Language and communication skills in multilingual children on the autism spectrum: A systematic review.

This review looked at 22 studies about autistic children who speak multiple languages. Parents and therapists often worry that learning more than one language might harm autistic children's speech and communication. The research shows these worries are unfounded - autistic children who learn multiple languages do just as well as autistic children who only learn one language. There may even be some benefits to being multilingual.

However, most studies only included autistic children without intellectual disabilities, so we need more research about other autistic children.

This systematic review examined 22 studies comparing language and communication skills in multilingual autistic children with their monolingual autistic peers and multilingual non-autistic peers. The review focused primarily on receptive and expressive vocabulary assessment using both direct testing and parent questionnaires. Findings consistently demonstrated that bilingual exposure does not negatively impact language development in autistic children. Multilingual autistic children showed similar language profiles to monolingual autistic children, with preliminary evidence suggesting they may share some multilingual advantages with their non-autistic multilingual peers.

However, the research predominantly excluded children with intellectual disabilities or complex communication needs, limiting generalizability to the broader autistic population.

Clinicians can reassure families that maintaining multilingual environments will not harm autistic children's language development. Multilingual exposure should not be discouraged during intervention planning. However, more research is needed for autistic children with intellectual disabilities before making broader clinical recommendations.

Studies predominantly excluded autistic children with intellectual disabilities or complex communication needs, limiting generalizability to the broader autistic population. The review was limited to 22 studies with varying methodologies and sample characteristics.

Both parents and service providers have voiced concerns about the potential negative impact of exposure to multiple languages on the language and communication skills of autistic children. The current literature review summarized research that assessed the language and communication skills of multilingual autistic children in comparison with their autistic and nonautistic peers. After a comprehensive search, 22 relevant publications were identified that met the inclusion criteria of the current review. Thirteen studies used both direct (directly administered screening/diagnostic tools) and indirect language assessments (e.g. parent questionnaires).

Receptive and expressive vocabulary was the most frequently assessed language skill. Available research does not support the assumption that bilingualism has negative effects on the language and communication skills of autistic children. The language and communication skills of multilingual autistic children frequently resembled their monolingual autistic peers in both strengths and areas of growth. Preliminary findings indicate that multilingual autistic children may share some advantages of multilingualism with their multilingual nonautistic peers.

Studies often excluded participants with intellectual disabilities or complex communication needs, which means that a large population of autistic children is not yet represented in research about the effects of multilingualism.