Bilingualism, Autism, and Mental Health: Implications for Social Work

Bilingual children with autism grow up in families navigating complex social, cultural, and structural contexts. In addition to challenges common to many families, they may experience distinct stressors related to migration, minoritized language status, and navigating differences between home cultural norms and those of the dominant society. Language guidance in autism care refers to clinical and professional recommendations about family language use, including whether and how multiple languages are supported in home, educational, and therapeutic settings. Because language practices structure daily interaction, caregiving routines, and children's access to relationships and community, such guidance can meaningfully influence family routines, emotional connection, and access to culturally grounded support networks that are important for mental health and well-being. This conceptual editorial, based on the existing interdisciplinary literature, examines bilingualism through a social work perspective, discussing how practitioners can support families in ways that respect both neurodiversity and cultural identity. Culturally responsive and intersectional approaches enable social workers to consider overlapping social identities, structural factors, and community networks that shape mental health outcomes. By facilitating informed family decision-making and integrating language guidance with broader community support, social workers can help families maintain connection, resilience, and agency. Considering bilingualism as a meaningful aspect of development allows social workers to support family well-being, promote equity, and provide community-based support in autism care.