Acoustic-Prosodic Entrainment in the Context of Autism Spectrum Disorder

摘要 自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)是一种以社交障碍为主要特征的障碍。在……里面 青春期，这是一段对社会认同的需求达到顶峰的时期，同龄人的互动起着至关重要的作用 在情绪健康和幸福感方面的作用，这种缺陷可能是毁灭性的。衡量社交互动的工具 能力至关重要，使临床医生能够识别缺陷、跟踪进展并评估治疗效果。 目前存在评估社交互动的主观方法。然而，客观的衡量工具却不能。 然而，客观工具将为目前的主观工具提供宝贵和急需的补充， 提高评估的可靠性、准确性和生态效度。声学韵律夹带可能是 为量化自闭症青少年社交缺陷的客观工具提供了一个可行的框架。这 对话者将他们的言语行为彼此对齐的现象，对 成功互动的功能衡量标准。我们的初步研究表明， 成人ASD患者的夹带模式。然而，对这两种TD的声学-韵律夹带的研究 青少年和患有自闭症的青少年在自然主义的同伴互动中实际上是不存在的。在这里，我们建议 关于TD早期青少年声学-韵律夹带模式的研究 在与同龄人的二元对话中，使用现有的大型语料库(SA1)。然后，我们检查在一个 涉及患有自闭症的青少年的小型对话语料库(SA2)。此F31提案的结果 构成迈向该研究计划总体目标的必要的第一步--开发和验证 一种客观的测量工具，通过透镜量化ASD患者的互动能力 会话夹带。这个项目，加上一个模范研究团队的指导，一个专注于 培训计划和高质量的培训环境将为申请者提供技能和经验 需要启动一项成功的研究事业。

ABSTRACT Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a disorder largely characterized by deficits in social interaction. In adolescence, a period of life when the need for social approval is at its peak and peer interaction plays a vital role in emotional health and well-being, such deficits can be devastating. Tools to measure social interaction abilities are critical, allowing clinicians to identify deficits, track progress, and evaluate treatment efficacy. Subjective methods to assess social interaction currently exist. However, objective measurement tools do not. Yet, objective tools would provide a valuable and much-needed addition to current subjective instruments, increasing the reliability, accuracy, and ecological validity of assessment. Acoustic-prosodic entrainment may be a viable framework for an objective tool to quantify social interaction deficits in adolescents with ASD. This phenomenon, in which interlocutors align their speech behaviors with one another, is highly predictive of functional measures of successful interaction. Our preliminary research has indicated disruptions in the entrainment patterns of adults with ASD. However, studies of acoustic-prosodic entrainment in both TD adolescents and adolescents with ASD in naturalistic peer interactions are virtually nonexistent. Here we propose an investigation focused on understanding the acoustic-prosodic entrainment patterns of TD early-adolescents in dyadic conversations with their peers, using a large existing corpus (SA1). We then examine entrainment in a small corpus of conversations involving adolescents with ASD (SA2). The outcomes of this F31 proposal constitute the requisite first steps toward the overarching goal of this research program—to develop and validate an objective measurement tool to quantify interactional abilities in individuals with ASD through the lens of conversational entrainment. This project, coupled with the mentorship of an exemplary research team, a focused training plan, and a high-quality training environment will provide the applicant with the skills and experience needed to launch a successful research career.