Prosodic Perception and Production in Autism: A Scoping Review

Background: Prosody is the set of suprasegmental elements of language, such as intonation, rhythm, and accent, which play a crucial role in emotional and pragmatic communication. Methods: We conducted a scoping review to explore prosodic perception and production in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This review followed the PRISMA guidelines and selected articles published between 2014 and 2024 through academic databases such as PsycINFO, Scopus, and the Psychology and Behavioural Sciences Collection. We included 14 studies with 440 participants with ASD and 399 neurotypical participants. Results: The results show considerable heterogeneity: some studies suggest that autistic individuals have difficulty recognizing emotions from prosody, while others show no significant differences compared to neurotypicals. There are also differences in prosodic production, with ASD individuals tending to modulate their voice in atypical ways. The variability of the results could be due to methodological differences, the age of the participants, and the type of stimuli used. Conclusions: This variability highlights the need for future studies using more standardized protocols to clarify the role of prosody in ASD and its impact on social communication. Clinical implications suggest that professionals should consider prosodic difficulties in assessment and intervention planning, with targeted support to improve social communicative outcomes in individuals with autism. Keywords: ASD; Prosody; Emotional Communication; Voice modulation; Speech Perception