English Second-Language Input and Vocabulary Development in Bilingual Autistic and Neurotypical Children: To What Extent Do Autistic Bilinguals Form a Distinct Group?

This study looked at how autistic and non-autistic bilingual children learn English as their second language. Researchers tested 49 children aged 4-9 years on their vocabulary skills. While autistic children generally had lower vocabulary scores, both groups improved with more English exposure. Importantly, most autistic children showed similar language abilities to their non-autistic peers.

Only a small group of autistic children had very low vocabulary despite lots of English input. This shows that autistic bilingual children are not all the same - many develop language similarly to other children.

This study examined second-language (L2) vocabulary development in 49 bilingual children (23 autistic, 26 neurotypical) aged 4-9 years with English as their second language. Researchers measured receptive vocabulary and expressive language abilities, analyzing how cumulative L2 input affected vocabulary development. Linear regression showed autistic children generally scored lower on vocabulary measures, though both groups benefited from increased L2 exposure. Cluster analysis revealed more nuanced patterns: most children (neurotypical and autistic) showed similar vocabulary abilities, while a subset of autistic children with extensive L2 input demonstrated very low vocabulary skills.

Results suggest autistic bilingual children are not a homogeneous group distinct from neurotypical peers, with only some showing unique L2 profiles.

Results suggest individualized assessment of bilingual autistic children rather than assuming uniform language profiles. Most autistic bilingual children may benefit from similar L2 exposure strategies as neurotypical peers. A subset may require specialized interventions despite adequate input exposure.

Small sample size (49 children) limits generalizability. Cross-sectional design prevents conclusions about developmental trajectories. Diverse first-language backgrounds may introduce confounding variables. Limited information about autism characteristics or language intervention history that could influence outcomes.

Autistic monolingual children show heterogeneity in their language abilities in the school-age years. School-age bilingual neurotypical children also show heterogeneity in their second-language (L2) abilities as these are modulated by many factors including cumulative L2 input. This study compared school-age neurotypical and autistic children's L2 vocabulary development, as modulated by cumulative L2 input, to determine the extent to which the autistic children formed a distinct group from the neurotypical children. Participants were autistic (= 23) and neurotypical (= 26) bilingual children with English as their L2 and diverse first-language backgrounds, aged 4;7-9;6 (years;months).

Children were matched groupwise for age. Children were administered a receptive vocabulary test, and conversational language samples yielded expressive lexical measures: word tokens and types and internal state term tokens and types. Linear regression modeling revealed that the autistic group had lower scores for all but one vocabulary measure and that higher scores were associated with more L2 input for children in both groups. A hierarchical cluster analysis revealed more nuanced results: One cluster, consisting of all but one of the neurotypical and the majority of the autistic children, overlapped in vocabulary abilities, with the autistic group having somewhat more L2 input.

A second cluster consisted of all autistic children except for one neurotypical child and had extensive L2 input and very low vocabulary abilities. The autistic bilinguals in this study were not a homogeneous group separate from their neurotypical peers. Instead, only some autistic bilinguals showed distinct L2 profiles from their neurotypical peers.