Could Bilingualism Be the Key to Enhanced Cognitive Skills for Children with Autism?
A new study from UCLA Health adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that speaking multiple languages can offer significant cognitive benefits, particularly for children on the autism spectrum. The research, published in the journal *Autism Research*, reveals that multilingualism not only strengthens general cognitive abilities but may also help mitigate certain autism symptoms and improve daily thought and action control in both autistic and non-autistic children.
The study, led by Dr. Lucina Uddin, a UCLA Health Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences Professor, involved over 100 autistic and non-autistic children aged 7 to 12 from both monolingual and multilingual households. Most multilingual families spoke Spanish and English at home.
Multilingual Children Show Stronger Executive Function
Parents of the children were asked to assess their child’s executive function skills, which are often impacted by autism spectrum disorder. Executive functions encompass essential skills like inhibition, working memory, and shifting (the ability to effectively switch between tasks). The results showed that multilingual children, both with and without autism, displayed stronger executive function skills compared to their monolingual peers.
“Speaking multiple languages requires constant suppression and activation of specific language networks in the brain,” explains Dr. Uddin. “This could explain why multilingual children exhibit enhanced inhibition, flexibility, and perspective-taking abilities.”
The study also explored how multilingualism affects core symptoms commonly associated with autism, such as social communication difficulties, repetitive behaviors, and understanding different perspectives.
Benefits for Children with Autism
The researchers found that multilingualism positively impacted these areas, leading to improved communication, reduced repetitive behaviors, and enhanced perspective-taking skills in children with autism.
Dr. Uddin emphasizes that there are often concerns among parents that learning multiple languages could delay language development. However, the current evidence suggests no negative effects, and multilingualism may even offer long-term cognitive benefits.
“There’s no reason to shy away from celebrating the diversity of languages within families,” she states. “Our findings suggest that multilingualism can be a valuable asset for children, particularly those with autism.”
Future Research and Call to Action
Dr. Uddin’s team is expanding the study to include a larger sample of children with autism, alongside more comprehensive executive function and language assessments, along with brain imaging. This will provide a deeper understanding of the neurological mechanisms underlying the cognitive benefits of multilingualism in children with autism.
If you’re interested in participating in this groundbreaking research, please visit https://www.semel.ucla.edu/bccl for more information.