Parents of children with autism need not fear teaching their children more than one language as it may actually help them function better. — AFP
For a long time, it was thought that bilingualism could be confusing for toddlers.
Yet, in a world where many children move between languages on a daily basis, the undeniable cognitive and social benefits of bilingualism are now being recognised.
An American study reveals that they can be even more valuable for children with autism spectrum disorders.
In the journal Autism Research, researchers from the University of Miami highlight the positive effects of mastering several languages on the executive functions of children.
The research team, led by clinical psychology doctoral student Celia Romero, analysed the cognitive skills of 112 children aged seven to 12 years, some of whom were autistic and others neurotypical.
The findings clearly showed that children who spoke two or more languages often had better executive function skills.
This means that they are able to control their impulses and move from one task to another more easily than children who speak only one language.
Executive function skills group together several cognitive processes that enable us to regulate our thoughts and behaviours in order to achieve a goal.
They are essential for decision-making, planning, impulse control and adapting to new or complex situations.
Some of these functions can be shaky for children with autism.
“We discovered that multilingualism is associated with improvements in executive function, which in turn is associated with improvements in autism symptoms.
“There were hints of this in the literature before, but it was exciting to see how far-reaching those differences were in this research,” explains study co-author and developmental psychologist Associate Professor Dr Lynn Perry in a statement.
Another benefit highlighted by the study is the improved ability to understand the point of view of others.
This ability, essential for social communication, often proves challenging for children with autism.
“We also found that multilingual children have enhanced perspective-taking skills, or the ability to understand someone else’s thoughts or point of view,” says Romero.
Positive effects
These benefits are explained by a phenomenon known as joint activation.
It occurs when several brain regions activate at the same time in response to a task, thought or perception.
This synchronisation promotes more efficient integration of information and facilitates complex cognitive processes such as learning, remembering and decision-making.
The brains of polyglots are constantly called upon to juggle several languages, which reinforces their control and inhibition mechanisms.
“If you have to juggle two languages, you have to suppress one in order to use the other.
“That’s the idea, that inhibition – or the ability to stop yourself from doing something – might be bolstered by knowing two languages,” points out study co-author and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), developmental psychologist Prof Dr Lucina Uddin.
The findings of this study will hopefully reassure parents of young autistic children who are reluctant to encourage bilingualism in their child, fearing that learning several languages will further complicate their development.
But it seems that the idea of restricting exposure to multiple languages isn’t necessary.
In fact, on the contrary, multiple languages seem to truly benefit the brain.
It has even been proven that speaking several languages can help delay the onset of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, as well as limit the after-effects of a stroke.
Further research is needed, however, to understand in greater detail the impact of multilingualism on the development of autistic children.
But in the meantime, why deprive them of a richness that could open so many doors for them? – AFP Relaxnews
