Researchers at McGill University in Canada came to the conclusion that bilingualism helps children with autism spectrum disorders (RAS) to switch more quickly from one task to another - with PAS this process can cause difficulties for children.
Many modern psychologists talk about "bilingual advantage" (bilingual advantage). According to this view, the use of several languages ??in everyday life improves the executive functions of the brain: the ability to plan their actions, respond to different types of situations, pay attention to more priority incentives. Bilingualism is also useful for cognitive flexibility - the ability to switch from one thought or task to another. Most often this effect is considered in terms of benefits for people without neurological disorders. According to the authors of the new work, they were among the first to study the influence of bilingualism on the development of children with RAS.
The experiment involved 40 children aged six to nine years. Half of the children diagnosed any autism spectrum disorder, others did not have neurological disorders. Also, 50% of the participants in the work were bilinguals, the rest owned only one language. A total of 10 children were included in each study group. They were randomly shown images of two types: blue rabbits and red boats. Children were asked to sort images by color, choosing blue or red. Then the task changed, it was necessary to sort by type of object.
It turned out that among children with RAS bilinguals coped better with more complex tests for "switching". Their parents reported that in everyday life these children "switched" easier. Researchers believe that these results will help parents of children with RAS more rationally plan their education. There is an opinion that the need to use several languages ??can exacerbate the difficulties with cognitive flexibility and speech in a child with autism. The results of the new work indicate the opposite.
Scientists plan to monitor the development of children participating in the study during the next 3-5 years. This will reveal how bilingualism affects cognitive flexibility in the long run.
The study is published in the journal Child Development.