View in EDS

Facing Phonological Complexity as an Autistic Adult: An Exploratory Study

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Title: Facing Phonological Complexity as an Autistic Adult: An Exploratory Study
Language: English
Authors: Marta Manenti (ORCID 0000-0001-7631-9059), Philippe Prévost (ORCID 0000-0002-6201-1800), Emmanuelle Houy-Durand (ORCID 0000-0001-8234-7144), Frédérique Bonnet-Brilhault (ORCID 0000-0003-4763-9066), Sandrine Ferré (ORCID 0000-0002-4925-0006)
Source: Autism & Developmental Language Impairments. 2025 10.
Availability: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 17
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Phonology, Autism Spectrum Disorders, Adults, Difficulty Level, Syllables, Language Impairments, Morphology (Languages), Syntax, Vocabulary, Nonverbal Ability, Intelligence Quotient, Short Term Memory, Severity (of Disability), Foreign Countries
Geographic Terms: France
DOI: 10.1177/23969415251322751
ISSN: 2396-9415
Abstract: Background and aims: While it has been suggested that phonology is relatively spared in autism, some studies have shown that many autistic children and adolescents exhibit severe phonological impairment, of which syllabic complexity is a reliable index. However, although autism is a lifelong disorder, no such evidence exists for adults. The aim of the present study is to bridge this knowledge gap by investigating how autistic adults deal with phonological complexity. Method: Phonological abilities were assessed in 48 autistic adults aged 18 to 56 years and 50 controls matched on age and sex/gender. A linguistically motivated Nonword Repetition (NWR) task manipulating syllabic complexity, LITMUS-QU(Quasi Universal)-FR(ench)-NWR-Adults, was used to distinguish participants with and without a phonological impairment. In addition to the NWR task, additional tests were conducted to examine potential factors influencing phonological performance. These measures included morphosyntax, vocabulary, nonverbal IQ (NVIQ), short-term memory, working memory, and autism severity, providing a comprehensive understanding of variables affecting phonological abilities in autistic adults. Results: Global performance on NWR was significantly lower and spanned a wider range in the autism group than that in the control group. By looking at individual results across the structures and substructures included in NWR, which presented varying degrees of syllabic complexity, it was possible to uncover great variability among autistic individuals with a phonological impairment. Phonological proficiency appeared to be related to morphosyntax rather than to lexical knowledge and nonverbal cognition, including memory. Moreover, phonological skills did not correlate with autism severity. Conclusions: This study represents a first step towards understanding how to characterize phonological skills in autistic adults. Our findings indicate that syllabic complexity prompts diverse behaviors among autistic individuals with impaired phonology. Further research is required to gain insight into the cause(s) underlying the detected difficulties.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1494021
Database: ERIC
FullText Text:
  Availability: 0
Header DbId: eric
DbLabel: ERIC
An: EJ1494021
AccessLevel: 3
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
PreciseRelevancyScore: 0
IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Facing Phonological Complexity as an Autistic Adult: An Exploratory Study
– Name: Language
  Label: Language
  Group: Lang
  Data: English
– Name: Author
  Label: Authors
  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marta+Manenti%22">Marta Manenti</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7631-9059">0000-0001-7631-9059</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Philippe+Prévost%22">Philippe Prévost</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6201-1800">0000-0002-6201-1800</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Emmanuelle+Houy-Durand%22">Emmanuelle Houy-Durand</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8234-7144">0000-0001-8234-7144</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Frédérique+Bonnet-Brilhault%22">Frédérique Bonnet-Brilhault</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4763-9066">0000-0003-4763-9066</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sandrine+Ferré%22">Sandrine Ferré</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4925-0006">0000-0002-4925-0006</externalLink>)
– Name: TitleSource
  Label: Source
  Group: Src
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Autism+%26+Developmental+Language+Impairments%22"><i>Autism & Developmental Language Impairments</i></searchLink>. 2025 10.
– Name: Avail
  Label: Availability
  Group: Avail
  Data: SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
– Name: PeerReviewed
  Label: Peer Reviewed
  Group: SrcInfo
  Data: Y
– Name: Pages
  Label: Page Count
  Group: Src
  Data: 17
– Name: DatePubCY
  Label: Publication Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2025
– Name: TypeDocument
  Label: Document Type
  Group: TypDoc
  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
– Name: Subject
  Label: Descriptors
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonology%22">Phonology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Autism+Spectrum+Disorders%22">Autism Spectrum Disorders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adults%22">Adults</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Difficulty+Level%22">Difficulty Level</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Syllables%22">Syllables</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Impairments%22">Language Impairments</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Morphology+%28Languages%29%22">Morphology (Languages)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Syntax%22">Syntax</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vocabulary%22">Vocabulary</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Nonverbal+Ability%22">Nonverbal Ability</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Intelligence+Quotient%22">Intelligence Quotient</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Short+Term+Memory%22">Short Term Memory</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Severity+%28of+Disability%29%22">Severity (of Disability)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Foreign+Countries%22">Foreign Countries</searchLink>
– Name: Subject
  Label: Geographic Terms
  Group: Su
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22France%22">France</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1177/23969415251322751
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 2396-9415
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Background and aims: While it has been suggested that phonology is relatively spared in autism, some studies have shown that many autistic children and adolescents exhibit severe phonological impairment, of which syllabic complexity is a reliable index. However, although autism is a lifelong disorder, no such evidence exists for adults. The aim of the present study is to bridge this knowledge gap by investigating how autistic adults deal with phonological complexity. Method: Phonological abilities were assessed in 48 autistic adults aged 18 to 56 years and 50 controls matched on age and sex/gender. A linguistically motivated Nonword Repetition (NWR) task manipulating syllabic complexity, LITMUS-QU(Quasi Universal)-FR(ench)-NWR-Adults, was used to distinguish participants with and without a phonological impairment. In addition to the NWR task, additional tests were conducted to examine potential factors influencing phonological performance. These measures included morphosyntax, vocabulary, nonverbal IQ (NVIQ), short-term memory, working memory, and autism severity, providing a comprehensive understanding of variables affecting phonological abilities in autistic adults. Results: Global performance on NWR was significantly lower and spanned a wider range in the autism group than that in the control group. By looking at individual results across the structures and substructures included in NWR, which presented varying degrees of syllabic complexity, it was possible to uncover great variability among autistic individuals with a phonological impairment. Phonological proficiency appeared to be related to morphosyntax rather than to lexical knowledge and nonverbal cognition, including memory. Moreover, phonological skills did not correlate with autism severity. Conclusions: This study represents a first step towards understanding how to characterize phonological skills in autistic adults. Our findings indicate that syllabic complexity prompts diverse behaviors among autistic individuals with impaired phonology. Further research is required to gain insight into the cause(s) underlying the detected difficulties.
– Name: AbstractInfo
  Label: Abstractor
  Group: Ab
  Data: As Provided
– Name: DateEntry
  Label: Entry Date
  Group: Date
  Data: 2026
– Name: AN
  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1494021
PLink https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=eric&AN=EJ1494021
RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1177/23969415251322751
    Languages:
      – Text: English
    PhysicalDescription:
      Pagination:
        PageCount: 17
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Phonology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Autism Spectrum Disorders
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Adults
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Difficulty Level
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Syllables
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language Impairments
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Morphology (Languages)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Syntax
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Vocabulary
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Nonverbal Ability
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Intelligence Quotient
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Short Term Memory
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Severity (of Disability)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Foreign Countries
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: France
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Facing Phonological Complexity as an Autistic Adult: An Exploratory Study
        Type: main
  BibRelationships:
    HasContributorRelationships:
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Marta Manenti
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Philippe Prévost
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Emmanuelle Houy-Durand
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Frédérique Bonnet-Brilhault
      – PersonEntity:
          Name:
            NameFull: Sandrine Ferré
    IsPartOfRelationships:
      – BibEntity:
          Dates:
            – D: 01
              M: 01
              Type: published
              Y: 2025
          Identifiers:
            – Type: issn-electronic
              Value: 2396-9415
          Numbering:
            – Type: volume
              Value: 10
          Titles:
            – TitleFull: Autism & Developmental Language Impairments
              Type: main
ResultId 1