Narrative abilities of bilingual children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Language Disorder, and typical development
Abstract
This thesis examined the narrative abilities of bilingual, English L2 newcomer and immigrant children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and Typical Development (TD). Compared to the monolingual research, there have been fewer studies examining narratives in clinical bilingual groups, especially bilinguals with ASD, and no study so far has compared bilinguals with ASD to bilinguals with DLD. This thesis asked: (1) Is
macrostructure an area of weakness in DLD? (2) Do children with ASD experience difficulties with structural language, i.e., morphology and syntax? (3) Are narrative skills requiring perspective-taking abilities equally vulnerable in ASD and DLD? (4) Do bilinguals with ASD and DLD use the second language input they receive to the same as bilinguals with TD? Identified differences between newcomer children with ASD, DLD or TD can be utilized to create tailored interventions.
Notes
Future research / gaps identified:
The sample varied considerably within groups (e.g. children with ASD were greatly different from each other despite having the same diagnosis).
Key recommendations:
Develop, implement and evaluate targeted interventions related to these findings.
Open access: No
Community organizations: n/a
Integration timeline: 1st generation immigrants (not otherwise specified)
Key findings:
- Macrostructure is an area of weakness in children with DLD when compared to groups with less English exposure.
- Some children with ASD experience difficulties with structural language that overlap with DLD.
- Narrative components requiring perspective-taking skills is an area of weakness for children with ASD, but an area of strength in children with DLD when language-matched groups are compared.
- Narrative deficits are well-entrenched in both clinical groups and cannot be attributed to differences in L2 exposure.
Key populations: bilingual newcomer children with ASD, DLD, or TD
Location:
- Edmonton, AB
- Toronto, ON
