A functional analysis of the bilingual language skills of a child with autism spectrum disorder.

What is it about?

We conducted a verbal operant experimental (VOX) analysis of the language skills of a child with autism spectrum disorder from Mexico. The child's heritage language was Spanish, but he had also been exposed to English. The results of the VOX analysis were used to develop an individualized treatment plan for remediating his functional speaking deficits. We found the VOX analysis useful for measuring and monitoring the language skills of a child from a culturally and linguistically diverse background.

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Photo by Giulia May on Unsplash

Photo by Giulia May on Unsplash

Why is it important?

In this present day of globalization, the number of people who speak more than one language has risen sharply. The population of individuals who speak languages other than English at home have tripled between 1980 and 2019. Recent immigration statistics reveal that people coming to the United States are primarily arriving from India, China, and Mexico. People from these countries speak distinct primary languages other than English. While some functional language assessments have been translated into foreign languages, the linguistically diverse populations that do not have access to these resources are marginalized despite their vast numbers. Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that affects people of all racial and ethnic backgrounds. The characteristic feature of ASD includes deficits in social communication, as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. Families of children with ASD who are immigrants are more likely to experience stress, which frequently reflects worries about their children’s communication deficits and challenging behavior in social situations. Recent studies on people with ASD from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds show that being bilingual is not detrimental to an individual’s language development. On the contrary, incorporating their native languages into their interventions may improve treatment outcomes. Despite the language deficits associated with the disorder, individuals with ASD are frequently bilingual.