Abstract
Special education policies recognize the need for developing and preserving the heritage languages of individuals with disabilities. Yet there seems to be a disconnect between policy and practice. Should the heritage languages of bilingual individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders be incorporated into interventions? This review evaluated 18 studies that examined the effects of heritage language instruction on treatment outcomes for individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders. Overall, results suggest a small effect favoring interventions delivered in the heritage language versus interventions delivered solely in the majority language. In general, studies were also found to be of high-quality according to What Works Clearinghouse Standards. Findings are discussed in terms of recommendations for future research and practice.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th edn.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
American Psychological Association. (2006). Evidence-based practice in psychology. American Psychologist, 61, 271–285. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.61.4.271.
American Psychological Association. (2017). Multicultural guidelines: An ecological approach to context, identity, and intersectionality. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/about/policy/multicultural-guidelines.aspx.
ASHA. (n.d.). Bilingual service delivery: Key issues. Retrieved from https://www.asha.org/PRPSpecificTopic.aspx?folderid=8589935225§ion=Key_Issues.
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2017). Cultural Diversity. Retrieved from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/2024.0Main%20Features22016?opendocument&tabname=Summary&prodno=2024.0&issue=2016&num=&view=.
Cheatham, G. A., Santos, R., & Kerkutluoglu, A. (2012). Review of comparison studies investigating bilingualism and bilingual instruction for students with disabilities. Focus on Exceptional Children, 45(3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.17161/fec.v45i3.6681.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd edn.). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Common, E. A., Lane, K. L., Pustejovsky, J. E., Johnson, A. H., & Johl, L. E. (2017). Functional assessment–based interventions for students with or at-risk for high-incidence disabilities: Field testing single-case synthesis methods. Remedial and Special Education, 38, 331–352. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932517693320.
Cooper, H. (2015). Research synthesis and meta-analysis: A step-by-step approach. Thousand Oaks: Sage.
Corbeil, J. P. (2015). Linguistic characteristics of Canadians. Retrieved from http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-314-x/98-314-x2011001-eng.cfm.
Dalmau, Y. C. P., Wacker, D. P., Harding, J. W., Berg, W. K., Schieltz, K. M., Lee, J. F., … Kramer, A. R. (2011). A preliminary evaluation of functional communication training effectiveness and language preference when Spanish and English are manipulated. Journal of Behavioral Education, 20, 233–251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-011-9131-z.
de Valenzuela, J. S., Bird, E. K.-R., Parkington, K., Mirenda, P., Cain, K., MacLeod, A. A. N., & Segers, E. (2016). Access to opportunities for bilingualism for individuals with developmental disabilities: Key informant interviews. Journal of Communication Disorders, 63, 32–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.05.005.
Drysdale, H., van der Meer, L., & Kagohara, D. (2015). Children with autism spectrum disorder from bilingual families: A systematic review. Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2, 26–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-014-0032-7.
Durán, E., & Heiry, T. J. (1986). Comparison of Spanish only, Spanish and English, and English only cues with handicapped students. Reading Improvement, 23, 138–141.
Ebert, K. D., Kohnert, K., Pham, G., Disher, J. R., & Payesteh, B. (2014). Three treatments for bilingual children with primary language impairment: Examining cross-linguistic and cross-domain effects. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57, 172–186. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2013/12-0388).
Gutiérrez-Clellen, V., Simon-Cereijido, G., & Sweet, M. (2012). Predictors of second language acquisition in Latino children with specific language impairment. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 21, 64–77. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2011/10-0090).
Hampton, S., Rabagliati, H., Sorace, A., & Fletcher-Watson, S. (2017). Autism and bilingualism: A qualitative interview study of parents’ perspectives and experiences. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 60, 435–446. https://doi.org/10.1044/2016_JSLHR-L-15-0348.
Institute of Education Sciences. (2017). What Works Clearinghouse standards handbook version 4.0. Retrieved from https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Docs/referenceresources/wwc_standards_handbook_v4.pdf.
Kay-Raining Bird, E., Cleave, P., Trudeau, N., Thordardottier, E., Sutton, A., & Thorpe, A. (2005). The language abilities of bilingual children with down syndrome. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 14, 187–199. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2005/019).
Kay-Raining Bird, E., Genesee, F., & Verhoeven, L. (2016). Bilingualism in children with developmental disorders: A narrative review. Journal of Communication Disorders, 63, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.07.003.
Kay-Raining Bird, E., Lamond, E., & Holden, J. (2012). Survey of bilingualism in autism spectrum disorders. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 47, 52–64. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-6984.2011.00071.x.
Kohnert, K., Yim, D., Nett, K., Kan, P. F., & Duran, L. (2005). Intervention with linguistically diverse preschool children: a focus on developing home language(s). Language, Speech and Hearing Services in the Schools, 36, 251–263. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2005/025).
Kratochwill, T. R., Hitchcock, J. H., Horner, R. H., Levin, J. R., Odom, S. L., Rindskopf, D. M., & Shadish, W. R. (2013). Single-case intervention research design standards. Remedial and Special Education, 34, 26–38. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741932512452794.
Kremer-Sadlik, T. (2005). To be or not to be bilingual: Autistic children from multilingual families. In J. Cohen, K. McAlister, K. Rolstad, & J. MacSwan (Eds.), Proceedings of the 4th international symposium on bilingualism (pp. 1225–1234). Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.
León, A. L. (2016). Evaluating the effects of tact training in two languages on the acquisition of tacts and untrained listener responses (Master’s thesis.). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order No. 10289910).
León, A. L., & Rosales, R. (2018). Effects of bilingual tact instruction for a child with communication disorder. Journal of Behavioral Education, 27, 81–100. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10864-017-9272-9.
Lim, N., O’Reilly, M. F., Sigafoos, J., & Lancioni, G. E. (2018). Understanding the linguistic needs of diverse individuals with autism spectrum disorder: Some comments on the research literature and suggestions for clinicians. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48, 2890–2895. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3532-y.
Manz, P. H., Fantuzzo, J. W., & McDermott, P. A. (1999). The parent version of the preschool Social Skills Rating Scale: An analysis of its use with low-income, ethnic minority children. School Psychology Review, 28, 493–501. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282913483977.
Marian, V., & Shook, A. (2012). The cognitive benefits of being bilingual. Cerebrum: The Dana forum on brain science (Vol. 2012). New York: Dana Foundation.
Mitchell, C. (2016, January). Need for bilingual educators moves school recruitment abroad. Education Week, 35(19), Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/01/27/need-for-bilingual-educators-moves-school-recruitment.html.
Moeyaert, M., Maggin, D., & Verkuilen, J. (2016). Reliability, validity, and usability of data extraction programs for single-case research designs. Behavior Modification, 40, 874–900. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445516645763.
Moher, D., Liberati, A., Tetzlaff, J., & Altman, D. G. (2010). Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. International Journal of Surgery, 8, 336–341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsu.2010.02.007.
Moher, D., Shamseer, L., Clarke, M., Ghersi, D., Liberati, A., Petticrew, M., … Stewart, L. A. (2015). Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement. Systematic Reviews, 4, 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-4053-4-1.
NIH. (2017). Cultural respect. Retrieved from https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-office-director/office-communications-public-liaison/clear-communication/cultural-respect.
Ohashi, J. K., Mirenda, P., Marinova-Todd, S., Hambly, C., Fombonne, E., Szatmari, P., … Thompson, A. (2012). Comparing early language development in monolingual- and bilingual- exposed young children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6, 890–897. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2011.12.002.
Olvera, P., & Olvera, V. I. (2015). Bilingual school psychology: Challenges and opportunities. Contemporary School Psychology, 19, 165–172. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40688-014-0034-6.
Paradis, J., Crago, M., Genesee, F., & Rice, M. (2003). French-English bilingual children with SLI: how do they compare with their monolingual peers? Journal of Speech, Langage, and Hearing Research, 46, 113–127. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2003/er01).
Parker, R. I., & Vannest, K. (2009). An improved effect size for single-case research: nonoverlap of all pairs. Behavior Therapy, 40, 357–367. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2008.10.006.
Perozzi, J. A., & Sanchez, M. L. C. (1992). The effect of instruction in L1 on receptive acquisition of L2 for bilingual children with language delay. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 23, 348–352. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461.2304.348.
Pesco, D., MacLeod, A. A. N., Kay-Raining Bird, E., Cleave, P., Trudeau, N., de Valenzuela, J. S., … Verhoeven, L. (2016). A multi-site review of policies affecting opportunities for children with developmental disabilities to become bilingual. Journal of Communication Disorders, 63, 15–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.05.008.
Pham, G., Ebert, K. D., & Kohnert, K. (2015). Bilingual children with primary language impairment: 3 months after treatment. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 50, 94–105. https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12123.
Pham, G., Kohnert, K., & Mann, D. (2011). Addressing clinician–client mismatch: A preliminary intervention study with a bilingual Vietnamese–English preschooler. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 42, 408–422. https://doi.org/10.1044/0161-1461(2011/10-0073).
Pustejovsky, J. E. (2017). Single-case effect size calculator (Version 0.2) [Online calculator]. Retrieved from https://jepusto.shinyapps.io/SCD-effect-sizes/.
Pustejovsky, J. E. (2018). Using response ratios for meta-analyzing single-case designs with behavioral outcomes. Journal of School Psychology, 68, 99–112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2018.02.003.
Reichow, B., & Volkmar, F. R. (2010). Social skills interventions for individuals with autism: Evaluation for evidence-based practices within a best evidence synthesis framework. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 40, 149–166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0842-0.
Restrepo, M. A., Morgan, G. P., & Thompson, M. S. (2013). The efficacy of a vocabulary intervention for dual-language learners with language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56, 748–765. https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2012/11-0173).
Rivera, C. (2011). A comparison of Spanish and English multimedia shared story interventions on the acquisition of English vocabulary words for English language learners with an intellectual disability (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order No. 3474330).
Rivera, C. J., Wood, C. L., & Spooner, F. (2012). Comparative effects of Spanish and English vocabulary instruction for English language learners with moderate intellectual disability. Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Exceptional Learners, 13, 42–55.
Rohatgi, A. (2018). WebPlotDigitizer (Version 4.1) [Online data extraction software]. Retrieved from https://automeris.io/WebPlotDigitizer/citation.html.
Rohena, E. I., Jitendra, A. K., & Browder, D. M. (2002). Comparison of the effects of Spanish and English constant time delay instruction on sight word reading by hispanic learners with mental retardation. The Journal of Special Education, 36, 171–186. https://doi.org/10.1177/00224669020360030701.
Ryan, C. (2013). Language use in the United States: 2011: American Community Survey Reports. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf.
Silva, J. M., Langhout, R. D., Kohfeldt, D., & Gurrola, E. (2015). “Good” and “bad” kids? A race and gender analysis of effective behavioral support in an elementary school. Urban Education, 50, 787–811. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085914534859.
Simon-Cereijido, G., Gutierrez-Clellen, V. F., & Sweet, M. (2013). Predictors of growth or attrition of the first language in Latino children with specific language impairment. Applied Psycholinguistics, 34, 1219–1243.
Thompson, B., & Winsler, A. (2018). Parent-teacher agreement on social skills and behavior problems among ethnically diverse preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3570-5. (Advance online publication).
Thordardottir, E., Cloutier, G., Ménard, S., Pelland-Blais, E., & Rvachew, S. (2015). Monolingual or bilingual intervention for primary language impairment? A randomized control trial. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 58, 287–300. https://doi.org/10.1044/2014_JSLHR-L-13-0277.
Thordardottir, E. T., Weismer, S. E., & Smith, M. E. (1997). Vocabulary learning in bilingual and monolingual clinical intervention. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 13, 215–227. https://doi.org/10.1177/026565909701300301.
U.S. Department of Education. (2017). The condition of education 2017. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp.
Valicenti-McDermott, M., Tarshis, N., Schouls, M., Galdston, M., Hottinger, K., Seijo, R., … Shinnar, S. (2013). Language differences between monolingual English and bilingual English-Spanish young children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Child Neurology, 28, 945–948. https://doi.org/10.1177/0883073812453204.
Vaughn, J. L. (2014). An evaluation of English versus Spanish language choice during conversation training intervention for children with autism (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (Order No. 3612044).
Ware, J., Lye, C. B., & Fliss, K. (2015). Bilingualism and students (learners) with intellectual disability: A review. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 12, 220–231. https://doi.org/10.1111/jppi.12124.
Wilson, D. B. (n.d.). Practical meta-analysis effect size calculator [Online calculator]. Retrieved from https://www.campbellcollaboration.org/effect-size-calculato.html.
Yu, B. (2013). Issues in bilingualism and heritage language maintenance: Perspectives of minority-language mothers of children with autism spectrum disorders. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 22, 10–24. https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2012/10-0078).
Zhou, V., Munson, J. A., Greenson, J., Hou, Y., Rogers, S., & Estes, A. M. (2017). An exploratory longitudinal study of social and language outcomes in children with autism in bilingual home environments. Autism: The International Journal Of Research And Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361317743251. (Advance online publication)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
NL was responsible for the conception of the study, the aquisition, analysis and intrepretation of the data, as well as the drafting and revising of the manuscirpt. MFO contributed to the conception of the study, the intrepretation of the data, as well as the revising of the manuscript. JS contributed to the intrepretation of data and the revising of the manuscript. KL-C made substantial contributions to the acquisition and analysis of data. GEL contributed to the revising of the manuscript. All authors have given final approval of the version to be published.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
All Authors declared that they have has no conflict of interest.
Human and Animal Rights Statement
This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lim, N., O’Reilly, M.F., Sigafoos, J. et al. Should Heritage Languages be Incorporated into Interventions for Bilingual Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Disorders? A Systematic Review. J Autism Dev Disord 49, 887–912 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3790-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3790-8