Quote:
I have done a bit of research a while ago about autism and accents (because what else would I be doing with my time) and there are a lot of aspies outside the United States who sound like they have a badly faked American accent. This seems to be because of our tendency to use a more monotone voice, and aperently an American accent has less vocal inflection then other accents so a lack of vocal inflection sounds more American. For aspies in the United States their accent still doesn't sound quite American a lot of the time. It could be that something like this is happening with us.
Honestly, I hate hearing the sound of my own voice. It's not very high-pitched, but it does come across as less masculine than I'd like it to. Almost whiney at times. I do use inflection, although sometimes I come across as sounding flat. My facial expressions don't always register like an NT.
I've never had a strong regional accent despite growing up in rural New Hampshire where a lot of people do have the stereotypical New England accent (well, one of several, distinct regional accents) going on. Sometimes I wish I did sound more like a New Englander like some of my peers still do.
I've lived in Tennessee for more than half my life now, and whatever accent I did have is now mostly neutralized. When I go back to New England to visit, people tell me they pick up on a slight southern accent. Several years back I was eating at a restaurant in Maine with my wife, and the server made a comment about "you guys" being from the South. I'd assumed at first he was talking about my wife, but when I asked how he knew that he said it was due to MY accent.
_________________
Formally diagnosed with ASD at the age of 43 (2014), I am the author of "Never One of Them: Growing Up With Autism," available through Amazon and most popular ebook sites.
My Official Facebook Page