Bilingualism, Autism and Thinking Skills

Me.

Hello! مرحبا! こんにちは!

Thank you for stopping by.

My name is Shereen Sharaan. I’m from Egypt, born and raised in a miracle country built on a magical desert…the United Arab Emirates. At age 18, I left the sands to launch my higher education journey. During this journey, I resided in several countries (Japan, Germany, United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates), through which I acquired several multilingual and multicultural experiences. Somewhere along the way, I was introduced to an advanced psychology course named ‘The Psychology of Bilingualism’ which opened my eyes to a world of research exploring the relationship between: knowing more than one language and our ability to think and understand social information.

Moreover, throughout my entire life, I had been actively involved in the field of autism as a support worker but also as a sister to an inspirational younger autistic brother who became the first autistic child in the UAE to attend mainstream school, graduate high school, and join the workforce. Therefore, when the time came to select my PhD dissertation topic, it seemed clear that I should focus on the one that directly grew out of my personal experiences: bilingualism and autism. To my surprise, I found this interface received very little attention in the scientific community.

BILINGUALISM

What is it? How big of a deal is it?

Broadly speaking, it refers to the knowledge of more than one language (includes oral and sign language). But, who can be termed ‘bilingual’? Well, there really is no universal definition 🙂 Generally speaking, you’re bilingual if:

– you’re exposed to two languages from birth or a very early age.

– you’re exposed to the second language during childhood, after the first language is somewhat established.

– you’re exposed to the second language after childhood.

– you possess equal abilities in two languages.

– you possess unequal abilities in two languages.

EXECUTIVE FUNCTION

What is it? How big of a deal is it?

A group of important thinking skills that allow us to set goals and get things done. We use executive function everyday, in ALL aspects of our lives.

We tend to notice executive function when things go wrong. Like, have you ever accidentally poured coffee in your cereal instead of milk? Have you ever promised yourself you would pass by the supermarket on your way home, but ended up accidentally driving all the way home instead? You might say: “my head was in the clouds”, but what’s really happening is that you’re experiencing a slip in your executive function. Executive function skills include:

– Working Memory (the ability to hold new information in mind)

– Sustained Attention (the ability to focus over a period of time)

– Interference control (the ability to resist distractions)

– Flexible Switching (the ability to switch thinking from one concept to another)

An example of using all 4 skills at once? Learning to drive!

AUTISM, BILINGUALISM, AND EXECUTIVE FUNCTION

What do we know?

We know that executive function could be a potentially challenging area for some autistic individuals.

We know that executive function could be potentially enhanced by bilingualism.

We know there is limited evidence on the impact of bilingualism on the executive function skills of autistic individuals. In fact, when I started my PhD in 2016, there were ZERO published studies on autism, bilingualism, and executive function.

We know that autistic individuals are often discouraged and excluded from being bilingual. There is a worldwide widespread belief that autistic children will be “overloaded” by a second language because it will be “too difficult / confusing / burdening” for them, especially if they present with language delays in their first language. However, there is no evidence that bilingualism negatively affects language or cognitive development in autistic individuals.

This is an important area of research because more than half the world is bilingual – and there are growing concerns from parents, educators, practitioners and policy makers about raising autistic children with more than one language. If autistic people do not receive equal access to languages like their typically developing peers do, they will be excluded from important life contexts as they are left unable to access their identities, families, communities, education, leisure and professional opportunities.

What does my project aim to do?

My study explores the impact of bilingualism on the executive function skills of autistic children. This means two groups of autistic children are recruited into the study – bilingual and monolingual. I compare their performance on computerized and real-life measures of executive function. I also explore the relationship between executive function performance and autistic symptoms, in addition to investigating which bilingualism experiences can impact executive function performance (e.g., proficiency in languages, language switching behaviors, etc.).

My research participants are residents of the United Arab Emirates, a unique country that presents multilinguals in a large variety of cultural and linguistic variations. A pilot study takes place first in the United Kingdom, to pilot appropriate measures to test executive functions in autistic children.

Where is the project now?

I am DELIGHTED to report I was officially awarded my PhD in Psychology in February 2021 from the University of Edinburgh, after an unbelievable 4-year UK-UAE research journey at the interface of bilingualism, autism, and thinking skills!

(The red velvet cake below marks the end of my UAE data collection phase of 13 excruciating months, devoured just a few hours before my departure flight back to the UK :))

I am currently based in Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates), to facilitate further neurodiversity research in this beautiful part of the world. You see, I am passionate about collecting research data from the Middle East and securing international research collaborations – to diversify psychology / autism research. This is because it has typically focused on WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic) research samples, which represent approximately 80% of research participants but only 10% of the world’s population!

(cool picture of an actual road in the sands / UAE! :D)

Thank you to a whopping 22 UAE organizations (below – autism centers, mainstream schools, and universities) for participating in one of the largest research collaborations in PhD research on autism 🙂

Who is working on this project?

This research project is my PhD. Led by me, Dr. Shereen Sharaan, at the University of Edinburgh, under the fab supervision of Dr. Sue Fletcher-Watson (Psychiatry) and Dr. Sarah MacPherson (Psychology).

The proposed research benefits from the collaboration of two leading academic departments within the University of Edinburgh. The Department of Psychology is a leading research centre, with its research considered the best in Scotland and 4th best in the UK and is internationally renowned for its postgraduate programmes in psychology. The Patrick Wild Centre in the Division of Psychiatry is a multidisciplinary research centre aimed at understanding the pathophysiology of neurodevelopmental disorders at multiple levels, with the ultimate goal of translating this understanding into clinical practice.

Don’t hesitate to reach me at spersona22@gmail.com or tweet me at @shereensharaan for any questions about this work, and all autism research collaboration opportunities! 🙂

BILINGUALISM AND THINKING SKILLS IN CHILDHOOD AUTISM

(2016 – 2020)

2021 Update!

Between the year 2018 and 2019, I was fortunate enough to receive nation-wide support with my UK-UAE doctoral research examining the impact of speaking two languages on the thinking skills of autistic children. 22 organizations and 120 families across the United Arab Emirates took part in my research. It took a total of 29 months to collect, analyze, and present the data. I finally earned my PhD degree in Psychology from the University of Edinburgh (UK) in February 2021. Here’s a short summary of key findings and where you can learn more about this research!

But first…why did I conduct this research and why was your participation so important?

– There are rising diagnostic rates of autism.

– There are increases in the worldwide bilingual population.

– There are concerns in the autism community about raising an autistic child bilingually.

– Few published studies have examined the relationship between bilingualism, autism, and thinking skills (e.g., the ability to focus over a period of time, the ability to resist distractions, the ability to switch between tasks, and the ability to use short-term memory); therefore, our understanding remains very limited.

– Further research is key to providing better support for linguistic and cognitive development, both of which impact quality of life.

– Your participation has thus contributed new knowledge to the small existing evidence-base surrounding the impact of bilingualism on the thinking skills of autistic children.

So, what did I find?

– Contrary to widespread notions, being autistic and bilingual is not associated with any disadvantages.

– In fact, parents report that being autistic and bilingual is associated with widespread advantages.

– In contrast, being typically-developing and bilingual is not associated with any advantages. However, it is also not associated with any disadvantages; bilingual and monolingual typically-developing children display equal performance in thinking skills.

– When performance is averaged across autistic children, they display poorer thinking skills as a group relative to their typically developing peers. However, when analyzed one by one, most autistic children are equal to their typically developing peers in thinking abilities. Therefore, autistic abilities do vary from one individual to another, ranging from intact to impaired abilities.

– For autistic children, the least challenges in thinking skills are displayed in a lab-type environment (using computerized tasks). This is followed by a home environment (using parent reports), which is followed by a school environment (using teacher reports). Therefore, it may be that different environments (i.e., lab, home, school) place different demands on autistic children’s thinking skills.

What have I done with these findings?

– The first study has been presented at autism’s biggest conference, International Society for Autism Research (INSAR 2020): https://insar.confex.com/insar/2020/cognit/eposterview.cgi?eposterid=893

– These findings have been published in leading scientific journals, such as Autism Research (https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2439) AND Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05114-5?fbclid=IwAR2FvdsaduLsDlHl0TlioxuJ3kguP6g2tmxQw4BSqj-VDwMygyCzfFid2DM)

– I also published a policy brief on autism and bilingualism with my DART Lab colleagues : https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/5_briefing_autismbilingualism.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2_Yd0p3-7n3WtCEzRO7nT7tN_GXZ-9pvHOYmgwxcBg2QhuhtufOTnwDmo

Don’t hesitate to reach me at spersona22@gmail.com or tweet me at @shereensharaan for any questions about this work, and all autism research and engagement opportunities! 🙂

ثنائية اللغة و مهارات التفكير المعرفية لدى أطفال التوحد

٢٠١٦ – ٢٠٢٠

تحديث ٢٠٢١

بين عام ٢٠١٨ و عام ٢٠١٩ حظيت بتلقي الدعم على مستوى دولة الإمارات لبحث الدكتوراه الذي أجريته بالتعاون مع المملكة المتحدة و الإمارات العربية المتحدة لكشف تأثير التحدث بلغتين على مهارات التفكير المعرفية لدى أطفال التوحد. شارك في هذا البحث ٢٢ منظمة و ١٢٠ أسرة من جميع أنحاء الإمارات. استغرق جمع البيانات و تحليلها و عرضها ٢٩ شهرا. و من ثم، حصلت على الدكتوراه في مجال علم النفس من جامعة أدنبره (المملكة المتحدة) في فبراير ٢٠٢١. إليكم ملخصا قصيرا لنتائج البحث الرئيسية و أين يمكنكم معرفة المزيد عن هذا البحث العلمي.

لكن أولا…لماذا أجريت هذا البحث و لماذا كانت مشاركتكم مهمة؟

.هناك ارتفاع في معدلات تشخيص التوحد

.هناك ارتفاع في عدد الأشخاص ثنائي اللغة في جميع أنحاء العالم

.هناك مخاوف حول تربية أطفال التوحد بلغتين

هناك القليل من الدراسات المنشورة حول العلاقة بين ثنائية اللغة، التوحد، و مهارات التفكير المعرفية (مثلا، القدرة على التركيز على مدى فترة زمنية، و القدرة على مقاومة المشتتات، و القدرة على التبديل بين المهام، و القدرة على استخدام الذاكرة قصيرة المدى)، لذلك يظل فهمنا محدودا للغاية.

الاستثمار في المزيد من الأبحاث العلمية ضروري لتقديم دعم أفضل للتطور اللغوي و المعرفي، فكلاهما يؤثر على جودة الحياة لدى أطفال التوحد.

و بالتالي، فقد ساهمت مشاركتكم في الحصول على معلومات جديدة و قيمة لقاعدة الأدلة المحيطة بتأثير ثنائية اللغة على مهارات التفكير لدى الأطفال من فئة التوحد.

إذا، ماذا وجدت من خلال هذا البحث؟

على عكس المفاهيم الشائعة، لا يرتبط كونك توحدي ثنائي اللغة بأي عيوب أو ضعف في مهارات التفكير.

بل كونك توحدي ثنائي اللغة مرتبط بمزايا واسعة النطاق، بالمقارنة بتوحدي أحادي اللغة، وفق تقييم الأهالي.

على النقيض، لا توجد هذه المزايا المعرفية لدى أقران أطفال التوحد ثنائي اللغة. كما أنه لا يوجد عيوب (يتساوى الأداء في القدرات المعرفية بين الأقران ثنائي اللغة و أحادي اللغة).

متوسط الأداء عبر الأطفال من فئة التوحد يعكس ضعف في مهارات التفكير المعرفية مقارنة بأقرانهم، و لكن اتضح ان الأداء الفردي لكل طفل (النظر إلى أداء كل طفل من فئة التوحد) ينتج صورة مختلفة عن الأداء الجماعي (متوسط أداء فئة التوحد كمجموعة)، حيث وجدت أن معظم الأطفال من فئة التوحد يتساوون مع أقرانهم في قدرات التفكير المعرفية. نستنتج من ذلك ان قدرات الأطفال التوحديين تختلف من فرد لآخر، و تتراوح من سليمة الى قدرات ضعيفة.

قد تلعب البيئة المحيطة دور مهم في مستويات الأداء لدى أطفال التوحد، حيث أن أكثر الصعوبات في قدرات التفكير المعرفية ظهرت في البيئة المدرسية (وفق تقارير المعلمين). يتبع ذلك البيئة المنزلية (وفق تقارير الأهل) و تليها البيئة المعملية (وفق نتائج المهام المحسوبة).

لذلك، قد تكون البيئات المختلفة (مثل المعمل و المنزل و المدرسة) تفرض متطلبات مختلفة على مهارات التفكير المعرفية لدى أطفال التوحد.

ماذا فعلت بهذه النتائج؟

: تم عرض الدراسة الأولى من هذا البحث في أكبر مؤتمر سنوي للتوحد –

International Society for Autism Research (INSAR 2020)

https://insar.confex.com/insar/2020/cognit/eposterview.cgi?eposterid=893

: تم نشر هذه النتائج أيضا في مجلات علمية مرموقة –

Autism Research

https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2439

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05114-5?fbclid=IwAR2FvdsaduLsDlHl0TlioxuJ3kguP6g2tmxQw4BSqj-VDwMygyCzfFid2DM

قمت بنشر موجز سياسي مع زملائي في المملكة المتحدة حول التوحد و ثنائية اللغة –

https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/5_briefing_autismbilingualism.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2_Yd0p3-7n3WtCEzRO7nT7tN_GXZ-9pvHOYmgwxcBg2QhuhtufOTnwDmo

و أخيرا، أتقدم بخالص شكري و امتناني لمشاركتكم الثمينة حيث أن مساهمتنا العلمية كباحثين ما كانت لتوجد بدون مساهمتكم. أرجو منكم عدم التردد في التواصل معي لأي استفسارات أو إذا كنتم ترغبون في العمل معي على أبحاث جديدة عن التوحد

Email: spersona22@gmail.com

Winner of the 2021 Autistica Real World Impact Award!

TOP WEBINAR TALK

The University of Edinburgh’s ‘Autism and Bilingualism Educators Webinar’,

recording available at:

https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/Autism%20&%20BilingualismA%20Educator%20Webinar/1_4cp0h4cq?fbclid=IwAR27hXNzMi6WydXv_3n7mUvl4n85sKCm4CeG37M1GTceB9B4qihQIAI5yjo

TOP INTERVIEW

Interviewed by Raising Multilinguals LIVE (a platform dedicated to live expert

interviews in the field of raising bilingual and multilingual children):

‘Impact of Bilingualism on Autistic Children’, recording available at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR03DobKbze2VdWlXWKyAoNdx3NqPW9K4UM07lVpoFHX-uV-q3Wl4C1xM8U&v=VT9XWbD3cxo&feature=youtu.be

TOP PODCAST

Die Linguistin Podcast: ‘Bilingualism and Autism’,

recording available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYykqqIskJ8

Don’t hesitate to reach me at spersona22@gmail.com or tweet me at @shereensharaan for any questions about my work, and all autism research and engagement collaboration opportunities! 🙂

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Participatory autism research; Neurodiversity and play / learning / creativity / identity / well-being; Bilingualism and executive functions in autism; Integrating cognition and neuroscience to understand child development; Diversification of psychological research beyond WEIRD (White, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) samples.

LATEST AUTISM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT!

Collaborated with Etisalat UAE on ‘World Wider Web’, a pioneering technology that converts the world wide web to an autistic-friendly web! Recording available at:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=177479907524018

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=465752111516066

RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS

Peer-reviewed work

Sharaan, S., Fletcher-Watson, S., & MacPherson, S.E. (2020). The impact of bilingualism on the executive functions of autistic children: A study of English-Arabic children. Autism Research. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2439

Sharaan, S., MacPherson, S.E., Fletcher-Watson, S. (2021). The impact of bilingualism on everyday executive functions of English-Arabic autistic children: Through a parent-teacher lens. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-05114-5?fbclid=IwAR2FvdsaduLsDlHl0TlioxuJ3kguP6g2tmxQw4BSqj-VDwMygyCzfFid2DM

Kotera, Y., Pope, M., Chircop, J., Kirkman, A., Bennett-Viliardos, L., Sharaan, S. (2021). Resilience intervention for families of autistic children: Reviewing the literature. Journal of Concurrent Disorders. https://concurrentdisorders.ca/2021/05/26/resilience-intervention-for-families-of-autistic-children-reviewing-the-literature/?fbclid=IwAR0ZIu1TpOMkJTd92RlESTzlgYlzwakQJeWx3MXwu5X6g8APxlQHmb1-NHY

Policy Briefs

Davis, R., Digard, B., Sharaan, S., & Fletcher-Watson, S. Autism and Bilingualism Salvesen

Mindroom Policy Briefing 2021, number 5.

https://www.ed.ac.uk/files/atoms/files/5_briefing_autismbilingualism.pdf

EDUCATION

2016 – 2020

The University of Edinburgh, UK

School of Psychology, Philosophy, and Language Sciences

PhD in Psychology (Bilingualism, Autism, Executive Functions)

2017 – 2018

The University of Edinburgh, UK

School of Health in Social Sciences (Clinical Psychology)

PG Certificate in Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Psychological Practice

2013 – 2014

Newcastle University, UK

School of Education, Communication, and Language Sciences

MSc in Clinical Linguistics and Evidence-Based Practices

2006 – 2011

The American University of Sharjah, UAE

School of Business and Management

BSc in Business Administration (Major in Marketing)

Minor in Psychology

Categories: Active, Bilingualism