‘Bilingualism in autism: Evidence and recommendations for education practice’

“Bilingualism does not negatively impact autistic people and may provide benefits for cognitive and socio-emotional development. It is an essential part of someone’s identity”. This guidance document summarises the latest findings in the field of bilingualism in autism research. This summary focuses on the information needed by educators to provide up-to-date and adapted advice to bilingual families of autistic children and young people.

Autism and bilingualism: A thematic analysis of speech and language practitioners’ experiences

At least 25% of autistic children worldwide have the potential to grow up in a bilingual environment. However, many autistic children are being denied opportunities to access additional languages and the cultural, familial and community connections that come with this. There is little evidence identifying the barriers to language learning and access, and no research addressing the perspectives of practitioners, who are crucial in supporting parents to make informed choices about bilingualism with their child.

“The languages that you know draw the boundary of your world”: A thematic analysis of the experiences of autistic bilingual adults living in the United Kingdom

This study builds upon the few reports available to highlight the experiences that are shared by autistic bilingual people regardless of the number of languages they know. It is the first study to report the perspectives of U.K.-based autistic bilingual adults who, in most cases, grew up in a bilingual environment.