There is evidence to suggest that certain executive functions are impaired in autistic children, contributing to many daily challenges. Regular use of two languages has the potential to positively influence executive functions, though evidence is mixed. Little is known about the impact of bilingualism on the executive functions of autistic children, with only a handful of studies published worldwide to date. This study investigated the impact of bilingualism on sustained attention, interference control, flexible switching and working memory, in Arabic–English autistic children (n = 27) and their typically developing peers (n = 66), aged 5–12 years old. Groups were matched on age, nonverbal IQ and socioeconomic status, and completed a battery of computerized tests. Results showed an advantage for bilingual autistic children relative to their monolingual peers in sustained attention, and equivalent performance between bilingual and monolingual autistic children on all other executive functions. There were no generalized positive effects of bilingualism, and typically‐developing children performed better than autistic children on all measures. The findings indicate that bilingualism does not negatively impact the executive function skills of autistic children, and that it might mitigate difficulties in sustained attention. Lay Summary Contrary to widespread belief, but in line with previous research, this study showed that speaking two languages did not harm thinking skills in autistic children. The thinking skills evaluated in this study included the ability to focus over a period of time, the ability to resist distractions, the ability to move back and forth between tasks, and the ability to use short‐term memory. In fact, speaking two languages might help reduce difficulties that autistic children might face when focusing over a period of time.

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There is evidence that autistic children may have reduced executive function skills, contributing to day-to-day difficulties, but much remains unknown regarding the influence of bilingualism. We investigated its influence on sustained attention, interference control, flexible switching and working memory, in Arabic-English autistic (n = 27) and typically developing peers (n = 53) children, aged 5 to 12 years old. Parents and teachers completed rating measures assessing children’s daily EF abilities. Results showed generalized positive effects for bilingual autistic children relative to their monolingual peers across all EF domains, but using parent ratings only. The findings indicate that bilingualism does not negatively impact the executive function skills of autistic children, and that it might mitigate difficulties faced on a day-to-day basis.

The Polyglot Conference is a two-day event that has taken place every year since 2013 and the first international gathering of language learning researchers, enthusiasts and multilinguals. Each year, the conference is hosted in a different country, with the 2017 conference held in Reykjavík, Iceland (registration costs ranging from 100–140 euros for the two-day event). From my choice of talks attended on languages and multilingualism, a dominant theme was concepts and techniques influencing language learning. This was my first attendance at the Polyglot Conference where I was invited to be a speaker on the newly emerging research theme of ‘bilingualism and autism’. The following article is a review of the event and it will include highlight talks, new themes and stand-out experiences at the Polyglot Conference 2017.

Towards the end of the second year of my PhD, I embarked on a 12-month journey in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to collect the data essential for PhD programme completion. With just one month left to go before my data collection is complete, this hints and tips piece addresses several points that fellow postgraduates may find helpful to consider when collecting data internationally. Specifically, this article will focus on the regulatory, cultural, logistical, and lone-working aspects of overseas data collection.