The Strengths of Speech Divergence in Autistic People: Implications for Assessment and Support

Abstract

This narrative review analyzes the visual and auditory advantages that autistic people with speech divergence (A-SD) may have compared with autistic people without speech divergence (A-NoSD) or non-autistic people. Importantly, A-SDs' intelligence and communication skills are often underestimated in research and practice. Further, this paper provides evidence of how perception in these domains impacts cognitive and language development, with related suggestions to leverage strengths and address challenges. Strengths in auditory perception may contribute to early speech acquisition divergence but also support A-SD's cognitive development and assist in developing language. Understanding A-SD's strengths may help to recognise how they gain cognitive and language skills and build from their strengths. This paper has implications for holistic assessment and strength-informed support.