Heritage language maintenance of a child with autism spectrum disorders: a parent's perspective

This study investigates the perceptions of a parent who has a child on the autism spectrum, in regards to her decision to raising her child bilingually. The participant was asked about the factors that played into the family's decision to raise their child to be bilingual, what resources they used to help their child maintain both their heritage language, as well as English, what impact there was on the child's language development, and whether or not it affected his academic and social skills. It was found that the decision to raise the child to be bilingual was made in hopes of helping him be successful in the future. There were professionals who advised against this decision. Nonetheless, according to the parent, the child was capable of learning both languages, without one negatively impacting another. The child attended a Chinese immersion school and other extracurricular activities to help maintain both languages.