# Temporal Predictions in Music and Language: The Case of Autism Spectrum Disorder

## TL;DR

This review explores how people with autism process time-based predictions in music and language, aiming to better understand their cognitive patterns and improve therapeutic approaches.

## Contribution

The paper uniquely examines shared temporal prediction mechanisms in music and language among individuals with autism, highlighting gaps in current research.

## Key findings

- Few studies have explored temporal predictions in both music and language in autism.
- Shared temporal mechanisms could improve understanding of coordination in autism.
- Rhythmic training may enhance social communication through better temporal prediction.

## Abstract

The predictive coding theory of autism suggests that individuals with autism may show atypicalities in how predictions are formed or updated. This may in turn affect how they process temporal information. While predictive coding has been widely applied to the study of language, including conversation, and music, including musical interactions, relatively few studies have explored the intersection of these domains in autism. Even fewer have focused on the role of temporal predictions in both language and music. This review examines studies that investigate temporal processing and predictive mechanisms in both music and language in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Understanding these shared temporal mechanisms is crucial for providing a more comprehensive view of the underlying cognitive processes and difficulties in ASD. Furthermore, exploring the relationship between music and language from a temporal prediction perspective offers valuable insights into more ecologically valid and interactive settings, such as conversation and music‐making. Such research not only improves our understanding of autism but also has important implications for therapeutic interventions, particularly those leveraging rhythmic training to enhance social communication and coordination skills.

This review explores how individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) make predictions and interact in both music and language. By highlighting shared temporal mechanisms and synchronization phenomena across domains, we aim to contribute to a better characterization of coordinative dynamics in ASD. Surprisingly, few studies have directly linked music and speech under this perspective, especially in ASD and ecologically valid interactive settings.