Autistic Children Learn a Language in a Different Way

Many neurotypical children acquire language through social interaction, for example, by following their caregiver’s gaze to the same object – a skill known as joint attention. However, it appears autistic children acquire language in a completely different way!

Social Training Doesn’t Help

A recent meta-analysis from the Université de Montréal has shown that language acquisition in autistic children occurs independently of their ability to engage in joint attention. It’s long been known that autistic children can have impaired language skills, and the assumption has been that if an autistic child undergoes social training programs to practice their joint attention skills, their language ability will automatically improve. However, this meta-analysis indicates that no significant language learning occurs this way in children with autism! Autistic children haven’t improved their verbal expression skills even after participating in social intervention programs designed to train joint attention.

Children With Asperger’s Are Linguistically Gifted

Professor Laurent Mottron, the person behind the study, points out that many children who previously had a diagnosis of Asperger’s syndrome demonstrate impressive language skills despite having significantly lower social skills. This is further indication that autistic children learn their native language differently than neurotypical children. Furthermore, Mottron notes that many autistic immigrant children learn the language of their host country using digital tools like tablets, and not at all through social interaction.

I Would Have Received Poor Grades Today

This study brings a lot of thoughts to mind. It makes me think back to my school days when certain language teachers wanted me to participate in group games and other social activities in language class with the justification that “I would learn the language even better that way.” The fact that I already had the highest grade in the class in that subject didn’t matter! I strongly felt that these forced games undermined my language ability and that I had instead learned everything by memorizing vocabulary and grammatical rules. Unfortunately, no one believed me! If I had gone to school today, I would likely have received poor grades in languages despite my linguistic aptitude, as today’s schools consist of social activities and group work to a much greater extent than they did in the 1980s and 1990s.

I Avoided Anxiety

The study also made me think back to a grammar course I once took that included several group projects. I managed to convince the teacher to let me do the group assignments individually, but the teacher pointed out that I would miss out on a lot because everyone learns languages and grammar best through social interaction. The teacher was very negative about my request but agreed to it anyway. At the end of the course, we had an exam, and I received the highest grade while many of the classmates I was supposed to work with failed. I still wonder why the teacher was of the opinion that it was very mportant for my learning to participate in group work. I learned the material much faster and more efficiently by doing the assignments individually, and I also avoided burnout and anxiety!

I Have Often Felt Defective

I really hope that future teachers start focusing on students learning instead of how they learn! I’ve often felt defective because I learn in a way that’s considered “wrong” by society. My parents have told me that all the group work and social games in the classroom are a modern invention. During their time at school in 1950s Finland, teachers only taught using behaviorist learning methods. “Learning by doing” and sociocultural learning weren’t relevant at all back then. That’s why I often wish I had gone to school in the 1950s!

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