[2] This formality can be expressed both through abnormal prosody[3] as well as speech content that is "inappropriately pompous, legalistic, philosophical, or quaint".
[9] These attributions, which are commonly found in patients with ASD,[9] partially account for why stilted speech has been considered a diagnostic criterion for the disorder.
[8] Stilted speech, along with atypical intonation, semantic drift, terseness, and perseveration, are all known deficits with adolescents on the autistic spectrum.
[10] Often, stilted speech found in children with ASD will also be especially stereotypic or in some cases even rehearsed.
This symptom is attributed to both an inability to access more commonly used words and a difficulty understanding pragmatics—the relationship between language and context.