The impact of bilingualism, culture and first language on social outcomes of children with autism spectrum disorder in robot-assisted autism therapy

Amir A. Telisheva Z. Tungatarova A. Rakhymbayeva N. Sandygulova A.
2025 Routledge

International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism
2025 #28 Issue 10 1228 - 1247 pp.

Bilingualism is a widespread linguistic phenomenon globally, and Kazakhstan is no exception. The interplay between bilingualism and autism is an emerging area of research being explored far and wide. The current study examines the socio-emotional outcomes of 34 monolingual and bilingual children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), aged 3 to 12 years, in the context of robot-assisted autism therapy (RAAT). The children participated in an average of five sessions with the NAO robot in a rehabilitation center. The findings reveal that bilingual children demonstrated socio-emotional outcomes and engagement levels comparable to their monolingual peers. However, monolingual children exhibited significantly higher levels of positive affect, as indicated by more frequent smiling, challenging the notion of bilingual advantage in this context. Additionally, ethnicity did not moderate the children’s engagement with the social robot, indicating no significant cultural differences based on ethnic background. Notably, some differences in social outcomes were observed based on the children’s first language (L1). These findings highlight the influence of local linguistic and cultural realities on socio-emotional outcomes in RAAT. The study provides valuable insights into the relationship between language, autism, and robot-assisted therapy, with implications for future research and therapeutic practices.

Autism , bilingualism , children , culture , human-robot interaction , robot-assisted autism therapy

Text of the article Перейти на текст статьи

School of Engineering and Digital Sciences, Department of Robotics and Mechatronics, Human-Robot Interaction Lab, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan

School of Engineering and Digital Sciences

10 лет помогаем публиковать статьи Международный издатель

Книга Публикация научной статьи Волощук 2026 Book Publication of a scientific article 2026