The Influence of Bilingual Language Exposure on the Narrative, Social and Pragmatic Abilities of School-Aged Children on the Autism Spectrum.

This study looked at whether learning two languages affects communication skills in autistic children. Researchers compared 54 bilingual and 80 monolingual autistic children on storytelling, social language, and practical communication skills. They found that bilingual autistic children performed just as well as those who speak only one language. Children who were equally skilled in both languages actually did better on understanding non-literal language (like jokes or sarcasm).

This suggests that being bilingual doesn't harm language development in autistic children.

This study examined whether bilingual exposure affects language abilities in 134 school-aged autistic children (54 bilingual, 80 monolingual). Using standardized assessments, researchers compared narrative, social, and pragmatic language skills between groups. Results showed bilingual and monolingual autistic children performed similarly across most language measures. However, balanced bilinguals (those with relatively equal exposure to both languages) demonstrated superior performance on nonliteral language tasks.

The findings suggest that bilingual exposure does not impair language development in autistic children and may provide some advantages, particularly for those with balanced bilingual exposure.

Families can pursue bilingual education without concern for language development delays. Clinicians should support bilingual families' language choices and consider balanced bilingual exposure as potentially beneficial for nonliteral language skills. Assessment and intervention planning should account for bilingual language profiles.

Study type is unknown, limiting methodological assessment. No control group of neurotypical children for comparison. Unclear how language exposure was quantified or validated. Sample characteristics and matching criteria between groups not specified in the abstract.

We examined the narrative abilities of bilingual and monolingual children on the autism spectrum (AS), whether bilinguals presented stronger social and pragmatic language abilities compared to monolinguals, and the link between narrative, social, and pragmatic language abilities.The narrative, social, and pragmatic language skills of school-aged bilinguals (n = 54) and monolinguals (n = 80) on the AS were assessed using normed measures. Language exposure was estimated through a parent questionnaire.Bilinguals performed similarly to monolinguals on measures of narrative, social, and pragmatic language skills. However, balanced bilinguals performed better on a nonliteral language task.Overall, results indicate that bilingual children on the AS can become as proficient in using language as monolinguals and may enjoy a bilingual advantage.