Parental Perceptions and Decisions Regarding Maintaining Bilingualism in Autism.
Katie Howard, Jenny Gibson, Napoleon Katsos
PMID 32388758WHAT IT FOUND
Parents of bilingual children on the autism spectrum were split between keeping two languages and using mainly English.
Choices depended on family ties, advice, child's needs and English. Some were told one language was more appropriate; others received no language advice.
Key findings
01Eight families chose a more multilingual approach and six chose a more monolingual approach.
02Parents' language choices were not based on their views about bilingualism alone; they also weighed communication with family, advice received, how autism affected the child's language development, and the importance of English.
03Four families in the monolingual group were advised around diagnosis to use one language, two parents were advised to continue bilingualism, and seven families received no language advice at diagnosis.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small and purposive, so it cannot show what most bilingual families on the autism spectrum do. Most participants were mothers, so fathers' views are thin. It reports perceptions and decisions, not measured language, communication, or autism outcomes. Children were followed at one point in time, so consequences of language choices were not tracked over time. The study did not collect detailed language exposure or proficiency data, so it cannot link decisions to actual bilingual ability.
Declared interests
The article states that the funder was the Arts and Humanities Research Council. No other funding or conflict-of-interest statement is given.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the parents' worries about confusion or overload as proof that bilingualism harms children on the autism spectrum. The study reports perceptions and decisions, not measured language or developmental outcomes.