RtR: Theory of Mind via Bilingualism

Welcome back to Reading the Research! I trawl the Internet to find noteworthy research on autism and related subjects to share with you. Along the way I discuss the findings with bits from my own life, research, and observations.

Today’s article suggests a useful approach to teaching theory of mind and associated skills to autistic people.

Theory of mind, for those who aren’t familiar, is a person’s ability to understand how another person might be feeling. It’s the metaphorical “putting yourself in another person’s shoes,” and it’s also part of empathy. It’s also the ability to recognize other peoples’ knowledge, beliefs, emotions, and intents might be different from your own.

Social skills training, including teaching theory of mind, is a common service for autistic people, especially as we get older. Such training is expensive and complicated. What if there was a way to start it young, rather than playing catch-up later?

Surprise! There is: learning two languages at once. The skills needed to learn two languages and select which one to use when talking to people translate into regular practice with both theory of mind and executive functioning. Practicing those skills makes them easier. And the constant practice means the person will become fast and efficient in using those skills. As a bonus, they now have multiple ways to verbally express themself. If you can’t think of the word you want in English, maybe you can in Spanish or Chinese.

Other Benefits

This is more difficult to make happen in the US than it would be in Europe. But it’s still quite possible. Making connections with immigrants in your area can benefit your family and theirs. One of the lessons of neurodiversity is that diversity makes life better and richer. There’s a lot to learn from other cultures. And immigrants are often very giving, hard-working community people. Trading timeslots watching the kids so others can take some time off is quite normal for them. Plus it eases the burden on everyone.

A bilingual person also has more opportunities available to them when they grow up. It never hurts these days to be able to speak Spanish, especially in the service industry. In the business world, speaking Chinese or Japanese can be very helpful for talking to business partners.

I personally think that even if you grow up monolingual, like I did, it’s worth learning another language or two. Learning about other cultures and other ways of thinking and speaking can really help you see the world in a different way. And for some autistic people, living in another country is the ticket to being treated like a human instead of a weirdo. The locals are more forgiving of mistakes. Errors are simply attribute any strangeness to the fact that you’re foreign.

That’s an experience I’ve never had, but it’s something I really wish I had.

(Pst! If you like seeing the latest autism-relevant research, visit my Twitter! There are links and comments on studies that were interesting, but didn’t get a whole Reading the Research article about them.)