Acoustic-Prosodic Entrainment in the Context of Autism Spectrum Disorder

摘要 自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）是一种主要以社会交往缺陷为特征的疾病。在 青少年时期，一个需要社会认可的时期处于顶峰，同龄人的相互作用至关重要。 在情感健康和幸福中的作用，这种赤字可能是毁灭性的。衡量社交互动的工具 能力是至关重要的，使临床医生能够识别缺陷，跟踪进展，并评估治疗效果。 目前存在评估社会互动的主观方法。然而，客观的测量工具却不能。 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、准确性和生态有效性。声学韵律夹带可能是 一个可行的框架，一个客观的工具，以量化社会互动赤字在青少年与ASD。这 对话者将他们的言语行为与另一个对齐的现象，高度预测了 成功互动的功能性措施。我们的初步研究表明， 成人ASD患者的夹带模式。然而，研究声韵夹带在这两个TD 青少年和患有ASD的青少年在自然主义同伴互动中几乎不存在。在这里我们建议 一项旨在了解TD早期青少年的声学韵律夹带模式的调查 在二元对话与他们的同行，使用一个大型的现有语料库（SA 1）。然后，我们检查夹带在一个 涉及ASD青少年的对话小语料库（SA 2）。F31提案的结果 构成了必要的第一步，朝着这个研究计划的总体目标-开发和验证 一种客观的测量工具，通过以下透镜量化ASD患者的可干涉性： 谈话的吸引力这个项目，再加上一个模范研究团队的指导，一个重点 培训计划和高质量的培训环境将为申请人提供技能和经验 需要启动一个成功的研究生涯。

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.