Lockdowns might have helped bilingual autistic children

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Increased time at home due to coronavirus lockdowns may have supported the communication development of bilingual autistic children, argues a new study published in Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

Increased parental involvement with children's learning and greater opportunities to speak their first language with caregivers, family and friends, also supported their progress, the research says. Parents reported being more "present" with their children, who were therefore more exposed to heritage languages such as Hindi.

Children were not able to engage with therapists online, but parents consulted them and acted on their advice so they had "indirect" support instead. Many parents took charge of their child's learning, using therapy and school plans as guides.

Increased video calls to relatives abroad were a common occurrence and resulted in increased exposure to heritage languages compared to pre-lockdown.

Researchers Sarah Oudet and Stephanie Durrleman from the University of Fribourg and Katie Howard, from the University of Exeter led the study. They carried out interviews with five bilingual parents of autistic children younger than 6 who lived through lockdown in France.

Sarah Oudet said, "Parents believed that their children's positive communication development during lockdown was related to increased exposure to their first language(s), and direct involvement in their children's learning programs. Lockdown was a time of constructive learning for them.

"All parents mentioned gains in their children's heritage language vocabulary. They reported that lockdown, despite complex difficulties, was an overall positive experience, as they could respond more flexibly to their children's language and learning needs."

The research team are now working on a scoping review, in collaboration with researchers in the UK, France and the U.S., to better understand how parent-led interventions might support the language and communication development of bilingual, autistic children.