Vocal Quality Development in Children with Autism: The Role of Flutter

Background: Children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are frequently described as having unusual prosody. Studies in vocal quality in children with ASD have been limited in number and are generally descriptive in nature. The objective of this study was to examine the occurrence of a specific vocal quality, flutter, in children with ASD.Method: Vocal flutter was examined via subjective ratings and through acoustic analyses to determine if flutter occurred more frequently in children with ASD than in language delayed or typically developing peers.Conclusion: Vocal flutter was heard more frequently in children with ASD via the subjective ratings. The occurrence of flutter overall was associated with a measure of fundamental frequency fluctuation