Table 4.
Data Extraction and Synthesis (sample’s characteristics and basic findings of the articles included in the review).
| Study | N of BwASD | Gender (M/F) |
Age [Range] (Years) |
Language and Communication (Social) Assessment | Language Dimensions and Communication | Country/Languages (L1–L2) |
Findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [37] | 28 | 24/4 | 10; 3 [9; 1–11; 9] |
1. Expressive Vocabulary test in Greek [41] 2. Writing task on A4 paper (pen and pencil testing) |
Phonological, grammatical, and orthographic (spelling and punctuation). | Greece (Greek–Albanian) |
Bilinguals with ASD were more challenged in punctuation compared to bilinguals with DLD. |
| [38] | 29 | 20/9 | 10, 4 [7, 2 to 15, 6] |
1. Expressive Vocabulary test in Greek [41] 2. Sentence Repetition Task (COST Action IS0804)—syntactic complexity [42] 3. Sentence repetition subtest of the CELF-4 [43] |
Pragmatics, Syntax | Greece (Greek–Albanian) |
In the sentence repetition task, bilinguals scored higher than monolinguals in complex sentences, specifically in adverbial and relative clauses. |
| [39] | 20 | 16/4 | 10; 2 [8; 1 to 12; 2] |
1. Expressive Vocabulary in Greek [41] 2. Online listening sentence–picture verification task [44] Sentence repetition task (COST Action IS0804) [42] |
Morphology–pronoun resolution skills | Greece (Greek–Albanian) |
Bilingualism was not detrimental to the autistic children’s pronoun resolution skills, suggesting that having acquired more than one language does not negatively affect ASD children’s deficits in the comprehension of pronouns. |
| [40] | 20 | 20/0 | [7; 7–11; 9] | 1. Expressive Vocabulary in Greek [41] 2. Sentence repetition task (COST Action IS0804) [42] 3. Narrative production task [45] |
Language screening for narrative ability | Greece (ten = Albanian-, three = English-, two = Russian-, two = Swedish-, two = German-, and one = Ukrainian-speaking) |
1. Bilingualism enhances micro- and macro-structure storytelling skills in ASD children. 2. Bilingualism mitigates children’s detail-oriented processing style in ASD. 3. ASD Bilinguals employ a broader range of executive functions in storytelling than monolinguals. |
BwASD: Bilinguals with Autism Spectrum Disorder; CELF-4: Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals; PPVT-III: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Tests-III; EVT: Expressive Vocabulary Test; TLD: typical Language Developing; HFA: High-functioning Autism.