Sensory Integration and Implications on Understanding Speech
Published July 04, 2009 @ 12:07PM PT
Many of us on the spectrum report a lot of difficulty making out what people are saying. Some of us have been additionally diagnosed with auditory processing disorder (sorry about the "in children" insistence in that article--it's otherwise a good article and the info is true of adults as well). Difficulty separating foreground from background noise is commonly reported. Earlier this year I posted on mono-sensing and understanding speech and questioned whether difficulty integrating vision and hearing might contribute to auditory processing issues.
Now it seems like there's some science backing up our experiences from City College of New York's Dr. John J. Foxe,
"Sensory integration dysfunction has long been speculated to be a core component of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) but there has been precious little hard empirical evidence to support this notion. Viewing a speaker's articulatory movements can greatly improve a listener's ability to understand spoken words, and this is especially the case under noisy environmental conditions.
"These results are the first of their kind to verify that children with autism have substantial difficulties in these situations..."
Foxe goes on to describe the implications this has for classrooms--that smaller, quieter classrooms that are more accommodating of auditory processing difficulties are a good idea.
"Being able to detect speech in noise plays a vital role in how we communicate with each other because our listening environments are almost never quiet. Even the hum of air conditioners or fans that we can easily ignore may adversely impact these children's ability to understand speech in the classroom."
Again, children children children, but these issues are definitely not limited to children! The science doesn't generalize, but the concepts likely do (at least they do in my experience as an N of 1). Environmental system hums, lighting hums, the shuffling of papers and clattering of pens and shifting in seats--all things that as a graduate student I fight through in order to make out what the instructor is saying. And background noise is always there--it does not "turn off." This makes listening to speech something that is exhausting, fades in and out, and is deeply unreliable.
Autism may be less "mysterious" when our experience of the world, such as our experience of others' speech, is better understood. This can pave the way to more accommodating environments which may lead to more opportunities and a higher quality of life.
image is a spectrogram of a man saying "19th century," source wikipedia
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Comments (7)
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Dora is committed to improving quality of life for individuals on the autistic spectrum--including herself! She is Co-director of the Academic Autistic Spectrum Partnership in Research and Education and a member of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network's Board of Directors.
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I absolutely cannot stand it when someone talks to me while I am on the phone, even if on hold. I can't cross listen to the radio if someone is talking either. And I find if someone has a strong accent that if I look at their face, it is easier to understand what they are saying.
totally agree with this. xx
Posted by lisadom dom on 07/04/2009 @ 03:02PM PT
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This is probably my biggest problem as an "Aspie" (Asperger's Syndrome). Most of my life (I'm 37) I was undiagnosed and have been roundly criticized by friends and family alike...I function well enough and demonstrate enough of a degree of intelligence and even articulation that people don't accept that I feel like I am drowning with sensory overload in most situations involving more than a couple of people or multiple sensory inputs (i.e. almost everywhere).
Posted by William Brown on 07/04/2009 @ 08:55PM PT
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Auditory processing is definitely not something only for small children. My oldest aspie shows tremendous signs of having a slow uptake on oral information. My husband gave him oral instructions on refinishing a wood chair. Maybe three steps. three times he told him. He did not get past the first step. Couldn't remember. Got a little confused. He's had therapy since he is 5. He is now in college. I think its just who he is. However, it is one of the things that adds to his anxiety in school. I am sure of it.
Posted by Elise Butowsky on 07/05/2009 @ 06:09AM PT
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Hi Elise, I don't remember / intake oral information well enough for it to be functional either. Here are two things I do to get around the difficulty: 1) carry a notebook with me and ask a person to be patient with me while I write down the instructions they give me, 2) ask that I be given instructions in writing instead of orally. I just have a script I use for both these items so I can remember to get the words out. This second one is a reasonable accommodation your son can ask for from his teachers at school--to be given assignments or other important information in writing. Your son can also get a note taker to write down what the teacher says in lecture, and then your son can read the notes later. A note taker is a pretty common college accommodation that people use for everything from carpal tunnel to AS. (You may already know all of that already but I figured it couldn't hurt to say just in case :-)
Posted by Dora Raymaker on 07/05/2009 @ 11:27AM PT
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Dora,
Thankyou fo yur suggestions. The college has been pretty good about accommodations except the one thing they don't have is notetakers. We bought him a really expensive microrecorder so he could review the lectures when he gets home, but he won't use it. They also hand out a syllabus with assignments due listed. The profs so far have been pretty nice about answeringhsi emails, also. I really can't complain. It was just an interesting observation on .our part that coincided with your article. By the way he got 4As and 2Bs last semester, even with everything he has to contend with.
I like the idea of having a notebook with you. I have to tell you that my husband who is a partner in a lawfirm actually gets annoyed if the associates don't write down what they are supposed to be doing, so it is actually common practice for everyone in business to carry notepads with them. You shouldn't standout in today's world.
Thanks again for the info.
Thanks again for the info.
Posted by Elise Butowsky on 07/05/2009 @ 12:03PM PT
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Whoot! Congrats to your son on the A's and B's! Six classes is a lot too!
As far as writing stuff down, as soon as someone starts with the blah blah blah too many oral instructions, I say, "Hang on, my short term memory is kind of poor, I need to write this down. What you are telling me is important, and I want to make sure I got it all." This usually works well for getting the person to chill out and wait for me to write--I think letting them know I care about what they're saying and that I'm not just trying to make trouble helps.
That is surprising about the college not providing note takers. Most universities I know of pay a student who is taking the class anyway to take notes and/or have note-taking as a work-study option. I wonder what happens for students who have difficulty with writing their own notes (e.g., carpal tunnel, limited mobility in their hands). May be time for the school to consider adding note taking services?
Posted by Dora Raymaker on 07/05/2009 @ 12:42PM PT
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Lets just say, certain things cannot be written about on the net.
Thanks, again.
Posted by Elise Butowsky on 07/05/2009 @ 01:31PM PT
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