SUMMARY OF THE RESEARCH
At least half the world’s population lives in a bilingual environment. While all children should have access to language learning (and the opportunities that come with this) as a fundamental human right, this is currently not the case for all autistic children.
Studies have shown that children living in a dual-language environment benefit from the close family and cultural connections that their shared language affords, and that these benefits may further be associated with social and emotional wellbeing and increased inclusion. Despite the plethora of opportunities that can arise from dual-language environments, professionals remain concerned about the potentially harmful effects of bilingualism, and generally advise parents who have an autistic child against a bilingual upbringing.
These recommendations are not built on evidence and research suggests that denying access to bilingualism (and to a part of a child’s identity) can have adverse effects for children, including fewer opportunities for maintaining family bonds, and reduced inclusion with their peers and community.
While research is growing in the area of autism and bilingualism, there is a lack of understanding of the experiences of bilingual autistic people themselves within this literature.
Throughout this project we worked closely with both the autistic community and the autism community, and particularly with young people with autism, their relatives, caregivers and therapists. The Primary aim of this project was to create an interview tool to allow researchers and stakeholders to gather the perspectives of autistic bilingual young people about this intersectional identity. We then used this interview schedule to find elicit the views of autistic bilingual young people.
The findings of this study have been analysed and written up for scientific publication. This will be the first study to ask autistic young people themselves how they feel about their identity – a crucial element of research that has been missing thus far. Other deliverables include:
- Co-produced guidelines for families who are unsure whether to raise their autistic child bilingually. These have been translated into 16 languages.
- Co-produced 2-page guidelines for clinicians on autism and bilingualism. This has been endorsed by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and is available online.
- An animated, child-friendly version of the findings of the study featuring drawings from our autistic participants and co-designed with our autistic bilingual young researcher group.
Taken together, this project has contributed to a growing evidence base for autism and autistic community members, clinicians, and practitioners – providing outputs that show the benefits of bilingualism and promoting access to a linguistic and cultural identity as a fundamental human right.
