Thread by @autisticats

One of my lifelong special interests is language learning.

That might seem strange because autistic people are seen as uninterested in communication, and the whole purpose of language is communication.

But I actually think being autistic helps me learn new languages.

I am a native English speaker who had some degree of fluency in Spanish as a child (I lived in Texas and was in bilingual classrooms in elementary school).

For seven years, starting in middle school, I learned Mandarin Chinese.

Now, I’m learning Scottish Gaelic.

I’ve always loved language.

When I was in first and second grade, I voluntarily took Spanish spelling tests in addition to the English ones.

In middle and high school, my Mandarin teachers told me that I have a natural ear for language and a gift for language learning.

I think this is because language is essentially just a series of patterns built from smaller chunks.

I’m good at perceiving the small units of sound and symbols, and evaluating how they are arranged.

This focus on pattern and detail is an extremely common autistic trait.

Not all autistic people are naturally inclined towards language learning.

Many find it difficult, especially if they have significant auditory processing or speech challenges.

The way I learn language isn’t the typical way, either. I process slowly and need extra time.

The fact that autistic people may have challenges with language should not prevent us from being given the opportunity to be multilingual.

Bilingualism can help autistic people stay socially connected and it might increase cognitive flexibility too: scientificamerican.com/article/for-ch…

Autistic people need to be given access to all sorts of language, and that means not limiting us to what others “think we can handle.”

This is a big issue for autistic children of non-English speaking people who live in predominantly English speaking countries.

As the article outlines, “experts” often tell parents to limit their autistic child to one language (which is often English).

This puts up a barrier between the child and their family, which can be devastating especially since autistic people are often socially isolated anyway.

Autistic children demonstrate the same ability to be bilingual that non-autistic children do.

We should not be deprived of a key way to access meaningful connection with other people.

AAC systems can be programmed in multiple languages, etc.

Give us chances to explore.