Pedantic Speech in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Difficulties with language is one of the core characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Clinicians have described a ‘pedantic’ quality in the speech of children with ASD: speech that is overly formal, adult-like, and inappropriate for the conversational setting. Although the adjective ‘pedantic’ has been associated with ASD since Asperger’s 1943 paper and formal speech is mentioned in the DSM-5 diagnosis criteria for ASD, there has been very little work on measuring this phenomenon. In this talk I will share my work on developing automated methods for capturing and quantifying pedantic speech in children with ASD and how this project has evolved over time. I will also share findings from a literature review of pedantic speech that I am currently working on.