Real world evidence for altered communication patterns in individuals with autism spectrum disorder

Nature: Published 11 March 2025

Adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may compensate for their social difficulties by resorting to more sequential forms of communication. This paper, published in Nature, looks at communication preferences in individuals with ASD and neurotypical controls by monitoring smartphone-based communication for verbal, written, and mixed app categories over a period of four months.

The study assessed real-life daily communication preferences in adults with ASD by leveraging objective smartphone-based passive data collection. By comparing verbal, written, mixed, and total communication time between ASD and TD, they found individuals with ASD to show a distinct preference for written over verbal communication, which aligns well with previous studies based on self-reports.

Link to full article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-025-01545-x