Multilanguage Skills in an Autistic Child May Do More than Help with Words

UCLA Health study shows how speaking one or more languages bolsters executive function and lessens autism symptoms

Now, a groundbreaking study from UCLA Health has added to the knowledge of the unique cognitive advantages multilingualism bestows even for children with autism.

The study, published recently in the journal Autism Research, offers preliminary evidence that being multilingual can improve cognitive functions such as memory, flexibility, perspective a skill that helps in understanding the thoughts of others and may assist in controlling aspects of autism, though it is unlikely to make it go away entirely.

The results may lead us to consider how we think about language development and intervention among children on the autism spectrum.

The children ranged in age from 7 to 12, and both autistic and nonautistic children were included, living in multilingual homes. Most multilingual families spoke both Spanish and English, and participants were selected from a sample of over 100 children.

These functions entail inhibition

Parents of these children were asked to rate their children on executive function abilities that are usually impacted by autism.

These functions entail inhibition the ability to block out distractions, working memory the ability to hold and use information, and shifting the ability to move between tasks. Parents also assessed key features of autism, including social communication and repetitive behaviors.

The findings of the study were remarkable. Children raised in households exposed to more than one language showed enhanced executive function skills over their monolingual household peers.

That was true in both autistic and non autistic children. In particular, children from multilingual homes showed superior inhibition being able to concentrate and ignore distractions. They also exhibited better task switching skills, as well as more robust perspective taking, which is the ability to understand and communicate with others.

The lead author of the study, Dr. Lucina Uddin, a professor at UCLA Health's Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences department, said the cognitive benefits that come from being able to juggle two languages were substantial. When you speak multiple languages, you're always making this choice about which language to use, and this naturally enhances your capability to inhibit irrelevant thoughts and distractions, Uddin said.

That constant toggling between languages may have contributed to the superior performance of multilingual children in tasks that need their mental flexibility and attention.

The other great finding Of?

The other great finding was that multilingualism seemed to diminish some of the underlying features of autism, so those behavioral issues as well, like repetitive behaviors and social communication problems.

Dr. Uddin said children who spoke multiple languages demonstrated gains in their ability to hold conversations, take another person's perspective and diminish what is known as perseverative behavior the behavior commonly used to define autism spectrum disorder as repetitive or restrictive.

One of the study's most important takeaways is its challenge to the widely held belief among parents of children with autism that exposing them to more than one language could hurt their language skills.

A lot of parents worry that exposure to more than one language may set back their child's language development. But this research has found that multilingualism does not impede language acquisition and, rather, could offer lifelong cognitive advantages.

The key takeaway here is that we don't see any adverse effects of being exposed to multiple languages at home, said Uddin. It's  a good thing to celebrate all of the languages that are part of your culture. What you have to do is to keep exposing the child to both languages, but consistency is what is going to help you to achieve that.

This study further supports the accumulating evidence that multilingualism contributes positively to cognitive development in multiple areas.

In children with autism, the capacity to handle the challenge of multiple languages could also be part of what eases some symptoms associated with the condition. Multilingual children who practice inhibition, flexibility, and perspective taking, for example, may develop cognitive skills that help them draw from their experiences in social and academic contexts.

Encouraged by the study's promising results, Dr. Uddin and her colleagues are expanding the research. This new phase of the study will recruit 150 children with autism and include more rigorous testing of their executive function, their language skills and their functioning of the brain through imaging techniques.

That will provide clarity around the mechanisms through which multilingualism may enhance the cognitive abilities of children with autism and, in turn, validate the long term benefits.

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