Description

How can a child suddenly start speaking a language no one around them uses? This Mind the Kids episode, “When language surprises – unexpected bilingualism in autism” dives into the striking phenomenon of autistic children spontaneously acquiring and using a language that is absent from their home, school, and social world. Drawing on new research, host Mark Tebbs speaks to David Gagnon, and Dr. Alexia Ostrolenk, on this topic, and their JCPP paper. With minimally speaking autistic children, the discussion explains what unexpected bilingualism is, why it challenges traditional ideas about the role of social interaction in language learning, and how it can reveal an alternative pathway into language. Listeners will hear how parents first notice these surprising language skills, why they may be both confusing and hopeful, and what this means for supporting communication and designing interventions. The episode offers clear take home messages for families, educators, and clinicians on recognising hidden abilities, following a child’s interests (from letters and numbers to YouTube subtitles), and rethinking “plateau” periods as times of invisible but important development. For more details read the JCPP paper ‘Early manifestations of unexpected bilingualism in minimally verbal autism’ David Gagnon, Alexia Ostrolenk, Laurent Mottron https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70032

Learning Objectives

1. Define unexpected bilingualism (UB) and recognise how unexpected bilingualism may indicate alternative pathways for language acquisition in autism.

2. Explore how some autistic children can learn languages without social interaction, thus challenging traditional views on language acquisition.

3. Examine how the plateau phenomenon in language development may mask underlying cognitive growth in autistic children.

4. Understand that research shows that autistic children can exhibit unexpected language skills, even when minimally verbal.

5. Discover how language acquisition in autistic children may not follow typical developmental milestones and why interventions for language learning in autism may need to be tailored to individual needs and cognitive pathways.

6. Parents often express surprise when children use unexpected languages, highlighting the need for awareness.

7. The need for future research to focus on longitudinal studies to track language development in autistic children.

Paper Link

https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70032