Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jan;52(1):339-348.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-04940-x. Epub 2021 Mar 10.

Longitudinal Social and Communication Outcomes in Children with Autism Raised in Bi/Multilingual Environments

Samantha Siyambalapitiya  1   2 , Jessica Paynter  3   4 , Vishnu K K Nair  5 , Christina Reuterskiöld  6 , Madonna Tucker  7 , David Trembath  3
Affiliations

Longitudinal Social and Communication Outcomes in Children with Autism Raised in Bi/Multilingual Environments

Samantha Siyambalapitiya et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Globally, there are more bilingual speakers than monolingual speakers; however, scant research evidence exists regarding social communication development and outcomes for bilingual children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A stronger evidence base will facilitate health professionals and educators providing accurate recommendations regarding language use. This study employed a longitudinal cohort design to compare social and communication skills, at baseline and over 12 months, for 60 monolingual and 60 bilingual children with ASD receiving community based early intervention. We found few differences at intake, and no difference in the magnitude of change over 12 months for this cohort. Findings support the notion that there is no basis on which to discourage home language use with bilingual children with ASD.

Keywords: Autism; Bilingualism; Early intervention; Home language; Social-communication outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Abutalebi, J., & Weekes, B. S. (2014). The cognitive neurology of bilingualism in the age of globalization. Behavioural Neurology, 2014, 536727. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/536727 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. Al Maskari, T. S., Melville, C. A., & Willis, D. S. (2018). Systematic review: Cultural adaptation and feasibility of screening for autism in non-English speaking countries. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 12, 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13033-018-0200-8 - DOI - PubMed - PMC
    1. American Psychiatric Association (2019). What is autism spectrum disorder? Retrieved from https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/autism/what-is-autism-spect... .
    1. Bedore, L. M., & Pena, E. D. (2008). Assessment of bilingual children for identification of language impairment: Current findings and implications for practice. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11(1), 1–29. - DOI
    1. Cohen, J. (1998). Statistical power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.). Erlbaum.

LinkOut - more resources