Summary: Children in multilingual households, including those with autism, demonstrate stronger executive functions, such as inhibition, flexibility, and perspective-taking, compared to monolingual peers. Speaking multiple languages also reduces repetitive behaviors and improves communication, key challenges in autism.
The findings suggest that juggling two languages enhances cognitive control, with no evidence of developmental delays in language learning. Researchers plan to expand the study, including brain imaging, to explore the full impact of multilingualism on cognitive and social abilities.
Key Facts:
- Enhanced Cognitive Skills: Multilingual children show better inhibition, flexibility, and perspective-taking.
- Autism Benefits: Multilingualism improves communication and reduces repetitive behaviors in autistic children.
- No Delays Found: Speaking multiple languages shows no negative effects on language development.
Source: UCLA
A new study from UCLA Health adds to the growing body of evidence on the cognitive benefits of speaking multiple languages, finding that multilingualism not only enhances general cognitive abilities but also may help reduce certain symptoms and bolster control of daily thoughts and actions in children with and without autism.
The study, published in the journal Autism Research, found parents of autistic and non-autistic children in multilingual households reported their children had stronger overall executive function, including the ability to focus, understand other people’s perspectives, communication and reduced levels of repetitive behaviors, compared to children in mono-lingual households.
“It turns out that speaking multiple languages, whether or not you have a diagnosis of autism, is associated with better inhibition, better shifting or flexibility, and also better perspective taking ability,” said study lead author Dr. Lucina Uddin, a UCLA Health Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences Professor and Director of the UCLA Brain Connectivity and Cognition Laboratory.
Conducted initially at the University of Miami, the study recruited more than 100 autistic and non-autistic children ages 7 to 12 from both monolingual and multilingual households. Most of the multilingual households spoke Spanish and English at home.
Parents were asked to score their child’s executive function skills, which are often affected by autism spectrum disorder. Skills assessed included:
- Inhibition: the ability to suppress doing something irrelevant or get distracted.
- Working memory: the ability to keep something in mind, such as remembering a phone number.
- Shifting: the ability to switch between two or more different tasks, such as playing with toys and cleaning up after.
Parents were also asked to score some of the core abilities affected by autism such as the ability to understand different perspectives, social communication and repetitive behaviors.
Results from the survey found multilingualism is associated with better inhibition, shifting and perspective taking skills in children both with and without autism.
“If you have to juggle two languages, you have to suppress one in order to use the other. That’s the idea, that inhibition might be bolstered by knowing two languages,” Uddin said.
Speaking multiple languages also positively affected some of the core symptoms of autism, resulting in improved communication, reduced repetitive behaviors and improved perspective taking skills, Uddin said.
Uddin said there can be a concern among parents of autistic children that speaking multiple languages could contribute to delays in their child’s development relating to language learning. However, she said the evidence so far has suggested no negative impacts and possible long-term benefits.
“The big takeaway is we don’t see any negative effects of speaking multiple languages in the home,” Uddin said.
“It’s actually beneficial to celebrate all the languages associated with your culture.”
From these findings, Uddin is expanding the study and addressing limitations. The new study will recruit about 150 children with autism and will include more executive function and language tests as well as brain imaging.
For information about the study and to participate, visit https://www.semel.ucla.edu/bccl
About this language and autism research news
Author: Will Houston
Source: UCLA
Contact: Will Houston – UCLA
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access.
“Multilingualism impacts children’s executive function and core autism symptoms” by Lucina Uddin et al. Autism Research
Abstract
Multilingualism impacts children’s executive function and core autism symptoms
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with marked heterogeneity in executive function (EF) abilities. EF components including inhibition and shifting are related to ASD core symptoms such as perspective taking, social communication, and repetitive behavior.
Recent research suggests that multilingualism may have a beneficial impact on EF abilities, especially in children with ASD. However, there remains a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the relationships between multilingualism, EF, and core symptoms in children with ASD.
Here, we examined these associations in 7–12-year-old children with and without ASD (N = 116; 53 ASD, Mean age = 9.94 years). Results suggest that multilingual children have stronger parent-reported inhibition, shifting, and perspective-taking skills than monolingual children.
Furthermore, we found a significant interaction between diagnosis and multilingual status on inhibition, such that the effects of multilingualism were stronger for children with ASD than typically developing (TD) children.
Finally, we found indirect effects of multilingualism on perspective taking, social communication, and repetitive behaviors mediated by EF skills.
These results demonstrate the supportive influences multilingual experience might have on bolstering EF and reducing ASD-related symptoms.
