Review of Research on Bilingualism and ASD: Recommendations for Evidence-Based Practice
Open Access
Author:
Sarracino, Olivia
Area of Honors:
Communication Sciences and Disorders
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Diane L Williams, Thesis Supervisor Carol Anne Miller, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
autism spectrum disorders autism bilingualism multilingualism evidence-based practice language development
Abstract:
In the past, parents of children with language disorders such as autism were advised not to expose them to more than one language, even if the parents were bilingual or multilingual. There has been an increase in research about bilingual language development in autistic children that is now available to guide clinical practice. Research indicates bilingualism is not harmful for autistic children’s language development and, in fact, may offer some benefits to the child’s social life, cognitive skills, and set-shifting abilities (Digard et al., 2020; Gonzalez-Barrero & Nadig, 2019). However, many speech-language pathologists continue to suggest that autistic children should only use one language. The factors that influence the decisions on development of bilingualism in autistic children range from parental concerns about being a language model to clinicians feeling uncomfortable doing bilingual treatment (Kay-Raining Bird et al., 2012). This thesis provides a review of the literature on bilingualism and autism spectrum disorder. The review examines the factors to consider when recommending bilingualism, how to facilitate bilingual language development in autistic children, and recommendations for evidence-based practice when providing speech-language therapy services to autistic children who are being raised in a bilingual or multilingual environment.
