Practitioners

Background: More than 25% of autistic children worldwide have the potential to hear or speak more than one language. However, autistic children are still frequently denied opportunities to access additional languages and the cultural, familial and community connections that come with this. There is no direct evidence from speech and language therapists (SLTs).

Aims: The aim of this research was to understand the experiences of SLTs working with autistic bilingual children, focusing on current sources of information that practitioners have, and considerations when working with families.

Methods: Twelve SLTs from across the UK were recruited for this study. Interviews were conducted and focused on the experiences of SLTs regarding familial bilingual experiences.

Results: Three themes were identified from the interviews: (1) participants discussed parental uncertainties as to whether they were doing the right thing for their child. (2) While participants were in support of bilingualism, they were not always confident that they were providing the right advice, and found it difficult to keep up to date with relevant, evidence-based research, (3) participants highlighted a need to shift towards a more inclusive and culturally diverse practice.

Conclusions: We identified key difficulties in supporting access to language learning, and these findings have immediate and longer-term implications for supporting SLTs, and in turn, the children, and families they support.

Background: Research suggests that autistic children often show differences in attending to social stimuli, and sometimes prefer to attend to different aspects of social information. There are a number of factors that could influence this, one being bilingualism. Parents and practitioners often feel worried that bilingualism could cause delays to social and cognitive development for autistic children, yet there is little evidence to dispute this idea.

Aims: This study therefore investigated the impact of bilingual exposure on social attention in autistic children.

Methods: 33 autistic and 43 neurotypical children aged 6-13 years were recruited. Participants, who had varying degrees of bilingual exposure at home, completed an eye-tracking task that measured attention to pictures of interacting versus non-interacting human figures.

Results: Bilingual exposure did not affect interest in interacting or non-interacting figures in neurotypical children or autistic children, so bilingualism did not directly affect social attention.

Conclusions: There is no evidence that bilingualism negatively affects social attentional skills in autistic or non-autistic children. This is important to show that all children should have access to bilingualism with no poor effects on aspects of social development.

Introduction: There are many misconceptions around both autism and bilingualism - bilingual parents and educational/clinical practitioners often express concerns that exposing autistic children to more than one language will cause confusion and developmental delays (despite a lack of any evidence for this).

Aims: This study looked to understand the reasons that drive these misconceptions.

Methods: Through an online survey, we asked 31 UK-based bilingual families with autistic children about: factors that impact family decisions about (not) raising autistic children bilingually; attitudes toward bilingualism expressed by the community, doctors, family members, and teachers, and sources of information about bilingualism and autism available to families.

Results: The families reported choosing bilingualism for their autistic child primarily so that the child can communicate with family and community members. Attitudes toward bilingualism in their networks were predominantly positive, and only about 1/3 of parents had access to information on bilingualism and autism, mostly found on the internet.

Conclusions: We discuss the need for a change of perspective around autism and bilingualism and ways to start going about this.

Overview: This short paper provides a brief overview of the most recent research regarding autism and bilingualism. One motivation for this short information piece was to address some of the concerns that people have about how language may develop for autistic people in multilingual environments. In particular, many parents of bilingual, autistic children worry that delays in language acquisition or pragmatic challenges of language use may be exacerbated However, concerns about language development have so far not been supported by the literature. We discuss findings from cognitive research as well as research focusing on the importance of family bonds and access to cultural identities.

Overview:In this paper, we summarise the existing literature on bilingualism and autism, considering perspectives from the bilingual autistic community, and experimental research. Although bilingualism is a valuable tool that enriches cultural, social and lived experiences for autistic and non-autistic people alike, parents of autistic children remain concerned that bilingualism will cause delays in both cognitive and language development. Evidently, findings from research are not reflected in practice or subsequent advice, and it is essential to identify ways to ensure equal access to additional language learning. We identify barriers to participation for autistic bilingual children in terms of familial, clinical and educational perspectives, propose novel solutions to promote additional language learning and suggest changes to practice that will contribute to an evidence base for families and practitioners.

Background: At least half the world's population is bilingual or lives in a bilingual environment. However, the experiences of autistic bilingual people are rarely represented or acknowledged. So far, research in this field has concentrated primarily on parent perspectives and on the effects of bilingualism for autistic children's skills.

Aims: The study explored the experiences of autistic bilingual adults, focusing on the perceived benefits of bilingualism; the shared experiences of autism, bilingualism, especially regarding identity; and the elements that make language learning easier or more difficult.

Methods: In total, 39 autistic bilingual adults completed an online questionnaire. The questionnaire included quantitative questions about their language use, and questions about their experiences of being autistic and bilingual.

Results: Participants reported that being bilingual had shaped their ability to communicate socially; it had helped them to understand the perspectives of others, and better express themselves. Participants also identified many additional opportunities and benefits of bilingualism in terms of relationships, hobbies, mobility, employment, education, and cultural insight.

Conclusions: Being bilingual is a part of autistic bilingual people's identity, and different autistic people need different learning strategies to best learn additional languages.