Recent Canadian research has shown that bilingual children with autism can more easily switch between tasks than those who only speak one language. Children between the ages of 6 and 9 in Montreal were asked to sort objects on a screen in different ways, and found that bilingual autistic children “performed significantly better” in the more complex part of the test. Further research is being carried out now with younger children.
Fun fact of the day
A Welsh MP threatened to fast to death in 1980 if Welsh was not accorded reasonable rights. In Wales now, all public bodies are required to offer bilingual services, including communication with the public by letter, telephone, email and websites. More and more private institutions are adopting a similar approach, even when not required to by law. Bilingual signage is now virtually universal.