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Autism and the use of pause fillers: ‘Um’ and ‘uh’
Farris, Devin Murfin, Amanda Keithly, Alice
Farris, Devin
Murfin, Amanda
Keithly, Alice
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Farris_2025.pdf
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2025-04-11
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Farris, D., Murfin, A., & Keithly, A. 2025. Autism and the use of pause fillers: ‘Um’ and ‘uh.’ -- In Proceedings: 21st Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects. Wichita, KS: Wichita State University
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Speakers pause and revise their utterances during conversation. This process is called “disfluency”. Disfluencies affect how speakers are perceived by others, and when a high rate of speech disfluencies are produced, it can lead to negative judgements. Pauses, a type of disfluency, occur during natural speech production and can either be unfilled (silent pause) or filled with words such as ‘um ‘or ‘uh’ (filled pauses). ‘Um’ and ‘uh’ are typically used to signal hesitation or uncertainty and are intended to help the speaker maintain their speaking turn or take over a conversation from another speaker. The use of ‘uh’ has been perceived more negatively than ‘um’. Research on the use of filled pauses by autistic speakers is limited. It has been posited; however, that if fillers serve a social function, autistic speakers may have difficulties using them. Further, if these fillers result from different cognitive processes: ‘uh’ from an internally focused process used to assist the speaker and ‘um’ from an externally focused process used to assist the listener, autistic individuals would be more likely to use ‘uh’.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this project was to compare the number of ‘um/uh’ fillers used to total words produced by autistic adolescents and young adults during semi-structured conversations. Comparisons for the use of ‘um/uh’ in turn-initial position, utterance initial, or utterance medial were also calculated.
METHOD: Autistic adolescents and young adults were recruited for this study. Eleven males agreed to participate. Participants were given the Autism Diagnostics Observation Schedule -2 (ADOS-2). The ADOS-2 is administered in the form of a semi structured social setting. Sessions were approximately 45-60 minutes and were recorded for transcription purposes. Following transcription, the total number of words and the use of the fillers ‘um/uh’ were counted. Fillers were coded by position within the statement: turn-initial, utterance initial, or utterance medial.
RESULTS: The use of ‘um’ and ‘uh’ in all positions was compared to the total number of words used across all participants. The mean was 2.06, median 1.17, standard deviation (SD) 2.38, with the range of 8.27 (minimum, 0.21; maximum, 8.48). Utterance medial position uses of ‘um/uh’ compared to total use of utterance-initial and turn-initial had a mean of 248.50, median 78.95, SD 362.59, range 1,160.23 (minimum, 27.27; maximum 1187.5). Utterance initial and turn-initial use of ‘um/uh’ compared to total fillers used resulted in a mean of 48.53, median 55.88, SD 24.55, range 70.8 (minimum, 7.77; maximum, 78.57).
CONCLUSIONS: For these speakers, the filler ‘uh’ was produced twice as much as ‘um.’ Medial fillers were used more than turn or utterance initial fillers. For these participants, medial fillers appeared to be used to help the speaker “hold the floor” and consider what they were going to say next. Participants did not take the opportunity to initiate their own topics; thus, a reduced number of turn initial fillers were used. Further studies should consider using different prompts to elicit a more natural discussion from the participants.
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Presented to the 21st Annual Symposium on Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects (GRASP) held at the Rhatigan Student Center, Wichita State University, April 11, 2025.
Research completed in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health Professions.
Research completed in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health Professions.
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Wichita State University
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GRASP
v. 21
v. 21