The ABCCD Project
Autism, Bilingualism, Cognitive and Communicative Development
Background
A substantial number of parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are reluctant to maintain a bilingual environment as they fear bilingualism may exacerbate language difficulties. Yet, preliminary studies suggest that being bilingual or multilingual may be beneficial to children with ASD in some areas that are generally difficult for these children, such as communication and cognition. The first results seem very encouraging and need to be tested on a larger scale, which is what we are aiming to do in our current study.
Project description
The ABCCD research team aims to find out if bilingualism can be beneficial for the development of cognition and communication in children with and without Autism. We will be carrying out a large-scale, longitudinal study involving different international collaborations. Our project will last 2 years, will take place in Switzerland, Europe and in North America and will test about 300 children through playful activities on tablets and computers, with games available in 5 languages: French, English, German, Italian and Spanish.
Objectives
On different tasks, the cognitive (e.g., Theory of Mind, Executive Functions) and communicative (e.g., use and comprehension of gestures, metalinguistic skills) abilities of both bi- and monolingual children with ASD and bi- and monolingual typical developing children will be assessed. By this, we aim to understand which skills are negatively affected by autism, and which may be boosted by bilingualism.
Timeline
The recruitment of participants is currently taking place. A first testing phase for all children is launched between March and August 2023. One year later, in 2024, a second testing phase will be carried out in order to see how performance evolves over time.
Partnerships and collaborations
Different partnerships and collaborations with other universities and institutions have been established to reach a sizable number of participants.
Scientific and social implications
The ABCCD findings promise to have both theoretical and practical implications. For example, they may help us better understand how experience shapes the mind, and they may help us create evidence-based language policies for the autistic community.