Exploring Bilingualism in Non-Verbal Individuals

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In this episode of The Exceptional Humans Podcast, host Penelope delves into the intriguing question: Can someone be non-verbal and bilingual? She explores the definition of non-verbal communication, its prevalence in individuals with severe autism spectrum disorder (ASD level 3), and the various augmentative and alternative communication methods. Penelope discusses the cultural and societal assumptions that often overlook bilingualism in non-verbal individuals and shares real-life examples highlighting the challenges and implications of excluding bilingual elements in argumentative and alternative communication. The episode emphasises the importance of acknowledging bilingualism to achieve better outcomes for those with non-verbal communication preferences.

00:00 Introduction to The Exceptional Humans Podcast

00:24 Understanding Non-Verbal Communication

01:25 Challenges and Assumptions in Bilingualism

02:32 Behavioural Perspective on Language

03:37 Real-World Examples of Non-Verbal Bilingualism

05:56 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

06:08 Acknowledgements and References

Sources

Johnston, J.M. (2014) Radical behaviorism for ABA practitioners. Cornwall on Hudson, NY: Sloan Publishing. 

Kay-Raining Bird, E., Genesee, F. and Verhoeven, L. (2016) ‘Bilingualism in children with developmental disorders: A narrative review’, Journal of Communication Disorders, 63, pp. 1–14. doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2016.07.003. 

Oksaar, E. (1989). Psycholinguistic aspects of bilingualism. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 10(1), 33–46. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.1989.9994361

Episode Transcript

Penelope Webb (00:05):
Welcome to The Exceptional Humans Podcast,
where we discuss questionsrelated to language, identity,
education, and behavior.
I'm your host, Penelope and Ihave a background in education,
linguistics, and behavioralscience.
Our question today is, cansomeone be non-verbal and
bilingual?
The term nonverbal refers tosomeone using communication not

(00:28):
based on speech, although ittypically does not exclude the
use of speech sounds.
Whilst there are many reasonswhy someone's preferred
communication style may benonverbal, it is often a
characteristic of severe autismspectrum disorder, also referred
to in Australia as a SD levelthree.
When someone presents with anonverbal communication

(00:50):
preference, there is typically afocus on ensuring that the
individual has access toaugmentative and alternative
communication, which may includethe use of gesture and body
language communication boards,picture exchange systems, sign
language, and speech generationdevices.
While motivated by the desire toensure that the person is able

(01:11):
to access basic needs, interactwith others, and improve quality
of life, there is a number ofunderlying assumptions around
language that can createbarriers to effective
implementation.
In her article, psycholinguisticaspects of Bilingualism l's,
Oscar explores the assumptionthat monolingualism relying on a

(01:35):
single language forcommunication is the norm for
humans, despite bilingualism,relying on two or more languages
for communication being morecommon.
There is a number of culturaland societal systems, including
English being considered thelingua franca, the language most
commonly used between people whospeak different languages that

(01:56):
reinforce this assumption.
In English speaking communities,this often erases bilingual
opportunities and bilingualidentity for people with ASD
three and other developmentaldelays.
If we use Grosjean's definitionof bilinguals as those people

(02:16):
who need or use two or morelanguages in their everyday
lives, it's easy to see how thisprocess of acquiring multiple
languages may be overlooked inpeople whose preferred means of
communication is not dependenton speech.
Shifting from the linguisticperspective to a behavioral
approach, it is important toconsider the behavior occurring

(02:40):
inside the body a private event.
In addition to the behaviors wecan easily observe.
A public event that thoughts,feelings, and emotions of
private events is easilyunderstood, but considering
language as a private event isoften a little bit more
problematic from a behavioralperspective, thinking is

(03:01):
considered a private verbalbehavior and involves the use of
our verbal repertoire learnedthrough our interactions with
the language community.
Therefore, a person exposed tomultiple language communities
would be reasonably expected toacquire a verbal repertoire
linked to those languages.
Whether or not that person usesa public verbal behavior to

(03:24):
communicate with others shouldnot exclude the person from
being considered bilingual thatexplanation may sound merely
academic.
However, it does have practicalimplications for members of our
community.
In one example, I experienced acommunication board was being
implemented with an adult livingin accommodation, adjoining

(03:45):
their family home.
Although the family spoke Arabicat home and the nonverbal adult
receiving support responded toboth Arabic and English, the
communication board had onlyEnglish prompts to support
picture cues.
A conversation with stakeholdersrevealed that bilingualism had
not been considered whendeveloping the communication

(04:07):
board with a focus being insteadon the person's nonverbal
communication preference.
Interestingly, there seemed tobe a reluctance on behalf of the
Allied Health Professionalimplementing the communication
board to include Arabic promptsdespite a translator being
available.

(04:27):
In another example, abehavior-based program centered
on engaging with a pictureexchange communication system,
also known as PS was designedfor a non-verbal, primary aged
child.
The family spoke Hindi as theirfirst language, and the child
responded to both Hindi andEnglish.

(04:49):
The program being implementedrequired the child to use PS to
request access to a preferredactivity.
Every time a demand was placed,the PEX cards used, displayed a
picture and a written prompt inEnglish presenting the same
issue as the previous example.
Unfortunately, the programcentered on the child having

(05:10):
unrestricted access to highlypreferred items, in this case,
simultaneous access to an iPadand the tv, which presented a
conflict with the family'scultural values and their
identified language goals fortheir child.
The family had expressed theirconcerns and frustrations with
the program on multipleoccasions.
However, the response theyreceived from the program

(05:33):
designer centered on referencesto empirical research with the
implication that they lackedboth sufficient knowledge and
language to engage in ameaningful conversation about
their child support.
In both of these examples, anacknowledgment of bilingualism
alongside a nonverbalcommunication preference
would've resulted in betteroutcomes for all stakeholders.

(05:57):
However, I would like to knowyour thoughts and feelings about
this question, as well as anyexperiences that you might have
had wishing you health andhappiness until the next time we
meet.
The Exceptional Humans Podcastis written and recorded on Kabi
Cubby and Gender Barra lands.
We would like to pay ourrespects to their elders past,
present, and emerging, and payour respects to all Aboriginal

(06:20):
and Torres Strait Islanderpeoples listening today.
If you would like moreinformation on the sources used
in this episode, please refer tothe show notes.