Speech-in-noise recognition and the relation to vocal pitch perception in adults with autism spectrum disorder and typical development

We tested the ability to recognise speech-in-noise and its relation to the ability to discriminate vocal pitch in adults with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developed adults (matched pairwise on age, sex, and IQ). Typically developed individuals understood speech in higher noise levels as compared to the ASD group. Within the control group but not within the ASD group, better speech-in-noise recognition abilities were significantly correlated with better vocal pitch discrimination abilities. Our results show that speech-in-noise recognition is restricted in people with ASD. We speculate that perceptual impairments such as difficulties in vocal pitch perception might be relevant in explaining these difficulties in ASD.