Bilingualism and Autism Spectrum Disorders
¡Bienvenidos! This month’s topic of discussion is Autism Spectrum Disorders and the Bilingual Individual. Given the increasing number of bilingual children in the United States, and the increasing frequency of autism diagnoses, there is surprisingly little information available for clinicians who work with children who are “on the spectrum” from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.A few of the questions communication professionals may face include:
- How do I help these kids navigate the social constructs of two or more cultures?
- How do I effectively evaluate pragmatic differences vs. disorders?
- What is the home culture’s understanding/beliefs regarding autism and how will it affect assessment and intervention.
- And of course, the same question asked of so many bilingual individuals, In which language do I provide treatment?
Sofia Carias, M.S. CCC-SLP, begins this month’s topic. Please take a moment to view her video and weigh-in on the subject with your questions, comments and experiences.
Thanks for participating in the ¡Adelante! forum this month! We have a lot to talk about!
If you would like more information on this topic, please visit the following articles and websites:
- Intervention Outcomes of a Bilingual Child with Autism (Disease/Disorder Overview). Seung, Hyekyung. Journal of Medical Speech Language Pathology, March 2006.
- Multicultural Perspectives on Teaching Students with Autism. Wilder, Lynn K.; Dyches, Tina T.; Obiakor, Festus E.; Algozzine, Bob. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, Summer 2004.
- Is Bilingualism Detrimental for Children with Autism? Dopke, Susanne (susanne@bilingualoptions.com.au). February 2006.
- To Be or Not to be Bilingual: Autistic Children from Multilingual Families. Kremer-Sadlik, Tamar (University of California, Los Angeles). Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism, 2005.
- http://www.census.gov/
- http://www.nccrest.org/index.html
- http://www.azgala.org
Posted on February 17th, 2008 by Guest Author
Filed under: Monthly Posts
In case I missed something the first time, I can replay it. I like that!
Thanks for the article references, Luz Maria!
The first you mentioned (ASD & Learning Foreign Languages), seems like it has some pointers that would be applicable for working with older, sequential bilingual ASD kids as they receive targeted English instruction. A lot of this also seems like it would be a good, practical handout for our General Ed teachers who are working with ASD kids.
I also really like the 2nd article. The principle author (Dr. Taylor-Dyches) will be presenting on this subject at the Bilingual Symposium this summer. I’m looking forward to hearing what she has to say!
Thanks again for pointing these out! -Nate
Sofia, I have to say that this is an interesting topic. I’m glad to see that you took on this topic. Well done Sofia, it is not easy being the first clinician to present on our Bilingual Therapy Blog. As you mentioned, there is not enough research on the topic of bilingualism and children diagnosed with Autism or Asperger’s. Choosing a language of intervention has to encompass the whole child not just the diagnosis. You mentioned family centered therapy and I agree. In most situations the child will always be cared for by a family member. If the home language is a language other than English, then that is to be taken into consideration as it will result in a disconnect between the child and the caregiver/s. It is never the best recommendation to ask parents to use a language that they do not typically use or have limited proficiency in…not just for children diagnosed with Autism.
Best practice, in my professional opinion would be to incorporate both languages whenever possible in the therapy sessions. Though this is not always possible, it is important for the growth and progress of children with Autism. You mentioned thinking outside of the box and in these situations where bilingual services are not available, it is vital. Using information, software, paraprofessionals, consultants etc. to help support the child, family, and school is an important part of our job.
So often professionals in the educational environment are concerned with “confusing” the child. There is no evidence at this time that children with language or communication disorders have such limited language resources to become bilingual. And this notion of language “confusion” is used all too loosely. In my training with Dr. Kayser and conferences that I have attended throughout my career, all cautioned the use of this term. Typically the children are either disordered or at some stage of their bilingual development.
I have had bilingual children with autism on my caseload at different stages of their development. They have all, to some extent become bilingual. Some both receptively and expressively and others only receptively. There PECS systems were developed in Spanish for home use and bilingually in the Academic setting. When they mastered areas in the dominant language we transitioned those areas into English. I Should mention that the classroom had bilingual aides and at one point a bilingual Special Ed. teacher. It is possible and I have experienced and witnessed it. Having that connection between home and school only enhances and promotes the child’s language.
OK that’s enough of my two cents.
Adelante,
Sandra Marquez
Hi everyone. I found another couple of resources for those working with CLD kids with Autism Spectrum Disorders.
Last week I had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Celeste Roseberry-McKibbin from Sacramento State. She was presenting the results of a survey done on the knowledge and attitudes of CLD parents of autistic children. It was interesting that these CLD families held similar knowledge and beliefs about the causes and interventions for ASD as “mainstream” U.S. society.
You can actually find her paper at the California Speech-Language and Hearing Association web site (I believe for a limited time). http://www.csha.org/convention/Handouts/PS20STOLLTOLENTINOROSEBERRYMCKIBBON.pdf
Dr. Roseberry-McKibbin also introduced me to a book she wrote that contains a brief but informative section on working with autistic CLD children. That reference is:
Roseberry-McKibbin, C. (2008). Service Delivery to CLD Students on the Autism Spectrum. In C. Roseberry-McKibbin (Ed.), Multicultural Students with Special Language Needs, 3rd Edition (pp. 385-389). Oceanside, CA: Academic Communication Associates. (ISBN: 978-1-57503-139-2)
Hope this is helpful!
-Nate Cornish