Have you ever heard a lecture or speech from someone with no inflection in their voice? This is called a monotone voice. While it can be an effective way to communicate boredom in television shows, it can lead to difficulty communicating for people on the autism spectrum.
Many people with autism may not use different tones or inflections when speaking, causing them to have a monotone voice. However, there are ways for parents to help their children understand how and why they sound monotone and which social situations may require a different tone.
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Understanding monotone voice autism
In its simplest definition, a monotone voice stays the same pitch, tone, speed, and volume throughout the entire speech. There are no changes in the voice to reflect different emotions or situations.
While anyone can speak in a monotone voice, it can often be a sign of autism spectrum disorder.
Many children on the autism spectrum may not recognize the need for a change in tone when speaking. This can manifest in them not adjusting the volume of their voice.
They may speak loudly in a library or movie theater where people are expected to be quieter. It can also lead to them speaking too softly when there is too much noise surrounding them.
What causes a monotone voice?
There’s no one set cause for a monotone voice, but several factors can lead to someone not changing their tone and pitch while speaking.
For people on the autism spectrum, they may struggle with understanding and expressing emotions, negatively affecting communication. This can lead to a singular tone when they speak.
Another potential cause of monotone voice is social anxiety. Sometimes, my older son, Jeremy, struggles to convey what he wants without using a monotone voice. He was diagnosed at age seven and usually has major inflections in his voice.
However, when he’s experiencing social anxiety, he will slip into a monotone voice. He can get overwhelmed. The boy who is usually able to tell a story with multiple pitches and tones disappears, and we get a low, single-toned voice.
How does a monotone voice impact the lives of autistic individuals?
When someone on the autism spectrum struggles to change their tone, people may stop listening to them because they get bored. A flat voice can cause autistic children to speak less often because they may believe people don’t want to hear them.
This can lead to people with autism struggling with other forms of communication and having difficulty expressing their feelings. Voice struggles can also be linked to increased social isolation among those on the autism spectrum.
Monotone voice in autistic adults
When speaking to a friend of mine who is on the autism spectrum, he says monotone speech can negatively impact his relationships with neurotypical people.
My friend says many people shrug off what he’s saying due to his tone instead of listening to the actual words he’s saying. He says many communication issues he has are not because of what he’s saying but how others hear him.
Addressing being monotone in autism
Some speech and vocal therapies can help children with autism recognize their voice and adjust it if it’s monotone. These therapies are often used to help children recognize pitch and tone so they can adjust their voice when necessary.
You may need to seek a professional opinion to learn which speech and vocal therapy is right for your child, but they can go a long way in addressing their voice.
Embracing communication differences
Everyone in the world has their own ways to communicate. For some people with autism, their voice may come across as monotone, which increases communication difficulties. It can lead them to struggle in society as people find their tone boring without listening to their words.
However, there are vocal therapies that can help loved ones with autism recognize when to change their pitch or tone of voice. It may take time and a lot of understanding, but we can work with them to ensure a brighter future.
FAQs
Q: Is monotone voice a symptom of autism?
A: While not everyone whose voice is monotone is on the autism spectrum, it is one of many symptoms associated with the condition.
Q: Does autism affect your tone of voice?
A: Yes, some people with autism may struggle to regulate and modulate their speaking voice, making it come across as flat and monotone.
Q: What are the vocal signs of autism?
A: People with autism may use speech patterns that only make sense to them, use odd tones when speaking, or only speak in one tone.
Q: Does ADHD cause monotone voice?
A: People with ADHD can also experience difficulty with articulation, which contributes to their voice sounding monotone.
Sources
Atypical patterns of tone production in tone-language-speaking children with autism, Front. Psychol., 03 November 2022, Sec. Psychology of Language, Volume 13 – 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1023205
Quantifying Voice Characteristics for Detecting Autism, Front. Psychol., 07 September 2021, Sec. Psychology for Clinical Settings, Volume 12 – 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.665096
Schelinski, S., von Kriegstein, K. The Relation Between Vocal Pitch and Vocal Emotion Recognition Abilities in People with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 68–82 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3681-z
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