Bilingual Development in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder from Newcomer Families
Abstract
The home language environment and language abilities were compared between children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and children with typical development, both from newcomer families in Edmonton. Children were in elementary school, mostly 6 and 7 year olds. The goal was to understand if there were differences in bilingual development between children with ASD and children with typical development at the same age. Specifically, we wanted to understand if children with ASD have the capacity to become bilingual and whether this is supported by their communities, clinicians and educators. We conclude that children with ASD are more at risk than children with typical development for losing their heritage language. In other words, children with ASD have the capacity to be bilingual, but have limited opportunities to develop their heritage language.
Notes
Community organizations:
- Multicultural Health Brokers Cooperative
- Edmonton Public Schools
- Edmonton Catholic Schools
- Centre for Autism Services Alberta
Integration timeline: not defined
Key findings:
- Parents of children with ASD were often advised to use only or more English with their child, by friends as well as professionals.
- Children with ASD started to learn English at a younger age than the children with typical development and had much more exposure to English through preschool attendance and ASD intervention.
- Children with ASD heard and spoke more English, and less of their heritage language, at home than the children with typical development.
- Regarding English abilities, the high verbal children with ASD had similar abilities to the children with typical development.
- In contrast, the high verbal children with ASD had lower abilities in their heritage language than the children with typical development.
Key populations: Children with ASD and typically developing children from newcomer families
Key recommendations:
- Encourage bilingual language practice in young children with ASD.
- Increase awareness of bilingual newcomer children with ASD and their capacities.
- Tailor ASD interventions to include heritage languages and cultural relevancy.
- Develop greater supports for children with ASD to learn and retain their heritage language, as the majority of their ASD interventions are in English.
Open access: Yes
Future research / gaps identified: n/a
Location: Edmonton, AB
