Enhanced pitch discrimination in autistic children with unexpected bilingualism.

ABSTRACT: Some autistic children acquire foreign languages from exposure to screens. Such unexpected bilingualism (UB) is therefore not driven by social interaction, rather, language acquisition appears to rely on less socially mediated learning and other cognitive processes. We hypothesize that UB children may rely on other cues, such as acoustic cues, of the linguistic input. Previous research indicates enhanced pitch processing in some autistic children, often associated with language delays and difficulties in forming stable phonological categories due to sensitivity to subtle linguistic variations. We propose that repetitive screen-based input simplifies linguistic complexity, allowing focus on individual cues. This study hypothesizes that autistic UB children exhibit superior pitch discriminat

SUBMITTER: Dumont C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11534530 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature