Abstract
The impact of bilingual exposure on language learning has not been systematically studied in children with Autism Spectrum
Disorders. This study compared the social abilities and language levels of children (mean age = 56 months) with ASDs from
bilingual (n = 45) and monolingual (n = 30) environments. Bilingually-exposed children were subgrouped based on simultaneous
bilingual exposure from infancy (SIM, n = 24) versus sequential post-infancy bilingual exposure (SEQ, n = 21). Despite significantly
different amounts of bilingual exposure across all groups (p = <0.001) and significantly stronger social interaction scores in the SIM group compared to the SEQ group on the Vineland
Adaptive Behavior Scales-II Interpersonal subdomain (p = 0.025), there were no significant group differences in language level. Bilingually-exposed children with ASDs did not experience
additional delays in language development.
Disorders. This study compared the social abilities and language levels of children (mean age = 56 months) with ASDs from
bilingual (n = 45) and monolingual (n = 30) environments. Bilingually-exposed children were subgrouped based on simultaneous
bilingual exposure from infancy (SIM, n = 24) versus sequential post-infancy bilingual exposure (SEQ, n = 21). Despite significantly
different amounts of bilingual exposure across all groups (p = <0.001) and significantly stronger social interaction scores in the SIM group compared to the SEQ group on the Vineland
Adaptive Behavior Scales-II Interpersonal subdomain (p = 0.025), there were no significant group differences in language level. Bilingually-exposed children with ASDs did not experience
additional delays in language development.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-11
- DOI 10.1007/s10803-011-1365-z
- Authors
- Catherine Hambly, Department of Psychiatry, Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill University, c/o Dr. E. Fombonne, 4018 Ste-Catherine West, Montreal, QC H3Z 1P2, Canada
- Eric Fombonne, Department of Psychiatry, Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill University, c/o Dr. E. Fombonne, 4018 Ste-Catherine West, Montreal, QC H3Z 1P2, Canada
- Journal Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- Online ISSN 1573-3432
- Print ISSN 0162-3257