LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 20:2 February 2020
ISSN 1930-2940

Editors:
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         T. Deivasigamani, Ph.D.
         Pammi Pavan Kumar, Ph.D.
         Soibam Rebika Devi, M.Sc., Ph.D.

Managing Editor & Publisher: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.

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Effect of Language Intervention on Mean Length of Utterance in Monolingual and Bilingual Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders in a Multi-Ethnic-Lingual Context

Sunitha Sendhilnathan, MASLP, M.A. (Psychology) &
Shyamala K. Chengappa, Ph.D.

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of language intervention in English on twenty monolingual (only English) and twenty bilingual (English and anyone of the Mother Tongue Language) children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, aged between 4;0 and 6;11 years, in Singapore. Each participant received language intervention for six months. Mean Length of Utterance was computed at the baseline and after twenty-four weeks of language intervention. The results revealed statistically significant increase in the vocabulary growth in English in both the study groups, but no significance was indicated between the groups. The study indicated that bilingual exposure in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders does not have any negative impact in their language development.

Keywords: Monolingual, Bilingual, Mean Length of Utterance, Language Intervention

Introduction

Language is the main vehicle for communication and its development is a complex, dynamic process influenced by the child’s age, language exposure, and social interaction (Fierro-Coba & Chan, 2001). It is all the more complex in children with developmental disorders, especially if they are exposed to more than one language. Many researches have emerged about children with a variety of language difficulties who are exposed to more than one language (Kohnert, Windsor & Ebert, 2008, Tomblin, Zhang, Buckwalter & O'Brien, 2003). There are various studies conducted in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and the effect of bilingual exposure in their vocabulary and language development (Hambly & Fombonne, 2012, Petersen, Marinova-Todd, & Mirenda, 2012, Ohashi, Mirenda, Todd, Hambly, Fombonne, Szatmari, Bryson, Roberts, Smith, Vaillancourt, Volden, Waddell, & Zwaigenbaum, 2012, Seung, Siddiqi, &. Elder in 2006.

Language Intervention in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Thordardottir (2006) stated that, “the core features of ASD include impairments in social communication . . .” which further highlighted the importance that communication serves a large role in the outcome of someone’s quality of life. Through communication we express our wants, desires and basic needs. Notredaeme & Hutzelmeyer, in 2010, (as cited in Taylor, F. 2012) found that, when studying individuals with pervasive developmental disorders, the most prominent concern of parents which causes them to seek professional assistance is communication impairments, followed by social interaction behaviors. Though there are several studies in this line, there’s always a dilemma among parents of children with ASD, whether exposing their children to two languages, e.g. English in school and language intervention, Mother-tongue language in home, have any negative impact on the child’s language development. Nevertheless, there have been limited studies investigating the effect of language intervention in bilingual and monolingual children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Parents of children with language impairments sometimes wonder about the impact of second language on their child.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Address for contact:

Sunitha Sendhilnathan (First Author)
Ph.D. Student (External Candidate)
Head, Speech and Language Pathology Dept.
Cerebral Palsy Alliance Singapore, Singapore 519 529
Ph No. +65 94895636
sunithasendhil@gmail.com

Dr. Shyamala K. Chengappa
Professor in Language Pathology (Retd.)
Dept. of Speech and Language Pathology
All India Institute of Speech and Hearing
Mysuru – 570 006, Karnataka
India
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