResearch in Autism > 124 (June 2025) . - 202589 Titre : Investigating sex differences in narrative production of autistic pre-adolescents and adolescents Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : Charlotte DUMONT, Auteur ; Philippine GEELHAND, Auteur ; Mikhail KISSINE, Auteur Article en page(s) : 202589 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Autism  Adolescents  Narratives  Sex differences  Coherence  Discourse analysis Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Autism is less frequently diagnosed in females, and autistic females are often diagnosed later in life than males. The sex imbalance in autism could be partly due to a communicative advantage in autistic females. To better understand sex differences in language of autistic individuals in late-childhood and adolescence, we compared narrative coherence of autistic females, autistic males, non-autistic females and non-autistic males. Narrative production was elicited from a total of 113 participants (mean age 12.32), based on a wordless picture book. Relying on a thorough coding scheme, we analysed the following categories: story grammar, connectives, references to characters and internal state language. Independently of sex, autistic individuals produced less coherent narratives than non-autistic individuals. Narratives by autistic adolescents included more comments unrelated to the story and more image descriptions, less causal connectives, less internal state language and fewer mentions of main characters. Autistic participants also used more indefinite expressions to refer to story characters than their non-autistic peers. No significant sex differences were found between autistic males and females. Based on a sex-balanced sample, this study confirms prior results on narrative production by autistic individuals and provides new insights into referential expression choices. Importantly, this study finds no evidence for lower atypicality of communicative profiles of autistic females, as measured by a narrative task. En ligne : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reia.2025.202589 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=556 [article] Investigating sex differences in narrative production of autistic pre-adolescents and adolescents [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / Charlotte DUMONT, Auteur ; Philippine GEELHAND, Auteur ; Mikhail KISSINE, Auteur . - 202589. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Research in Autism > 124 (June 2025) . - 202589 Mots-clés : Autism  Adolescents  Narratives  Sex differences  Coherence  Discourse analysis Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Autism is less frequently diagnosed in females, and autistic females are often diagnosed later in life than males. The sex imbalance in autism could be partly due to a communicative advantage in autistic females. To better understand sex differences in language of autistic individuals in late-childhood and adolescence, we compared narrative coherence of autistic females, autistic males, non-autistic females and non-autistic males. Narrative production was elicited from a total of 113 participants (mean age 12.32), based on a wordless picture book. Relying on a thorough coding scheme, we analysed the following categories: story grammar, connectives, references to characters and internal state language. Independently of sex, autistic individuals produced less coherent narratives than non-autistic individuals. Narratives by autistic adolescents included more comments unrelated to the story and more image descriptions, less causal connectives, less internal state language and fewer mentions of main characters. Autistic participants also used more indefinite expressions to refer to story characters than their non-autistic peers. No significant sex differences were found between autistic males and females. Based on a sex-balanced sample, this study confirms prior results on narrative production by autistic individuals and provides new insights into referential expression choices. Importantly, this study finds no evidence for lower atypicality of communicative profiles of autistic females, as measured by a narrative task. En ligne : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reia.2025.202589 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=556

Judgments of spoken discourse and impression formation of neurotypical and autistic adults / Philippine GEELHAND in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 82 (April 2021)  

Public ISBD [article]  inResearch in Autism Spectrum Disorders > 82 (April 2021) . - 101742 Titre : Judgments of spoken discourse and impression formation of neurotypical and autistic adults Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : Philippine GEELHAND, Auteur ; Fanny PAPASTAMOU, Auteur ; Gaétane DELIENS, Auteur ; Mikhail KISSINE, Auteur Article en page(s) : 101742 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Autism  First impressions  Spoken discourse  Adults Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Background Studies on impression formation in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have suggested that both ASD and neurotypical (NT) individuals extract paralinguistic cues (e.g., vocal and facial expressions) from brief extracts of social behaviors to form less favorable impressions of the personality traits of ASD individuals than of their NT peers. Yet, discourse studies in ASD have also suggested that there are specific linguistic features (e.g., conjunctions) that can distinguish the speech of ASD individuals from that of NT individuals. This study investigates whether naïve participants with and without autism can perceive discourse features previously identified as characteristic of ASD speech, based on a single exposure to conversation extracts. Methods A cross-design rating experiment was created whereby a group of ASD and NT adults (blind to diagnosis information) rated audio recordings involving ASD and NT speakers. Rating participants evaluated the recordings using a Likert scale targeting impressions of discourse features. Results ASD and NT Raters behaved similarly on the ratings of discourse features; evaluating the speech of ASD Speakers less favorably than those of NT Speakers. Conclusion Our results extend previous findings by showing that linguistic cues also lead to less favorable impressions of the discourse of ASD Speakers, and this from both the perspective of NT and ASD Raters. En ligne : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101742 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=443 [article] Judgments of spoken discourse and impression formation of neurotypical and autistic adults [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / Philippine GEELHAND, Auteur ; Fanny PAPASTAMOU, Auteur ; Gaétane DELIENS, Auteur ; Mikhail KISSINE, Auteur . - 101742. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders > 82 (April 2021) . - 101742 Mots-clés : Autism  First impressions  Spoken discourse  Adults Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : Background Studies on impression formation in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have suggested that both ASD and neurotypical (NT) individuals extract paralinguistic cues (e.g., vocal and facial expressions) from brief extracts of social behaviors to form less favorable impressions of the personality traits of ASD individuals than of their NT peers. Yet, discourse studies in ASD have also suggested that there are specific linguistic features (e.g., conjunctions) that can distinguish the speech of ASD individuals from that of NT individuals. This study investigates whether naïve participants with and without autism can perceive discourse features previously identified as characteristic of ASD speech, based on a single exposure to conversation extracts. Methods A cross-design rating experiment was created whereby a group of ASD and NT adults (blind to diagnosis information) rated audio recordings involving ASD and NT speakers. Rating participants evaluated the recordings using a Likert scale targeting impressions of discourse features. Results ASD and NT Raters behaved similarly on the ratings of discourse features; evaluating the speech of ASD Speakers less favorably than those of NT Speakers. Conclusion Our results extend previous findings by showing that linguistic cues also lead to less favorable impressions of the discourse of ASD Speakers, and this from both the perspective of NT and ASD Raters. En ligne : https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2021.101742 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=443

Phonetic Inflexibility in Autistic Adults / M. KISSINE in Autism Research, 14-6 (June 2021)  

Public ISBD [article]  inAutism Research > 14-6 (June 2021) . - p.1186-1196 Titre : Phonetic Inflexibility in Autistic Adults Type de document : Texte imprimé et/ou numérique Auteurs : M. KISSINE, Auteur ; Philippine GEELHAND, Auteur ; M. PHILIPPART DE FOY, Auteur ; B. HARMEGNIES, Auteur ; G. DELIENS, Auteur Article en page(s) : p.1186-1196 Langues : Anglais (eng) Mots-clés : Acoustics  Adult  Autism Spectrum Disorder  Autistic Disorder/complications  Humans  Male  Phonetics  Speech  Speech Acoustics  acoustics  autism  language  phonetic compliance  phonetic inflexibility in autistic adults  prosody Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : This study examined whether the atypical speech style that is frequently reported in autistic adults is underpinned by an inflexible production of phonetic targets. In a first task, 20 male autistic adults and 20 neuro-typicals had to read and produce native vowels. To assess the extent to which phonetic inflexibility is due to an overall fine-grained control of phonetic behavior or to a lack of flexibility in the realization of one's phonological repertoire, the second task asked participants to reproduce artificial vowel-like sounds. Results confirmed the presence of a greater articulatory stability in the production of native vowels in autistic adults. When instructed to imitate artificial vowel-like sounds, the autistic group did not better approximate the targets' acoustic properties relative to neuro-typicals but their performance at reproducing artificial vowels was less variable and influenced to a greater extent by the articulatory properties of their own vocalic space. These findings suggest that the greater articulatory stability observed in autistic adults arises from a lack of flexibility in the production of their own native vowels. The two phonetic tasks are devoid of any pragmatic constraint, which indicates that phonetic inflexibility in autism is partly independent of register selection. LAY SUMMARY: Autistic and neuro-typical adults took part in two tasks: one in which they produced vowels from French, their native tongue, and the other where they imitated unfamiliar vowels. Autistic adults displayed significantly less variation in their production of different French vowels. In imitating unfamiliar vowels, they were more influenced by the way they pronounce French vowels. These results suggest that the atypical speech style, frequently attested in autistic individuals, could stem from an unusually stable pronunciation of speech sounds. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.2477 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=449 [article] Phonetic Inflexibility in Autistic Adults [Texte imprimé et/ou numérique] / M. KISSINE, Auteur ; Philippine GEELHAND, Auteur ; M. PHILIPPART DE FOY, Auteur ; B. HARMEGNIES, Auteur ; G. DELIENS, Auteur . - p.1186-1196. Langues : Anglais (eng) in Autism Research > 14-6 (June 2021) . - p.1186-1196 Mots-clés : Acoustics  Adult  Autism Spectrum Disorder  Autistic Disorder/complications  Humans  Male  Phonetics  Speech  Speech Acoustics  acoustics  autism  language  phonetic compliance  phonetic inflexibility in autistic adults  prosody Index. décimale : PER Périodiques Résumé : This study examined whether the atypical speech style that is frequently reported in autistic adults is underpinned by an inflexible production of phonetic targets. In a first task, 20 male autistic adults and 20 neuro-typicals had to read and produce native vowels. To assess the extent to which phonetic inflexibility is due to an overall fine-grained control of phonetic behavior or to a lack of flexibility in the realization of one's phonological repertoire, the second task asked participants to reproduce artificial vowel-like sounds. Results confirmed the presence of a greater articulatory stability in the production of native vowels in autistic adults. When instructed to imitate artificial vowel-like sounds, the autistic group did not better approximate the targets' acoustic properties relative to neuro-typicals but their performance at reproducing artificial vowels was less variable and influenced to a greater extent by the articulatory properties of their own vocalic space. These findings suggest that the greater articulatory stability observed in autistic adults arises from a lack of flexibility in the production of their own native vowels. The two phonetic tasks are devoid of any pragmatic constraint, which indicates that phonetic inflexibility in autism is partly independent of register selection. LAY SUMMARY: Autistic and neuro-typical adults took part in two tasks: one in which they produced vowels from French, their native tongue, and the other where they imitated unfamiliar vowels. Autistic adults displayed significantly less variation in their production of different French vowels. In imitating unfamiliar vowels, they were more influenced by the way they pronounce French vowels. These results suggest that the atypical speech style, frequently attested in autistic individuals, could stem from an unusually stable pronunciation of speech sounds. En ligne : http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.2477 Permalink : https://www.cra-rhone-alpes.org/cid/opac_css/index.php?lvl=notice_display&id=449

Selective Pragmatic Impairment in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Indirect Requests Versus Irony / G. DELIENS in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48-9 (September 2018)  

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Strategic Deception in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder / Bob VAN TIEL in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 51-1 (January 2021)  

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Struggling with alternative descriptions: Impaired referential processing in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder / Ekaterina OSTASHCHENKO in Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 66 (October 2019)  

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The role of gender in the perception of autism symptom severity and future behavioral development / Philippine GEELHAND in Molecular Autism, 10 (2019)  

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