A Longitudinal Study on Symptom Severity in Early Childhood of Bilingual and Monolingual Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

BACKGROUND

In increasingly globalized and multilingual societies, a key question for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is how bilingual exposure influences their linguistic, cognitive, and social development. This study aimed to investigate the potential impact of a bilingual home environment on the severity and progression of ASD symptoms in children.

METHODS

The study was conducted with 3-year follow-up results of a total of 69 children, 34 with bilingual home situations (BHSs) and 35 with monolingual home situations (MHSs). The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) was applied to assess the severity of the participants' ASD symptoms. Neurodevelopmental evaluations were performed using the Denver Developmental Screening Test II (DDST-II).

RESULTS

No significant differences were determined between the MHS and BHS groups in terms of developmental quotient total (DQt) baseline (p = 0.618), DQt follow-up (p = 0.288), or CARS baseline (p = 0.970) scores. However, CARS follow-up scores, indicative of greater symptom severity, were significantly higher in the BHS group (p = 0.030). While the MHS group showed a notable decrease in CARS scores, the BHS group's scores tended to persist, with the decrease in CARS scores being significantly lower than that observed in the MHS group (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that children with ASD raised in bilingual home environments may exhibit comparatively less improvement in symptom severity over time. The influence of bilingualism on ASD may involve a range of complex linguistic, cognitive, and social factors. Future research should explore these variables in larger, more detailed studies.