ASD & Language Development for Bilingual Children

In the United States, 1 in 4 children with ASD are being raised in bilingual environments, where their families speak more than one language (Trelles & Castro, 2019). Due to children with ASD often experiencing communication deficits and social deficits that can impact their language development, there may be added complexity to teaching them more than one language. In this blog, we discuss some recent research findings about the potential impacts of bilingualism, specifically for children with ASD.

Common Questions and Concerns

If you are a bilingual family raising a child or children with ASD, you may have questions about how learning more than one language can impact their language development, as well as their overall development. You may have also received  a variety of suggestions or information from people, including pediatricians, about whether or not you should raise your child with ASD in a bilingual environment. Here are some of the common questions that parents and families may have related to this topic: 

1. Can my child with ASD learn more than 1 language?
2. Will teaching my child with ASD multiple languages hinder their language development? 
3. What are the impacts of learning more than 1 language on children with ASD? 

Luckily, there have been several research studies on this topic that can help to address some of those questions.

Current Research Findings

Several recent studies have addressed the question of potential impacts of bilingualism on children with ASD. Many of these studies have compared outcomes of monolingual children with ASD to outcomes of bilingual children with ASD. Overall, studies have not found any consistent negative impacts of teaching children with ASD more than one language, which is definitely an advantage for families that speak multiple languages (Trelles & Castro, 2019; Wang et al., 2018). 

These studies have also found some benefits of bilingualism for children with ASD. For instance, bilingual children with ASD may be more likely to use nonverbal communication (i.e., gestures), have better skills in expressive vocabulary and receptive language, and  increased verbal fluency (Gilhuber et al., 2023; Wang et al., 2018). Bilingual children with ASD may also have better skills in perspective-taking and pretend play, as well as switching between tasks (Bennie, 2024). Additionally, teaching children the family’s native language may support connections with the child’s family and culture (Trelles & Castro, 2019). 

Tips for Families

The research suggests several positive findings for families navigating bilingualism simultaneously with parenting children on the Autism spectrum. Here are some of our tips that can help parents and families: 

1. Speak to children in the language you’re most comfortable in.
2. Expose children to language(s) important to your family and community. 
3. Use visual language supports (i.e., pictures and flashcards) and nonverbal communication (i.e., hand gestures). 
4. Read to children and encourage the use of both languages in the home.
5. Get support from a speech language pathologist or other professionals. 

References

Bennie, M. (2024, August 15). Autism and Bilingualism – Autism awareness. Autism Awareness. https://autismawarenesscentre.com/autism-and-bilingualism/ 

Gilhuber, C. S., Raulston, T. J., & Galley, K. (2023). Language and communication skills in multilingual children on the autism spectrum: A systematic review. Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 27(6), 1516–1531. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221147780 

Gómez, D. (2025, January 9). Bilingual Children with Autism: Navigating Language Development on the Spectrum. ABA Centers of New Jersey. https://www.abacentersnj.com/blog/bilingual-children-with-autism/ 

Griswold, A. (2016, July 25). For children with autism, multiple languages may be a boon. The Transmitter: Neuroscience News and Perspectives. https://www.thetransmitter.org/spectrum/for-children-with-autism-multiple-languages-may-be-a-boon/ 

Trelles, M. P., & Castro, K. (2019). Bilingualism in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Finding Meaning in Translation. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 58(11), 1035–1037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2019.05.027

Wang, M., Jegathesan, T., Young, E., Huber, J., & Minhas, R. (2018). Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in Monolingual vs Bilingual Homes: A Scoping Review. Journal of developmental and behavioral pediatrics : JDBP, 39(5), 434–446. https://doi.org/10.1097/DBP.0000000000000574