COMPARING EARLY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN MONOLINGUAL AND BILINGUAL YOUNG CHILDREN WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore and compare language development between monolingual and bilingual children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. This qualitative research utilized structured interviews for data collection. A sample of 22 children with ASD and their parents participated in the study. The demographic form and a self-developed questionnaire were employed as research tools. According to the findings, the parents of monolingual children reported that their children faced significant challenges in nearly all areas of daily life, requiring constant support and functioning below the level of typically developing peers. In contrast, parents of bilingual children indicated that their children could perform most tasks similar to typically developing children, although they did encounter some difficulties in specific areas. Regarding speech abilities, parents of monolingual children reported limited verbal communication and noted that their children were often difficult to understand. Conversely, parents of bilingual children stated that their children were able to communicate verbally, albeit with some speech errors, and could speak more effectively with support.

Keywords:  Monolingual, bilingual, autistic children, parents