Practitioner Review: Multilingualism and neurodevelopmental disorders – an overview of recent research and discussion of clinical implications

Abstract

There is little evidence to support the widely held view that multilingual exposure is detrimental to the linguistic or social development of individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. However, we also note that the available pool of studies is small and the number of methodologically high quality studies is relatively low. We discuss implications of multilingualism for clinical management of neurodevelopmental disorders, and discuss possible directions for future research.

Maternal immigrant status and signs of neurodevelopmental problems in early childhood: The French representative ELFE birth cohort

“…This is partially in line with previous studies, which also found that established risk factors such as obstetrical complications do not fully explain the association between parental immigrant status and offspring ASD risk [Magnusson et al, 2012]. Similarly, our findings were not explained by children's multiple language exposure, which is also consistent with other studies [De Houwer, Bornstein, & Putnick, 2014;Uljarevi c et al, 2016]. Childcare arrangements and screen use time may vary across cultural groups, potentially leading to differences in child stimulation, which is an important determinant of healthy child development [Gomajee et al, 2018;Rutter, 1998].…”

“…For example, adverse conditions in utero and during delivery may lead to changes in epigenetic profiles, gene expression, as well as neurotransmitters and proteins important for central nervous system development [van den Bergh et al, 2017;Wadhwa, Buss, Entringer, & Swanson, 2009]. Furthermore, early childhood exposures, such as childcare arrangements [Gomajee et al, 2018], (lack of) child stimulation [Gomajee et al, 2018;Rutter, 1998], (multiple) language exposure [Uljarevi c, Katsos, Hudry, & Gibson, 2016;Lehti et al, 2018], and screen use time [Christakis, Ramirez, Ferguson, Ravinder, & Ramirez, 2018;Wu et al, 2017] may also play a role in variations in early child development, but have been studied less frequently and are less clearly linked to clinical disorders. It must therefore be noted that delays in development related to such early childhood factors might not be permanent and indicative of a lifelong condition, such as ASD [Rutter, 1998] but rather transient and amenable to change.…”

Bilingual children with autism spectrum disorders: The impact of amount of language exposure on vocabulary and morphological skills at school age

“…Moreover, how much exposure to each language does your child need to have a good chance at developing optimal language skills? While we have solid evidence regarding the impact of bilingual exposure on typical language development [e.g., De Houwer, ; Hoff et al, ; Paradis & Genesee, ; Thordardottir, ], less is known about the effects of bilingual exposure on children with neurodevelopmental disorders [Kay‐Raining Bird, Genesee, & Verhoeven, ; Uljarević, Katsos, Hudry, & Gibson, ]. This is a question of growing clinical import, as families of children with neurodevelopmental disorders are often advised by professionals to restrict their language input to only one (typically the societally dominant) language [Hudry, Rumney, Pitt, Barbaro, & Vivanti, ; Jegatheesan, ; Kay‐Raining Bird, Lamond, & Holden, ].…”

Language developmental delay. Case study

“…Cercetătorii subliniază că frecvența crescută a otitelor medii corelează cu abilități scăzute la nivel fonetico-fonologic, fapt care duce la întârziere în planul pronunției sunetelor, ca și consecință a limitării input-ului auditive. (Uljarević, Katsos, Hudry, Gibson, 2016).…”