How do parents scaffold their autistic children's bilingual language interactions in everyday settings?

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Developmental Psychology
• Special Education

Background:

• Historical recommendations advised monolingual English use for autistic children's language development.
• This approach overlooks the linguistic resources of multilingual families.
• Multilingualism is viewed as a practice transcending mere linguistic competence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine how multilingual caregivers utilize their linguistic resources to support autistic children's language development.
• To challenge the deficit-based narrative surrounding multilingualism and autism.
• To inform asset-based intervention strategies.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 108 videos from five Spanish-dominant, Mexican heritage families.
• Utilized a critical language socialization framework.
• Examined caregiver-child interactions during daily activities over 10 days.

Main Results:

• Families flexibly employed a range of linguistic resources in daily interactions.
• Transportation activities facilitated decontextualized language, abstract reasoning, and prediction.
• Variability in maternal scaffolding strategies impacted children's decontextualized language use.

Conclusions:

• Multilingualism is a valuable asset in supporting autistic children's language development.
• Intervention strategies should be asset-based, leveraging family strengths.
• Home activity settings and caregiver scaffolding play crucial roles in language acquisition.