Benefits of Multilingual Autism Assessment

Navigating Autism Assessments in Your Child’s First Language

When assessing a child for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), clear and accurate communication is key. While many children from multilingual families are comfortable conversing in English, undergoing an assessment in their primary or native language, while not necessary, can offer additional insights.

At Akira, we offer comprehensive autism assessments in Spanish, Mandarin, and Cantonese, in addition to English. Here are benefits of conducting a multi-lingual assessment:

 

• Richer Behavioral & Emotional Observations: Observing a child in their primary language may allow us to capture richer social engagement and nuances in non-verbal communication that standard English-only testing might underrepresent (Valicenti-McDermott et al., 2012).
• Accurate Language vs. Developmental Differences: It is common for bilingual or multilingual children to experience unique language development patterns. Assessing a child across their linguistic profile helps clinicians distinguish between typical multilingual language acquisition and core developmental differences associated with autism (Gilhuber et al., 2023).
• A Comfort Zone for the Child: Formal testing can feel overwhelming. Children may be more responsive, show higher response accuracy, and display fewer challenging behaviors when evaluated or engaged in their home language, allowing their true social abilities to shine through (Wang et al., 2019).
• Inclusive Family Collaboration: An assessment isn’t just about the child; it’s a partnership with the family. Conducting sessions in the parents’ primary language ensures caregivers can fully participate, share rich developmental context, and express their observations without language barriers getting in the way (Trelles & Castro, 2019). If we do not have a clinician who speaks your native language, we invite you to have a translator join the session.

 

Please contact us to discuss your child’s needs.

 

References

Gilhuber, C. S., Raulston, T. J., & Galley, K. (2023). Language and communication skills in multilingual children on the autism spectrum: A systematic review. Autism, 27(6), 1516-1531. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613221147780

Cited by: 78

 

Trelles, M. P., & Castro, K. (2019). Bilingualism in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Finding Meaning in Translation. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 58(11), 1035-1037. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2019.05.027

Cited by: 63

 

Valicenti-McDermott, M., Tarshis, N., Schouls, M., Galdston, M., Hottinger, K., Seijo, R., Shulman, L., & Shinnar, S. (2012). Language Differences Between Monolingual English and Bilingual English-Spanish Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders. Journal of Child Neurology, 28(8), 945-948. https://doi.org/10.1177/0883073812453204

Cited by: 319

 

Wang, Y., Kang, S., Ramirez, J., & Tarbox, J. (2019). Multilingual Diversity in the Field of Applied Behavior Analysis and Autism: A Brief Review and Discussion of Future Directions. Behavior Analysis in Practice, 12(4), 795-804. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40617-019-00382-1

Cited by: 77

 

 

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