Summary: Children raised in multilingual households—whether autistic or not—tend to show stronger executive function skills such as inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and perspective-taking than their monolingual peers. The study also found that multilingualism is associated with reduced repetitive behaviors and improved communication in autistic children, and it revealed no evidence that learning multiple languages causes developmental language delays.
A new study led by researchers affiliated with UCLA Health adds weight to the growing literature on the cognitive and social benefits of multilingualism. Published in the journal Autism Research, the study reports that parents of children who grow up using more than one language rate their children higher on a range of executive function skills and on several core abilities affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Key findings
- Improved executive function: Multilingual children demonstrated stronger inhibition, better ability to shift attention between tasks, and greater perspective-taking as reported by parents.
- Benefits for autistic children: In autistic children, multilingualism was linked to better social communication, fewer repetitive behaviors, and stronger perspective-taking.
- No evidence of harm: The study found no indication that exposure to multiple languages causes delays in language development; instead, evidence points to possible long-term advantages.
Study details
Researchers initially recruited over 100 children aged 7 to 12 from both monolingual and multilingual households. The sample included both autistic and non-autistic participants, and most multilingual homes used Spanish and English. Parents completed standardized ratings of their children’s executive function and of behaviors commonly affected by ASD. Executive function domains assessed included:
- Inhibition: the ability to suppress impulses or resist distraction;
- Working memory: the capacity to hold and manipulate information in mind;
- Shifting: the flexibility to switch between tasks or mental sets.
Parents also rated skills and behaviors central to autism diagnosis, such as social communication, perspective taking, and repetitive actions. Across the group, multilingual children were reported to have stronger inhibition, better shifting, and higher perspective-taking scores than monolingual children. Importantly, the study detected a significant interaction between diagnosis and multilingual status on inhibition: the beneficial effects of multilingualism on inhibitory control were stronger for children with ASD than for typically developing children.
Lead author Dr. Lucina Uddin, a professor of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at UCLA and director of the UCLA Brain Connectivity and Cognition Laboratory, explained that managing two languages requires suppressing one language while using the other. This constant practice of selecting and inhibiting language options may strengthen cognitive control systems involved in inhibition and shifting, and in turn support better social understanding and communication.
Parents of autistic children sometimes worry that exposure to multiple languages could slow language development. The study’s findings do not support that concern; rather, they indicate no negative effects and suggest potential positive outcomes for both cognitive control and core autism-related behaviors.
Based on these results, the research team plans a larger follow-up study that will recruit roughly 150 autistic children and include more comprehensive tests of executive function and language abilities as well as brain imaging to better understand the neural mechanisms linking multilingual experience with cognitive and social outcomes.
Source: UCLA
About this language and autism research news
Author: Will Houston
Source: UCLA
Contact: Will Houston – UCLA
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Open access. Title: “Multilingualism impacts children’s executive function and core autism symptoms” by Lucina Uddin et al., published in Autism Research. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/aur.3260
Abstract
Multilingualism impacts children’s executive function and core autism symptoms
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by wide variation in executive function (EF) abilities. EF components such as inhibition and shifting are closely related to ASD core symptoms including perspective taking, social communication, and repetitive behavior. Emerging research indicates that multilingual experience may benefit EF, particularly in children with ASD, but a comprehensive understanding of how multilingualism, EF, and ASD-related symptoms interrelate is still developing.
This study examined 7–12-year-old children with and without ASD (N = 116; 53 with ASD; mean age = 9.94 years). Parent-reported measures showed that multilingual children had stronger inhibition, better shifting, and improved perspective-taking compared with monolingual children. The analysis revealed a notable interaction between diagnosis and multilingual status for inhibition: multilingual effects on inhibitory control were more pronounced in children with ASD than in typically developing peers. Additionally, the study found evidence that multilingualism indirectly benefited perspective taking, social communication, and repetitive behaviors through improvements in executive function skills. These findings suggest that multilingual experience may strengthen EF and help reduce certain ASD-related symptoms, supporting the value of maintaining and celebrating multiple languages in the home environment.