Language abilities in monolingual- and bilingual- exposed children with autism or other developmental disorders

Abstract

Background: Parents and providers are sometimes concerned that exposure to two languages will impair language acquisition in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or other developmental disorders (DD). However, research to date suggests that language milestones and abilities are unaffected by this exposure. The current study explored language abilities in toddlers with ASD or DD exposed to one versus multiple languages, prior to intervention. To our knowledge, this is the largest investigation of language learning in bilingual-exposed (BE) children with ASD. Methods: Participants were 388 children evaluated as part of a larger study on the early detection of ASD. Parents were asked to list all languages that primary caretakers use to communicate with their child. One hundred six BE children (57 ASD, 49 DD) were compared to 282 monolingual-exposed (ME) children (176 ASD, 106 DD). The Mullen Scales of Early Learning assessed nonverbal and verbal abilities. Multiple regression was used to evaluate the relationship of BE to language abilities, beyond the influence of nonverbal cognitive abilities, diagnosis, and socioeconomic status. Results: Results showed greater language impairment in ASD than DD, but no main effect for language exposure group nor any interaction of language group by diagnosis. Results remained consistent after controlling for socioeconomic status. Conclusion: This study suggests that bilingual caregivers can communicate with their children in both languages without adverse effects on their children’s language functioning.

Parental Perceptions and Decisions Regarding Maintaining Bilingualism in Autism

“…The notions that only typically-developing children can be bilingual or that bilingualism somehow causes developmental disorders are deeply misleading (Baker 2011 ; Genesee et al 2004 ). In fact, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that multilingual exposure does not have a negative impact on children with developmental disorders, and could potentially have positive effects for their social and linguistic development (Dai et al 2018 ; Drysdale et al 2015 ; Uljarević et al 2016 ).…”

“…Indeed, no research to date suggests that bilingual maintenance is detrimental to the social, cognitive and linguistic development of children on the autism spectrum (Drysdale et al 2015 ; Uljarević et al 2016 ). Instead, studies have found that bilingual children on the autism spectrum perform similarly to their monolingual counterparts with regards to expressive and receptive vocabulary and language (Dai et al 2018 ; Hambly and Fombonne 2012 ), pragmatic abilities (Reetzke et al 2015 ) and cognitive functioning (Valicenti-McDermott et al 2013 ).…”

Heritage Language use for Intervention in Autism

“…As pointed out, the arguments against dual-language exposure mirror those that surrounded the use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), which is now widely used to help children with ASD communicate. Studies that have compared the language abilities of bilingual and monolingual children with ASD have found no detrimental effects of bilingual exposure (Dai et al 2018;Gonzalez-Barrero and Nadig 2017;Lund et al 2017;Zhou et al 2017). In particular, Dai et al (2018) compared the expressive and receptive language abilities of bilingually exposed to monolingually exposed children with ASD before they received any intervention.…”

“…Studies that have compared the language abilities of bilingual and monolingual children with ASD have found no detrimental effects of bilingual exposure (Dai et al 2018;Gonzalez-Barrero and Nadig 2017;Lund et al 2017;Zhou et al 2017). In particular, Dai et al (2018) compared the expressive and receptive language abilities of bilingually exposed to monolingually exposed children with ASD before they received any intervention. Results demonstrated that there were no detrimental effects of bilingual exposure, even when cognitive functioning and socioeconomic status were controlled for.…”

A Comparative Study of Language Development in Monolingual and Bilingual Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

“…But studies conducted so far indicate that bilingual environments may be more advantageous for autistic children as it has a positive impact on their language acquisition abilities. However, other researchers argue that being exposed to bilingual environments may disrupt language development to a greater extent among autistic children (Dai, Burke, Naigles, Eigsti, & Fein, 2018).…”