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PITCH RANGE AND PITCH DECLINATION IN ASPERGER SYNDROME: READING A DRAMATIC PASSAGE

UNGER, BRANDON LLOYD

Abstract Details

2006, MA, University of Cincinnati, Allied Health Sciences : Communication Science and Disorders.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not there is a statistically significant difference in the pitch range of individuals with Asperger Syndrome and typically developing individuals when reading a dramatic passage and if each group produces pitch declination while reading each of seven sentences. Individuals diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome (AS) have been known to present with odd, pedantic, or atypical prosody during conversational speech. Little research has been completed that quantitatively analyzes characteristics of prosody (stress and intonation) in the speech of individuals with AS. Even less research has been conducted that analyzes prosodic variations in the reading voice of individuals with AS. This study compared the pitch declination and pitch range of four male adolescents (13-18) with AS and four typically developing peers when reading a dramatic passage. The reading passage consists of seven sentences with 179 words at a Flesch-Kincaid readability grade level of 6.5. Descriptive results indicated that all students, with the exception of one instance of a student with AS, had preserved grammatical prosody in terms of expected pitch declination. The results of the study also indicate that individuals with AS presented with a smaller average pitch range while reading a dramatic passage when compared to a control group. Results of a 2-way within ANOVA indicated that the differences were not statistically significant. Limitations and future research will be discussed.
Dr. Sandra Grether (Advisor)
48 p.

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • UNGER, B. L. (2006). PITCH RANGE AND PITCH DECLINATION IN ASPERGER SYNDROME: READING A DRAMATIC PASSAGE [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1154539606

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • UNGER, BRANDON. PITCH RANGE AND PITCH DECLINATION IN ASPERGER SYNDROME: READING A DRAMATIC PASSAGE. 2006. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1154539606.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • UNGER, BRANDON. "PITCH RANGE AND PITCH DECLINATION IN ASPERGER SYNDROME: READING A DRAMATIC PASSAGE." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1154539606

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)