ASD and the voice

[paloftoon]

why don't people with ASD ussually get speech/voice training? It seems to be a major issue. Many aspies are very good with words and grammar but terrible with prosody.

That's money, time, and then you don't necessarily know who's "good" and who is not. Someone could also be good but not "good" for you.
It's not something that's normally done either except for people who have a hard time communicating with others to an extreme. Maybe someone in the arts who sing or something like that could have such a coach.

'=======================

Sometimes I'm monotone and sometimes I can speak with intonation.
My voice is generally nasal and I hate it. I think it's related to my sleep issues somehow. I have a hard time running for a long time- I get tired easily. I have been seeing a doctor regarding all of this. It's a frustrating feeling.

 

[Stardust Parade]

I’ve never had this issue.

 

[Suzanne]

I don't have serious issues with my voice, but I think I tend to speak a little quietly.

Sometimes though I'll try to say something and I'm waaay too quiet, or sometimes no voice at all. This is usually when I'm responding to someone unexpectedly, like thanking someone for holding the door, or saying hi back to someone who greeted me.

So envious of you! I have always wished that I had a soft low voice, to keep in with me being a dainty lady lol, which was easy at one time, when I was small.

 

[Adora]

I don’t think I sound monotone but I do have problems recognising my own voice volume and not realise I am speaking too loudly until someone else tells me,I also sound young for my age.

 

[GrownupGirl]

I can sometimes be too expressive with my voice. I think it's because I loved reading stories out loud as a kid and would use different voices and emotions for the characters. I used to get praised for it at school, but my parents didn't always appreciate me reading Calving and Hobbes out loud at night when they were in their bedroom next to mine.

I used to have a problem with talking too loud, especially when I got excited or upset. But since my diagnosis I seem to have gotten that under control.

 

[_eri_bellehumeur]

My voice isn't monotone, but I have other "issues" with my voice. It is either extremely loud when I'm excited, or nearly imperceptible when I am not extremely familiar with those in my environment. I have gotten a lot better with the latter issue, but I am still an absolute loud mouth when I'm excited and I can't seem to control that, though I don't really want to either. I did however hate my voice for a very long time- the first time I heard it I actually stopped speaking for a while, and even after would have to leave the room if I heard my voice in a recording. I had speech therapy when I was younger, (I spoke very fast, slurred my speech, and my voice had an odd quality to it, so nobody could understand me), and was nearly completely mute for a few years in my teens.

The speech therapy in elementary school seemed to help with the slurred speech, but I also just read out loud and recorded my voice a lot, and was able to make a lot of adjustments on my own with some very basic resources found online.

 

[Ihaveaspergers]

That's money, time, and then you don't necessarily know who's "good" and who is not. Someone could also be good but not "good" for you.
It's not something that's normally done either except for people who have a hard time communicating with others to an extreme. Maybe someone in the arts who sing or something like that could have such a coach.

so people with ASD only get help if the issue is extreme? What do you mean?
Also, are you saying that having a voice issue is something that many people don't care about?
I have had problems with my voice but nobody every really wanted to work with it and help me until I found a professional who know much about the voice. Not many people know how to work with the voice.
Much of what we need is something very physical. Some people overemphasize the cognitive aspects of our issues. We need to learn how to express ourselves physically.
Why don't more aspies work with the voice and the body? I think they just don't know how to do it.

 

[paloftoon]

so people with ASD only get help if the issue is extreme? What do you mean?
Also, are you saying that having a voice issue is something that many people don't care about?
I have had problems with my voice but nobody every really wanted to work with it and help me until I found a professional who know much about the voice. Not many people know how to work with the voice.
Much of what we need is something very physical. Some people overemphasize the cognitive aspects of our issues. We need to learn how to express ourselves physically.
Why don't more aspies work with the voice and the body? I think they just don't know how to do it.

I'm saying people who have a voice issue won't necessarily know that they have one. Also, having an "issue" could be relatively subjective too. For instance, Francine Joy Drescher has a distinctly nasal voice. Some people might not be able to stand her voice because it is nasal, but she and some others might think there's nothing wrong with it because they might actually like the sound of it.

Every individual, NT or not, is different. There is definitely truth to what you say that people do need to try to consider as many possibilities as possible- not just cognitive, but voice, body, and maybe other stuff too.

 

[WildCat]

Haven't had an issue, but I guess that depends on the perspective. Speech issues, yes, but those were corrected well back in grade school so no more trouble with a certain letter.

I'm not a professional actor and neither are lots of people, so you shouldn't expect a Grammy-winning performance from me or them. I find overly expressive, emotional voices from certain people bordering on artificial and a bit irritating.

 

[Ihaveaspergers]

Also, having an "issue" could be relatively subjective too.

couldn't you say that about all the issues associated with ASD?
Let's take an example from Fawlty Towers:

Some people with ASD have this "issue" (I am not diagnosing the kid). We could say that it is not even an "issue" at all. We could say that anything that is called an "issue" is not a problem at all.
Then what are the issues?

 

[paloftoon]

couldn't you say that about all the issues associated with ASD?
Let's take an example from Fawlty Towers:

Some people with ASD have this "issue" (I am not diagnosing the kid). We could say that it is not even an "issue" at all. We could say that anything that is called an "issue" is not a problem at all.

Exactly. That's why "issue" is in quotes.
There's not an exact science to anything that is not tangible.

 

[paloftoon]

. . .

I'm not a professional actor and neither are lots of people, so you shouldn't expect a Grammy-winning performance from me or them. I find overly expressive, emotional voices from certain people bordering on artificial and a bit irritating.

But it's been only 84 years. . . .

 

[Ihaveaspergers]

I'm not a professional actor and neither are lots of people, so you shouldn't expect a Grammy-winning performance from me or them. I find overly expressive, emotional voices from certain people bordering on artificial and a bit irritating.

Like this?

Are you saying that I want everything to talk like these two actors? I expect too much from myself and other people?

 

[Ihaveaspergers]

Exactly. That's why "issue" is in quotes.
There's not an exact science to anything that is not tangible.

or maybe this is an issue only if the eats a lot at resurants. At home everything might be ok.

 

[Au Naturel]

I can sometimes be too expressive with my voice. I think it's because I loved reading stories out loud as a kid and would use different voices and emotions for the characters. I used to get praised for it at school, but my parents didn't always appreciate me reading Calving and Hobbes out loud at night when they were in their bedroom next to mine.

I used to have a problem with talking too loud, especially when I got excited or upset. But since my diagnosis I seem to have gotten that under control.

I took an acting class and learned how not to have such an exagerated vocal range when I don't want it. When I do want it, it is still there. Between acting and singing, I can do almost anything I want to with my voice.

 

[Ihaveaspergers]

I took an acting class

what kind of acting class?

 

[WildCat]

...Are you saying that I want everything to talk like these two actors? I expect too much from myself and other people?

No, I'm giving my two cents on your topic. Nothing more than that. My opinion might be an outlier, but then I'm diagnosed on the spectrum and active on this forum, plus there's more where that came from.

But it's been only 84 years. . . .

I don't get the humor here. Can you clarify?

 

[paloftoon]

No, I'm giving my two cents on your topic. Nothing more than that. My opinion might be an outlier, but then I'm diagnosed on the spectrum and active on this forum, plus there's more where that came from.



I don't get the humor here. Can you clarify?

It's a quote from Titanic from a grandmother looking person in the movie.
Using it in this context, I'm kind of poking fun at the movie too.

 

[Au Naturel]

what kind of acting class?

Just a little group in a local theater. A lot of normies also say things with egagerated expression when they are on stage. It is a habit that can be broken. You can call it masking but I call it performance art.

 

[GrownupGirl]

I'm very expressive with my voice. I still remember my teacher praising me for being expressive when reading a story out loud when I was only in maybe first grade.

But other people have complained about me being too loud, especially when I'm angry or excited. My mother would often tell me to keep my voice down during normal conversations in public. We all believed it was due to a hearing problem. But since I was diagnosed the volume of my voice doesn't seem much of a problem anymore, although I don't know why. Because I can't look back on it without cringing, maybe?