Abstract
Societies have become more international, and the daily use of multiple languages is steadily increasing. However, parents of autistic people are often told to refrain from using multiple languages with their children and to use the culturally predominant language. However, family members might not be sufficiently proficient, and tongue-tied interactions might affect family members’ mental health and family interaction, possibly indirectly affecting children’s development via maladaptive parenting practices.
We used adult children (n = 29) and parent (n = 47) reports of families with autistic and neurotypical children to examine the relationships between language use, family functioning, and mental health. The questionnaire was offered online and included measures such as the SRS-2, Die Familienbögen, WHO-5, MDI, and WHOQOL-BREF, as well as questions about language and family culture created for this study.
Results identified differences in language use and underlying reasons between autism and control groups. Furthermore, our findings revealed alarming mental health difficulties and problematic family functioning in autistic adults. Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression further emphasized the importance of children’s socio-emotional skills, absence of depressive symptoms, and physical and environmental quality of life for family functioning.
Our findings stress the urgency of mental health difficulties in autistic people and problematic family functioning, which might yet again reinforce mental health challenges reciprocally and offer valuable information for interventions targeting mental health, family functioning, and language use in autism.