By Karen Villarreal

RIO GRANDE VALLEY, TEXAS – APRIL 15, 2025 – Dr. Cecilia Montiel-Nava, a professor in the UTRGV Department of Psychological Science, is inviting the community to participate in clinical interviews for her latest study on the social and economic impacts of being bilingual.

Her research is focused on the language skills of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), she said, and the results could help inform how public health and educational systems set standards for assessing bilingual autistic children. 

Individuals with ASD communicate to different degrees, Montiel-Nava said. 

“Some autistic individuals don’t communicate verbally, while others have an extensive, specialized vocabulary and no trouble with their speech. As one of the parents in our study said, ‘Communication comes in many different forms,’” she said.

However, bilingual autistic children might be at risk of having their communication challenges misdiagnosed because of the way they use language – consequently delaying the attainability of appropriate services, she said. 

With the help of a $407,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Montiel-Nava hopes to understand how to better provide care to families with autistic children – including identifying autistic children with a non-English primary language.  

• Nearly one in four Texas public school students speaks a language other than English at home.  
• In the counties of the Rio Grande Valley, the percentage of households that are linguistically isolated are some of the highest in the country: 30 % of the households in Starr County have difficulty with English; 24% in Zapata County; 15% in Hidalgo County; 15.6% in Cameron County; and 15.2% in Willacy County. 

For her study, the UTRGV researcher is recruiting 150 autistic and non-autistic children between nine and 11 years of age, from households that are either bilingual (Spanish-English) or monolingual (English). The English-only households are the control group, and the research is looking for any changes among the bilingual children.

BILINGUAL ON THE SPECTRUM 

Many prior study participants gave emotional reasons for raising their child as bilingual, she said, such as a desire to preserve cultural heritage, family bonds and a well-rounded identity for the child. 

“By prioritizing bilingualism, parents aim to maintain linguistic and cultural continuity, fostering a sense of belonging and connectedness within their family and community,” Montiel-Nava said. 

However, not speaking English puts bilingual or primarily Spanish-speaking families at a disadvantage when communicating with healthcare providers. 

“Parents have a hard time finding healthcare providers for their autistic child – and when they do find appropriate care, most providers recommend that the parents talk to their child in English,” she said. 

Switching completely to English also has its drawbacks, especially for Hispanic families whose elders may speak only Spanish. 

“This limits the child’s social interaction with the extended family,” Montiel-Nava said. “Their communication outcomes might be diminished.” 

Her study – “Predictors of language skills in bilingual children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)” – is looking for participants to study these impacts of language use. 

RECRUITING FOR SENSITIVE STUDIES 

The study, held at the UTRGV Psychology Clinic in Edinburg, will provide comprehensive assessments of IQ, language and behavior for the children. Families will receive up to $120 in gift cards for their participation, depending on the diagnostic and language group to which they belong. 

Montiel-Nava said individuals with ASD might feel overwhelmed by sensory stimuli and the unpredictability of social situations, so the research is guided by a special advisory board that includes self-advocates – people with autism, parents and local professionals – who can guide the researchers toward better practices for designing and conducting sensitive, relevant studies about ASD. 

“We’re using the same state-of-the-art diagnostic instruments used in major autism centers around the country,” Montiel-Nava said.  

Anyone interested in participating in the study should fill out this form. For accommodations, contact bechildlab@utrgv.edu. 

INFORMED BY PRIOR RESEARCH 

Montiel-Nava’s study expands on research she conducted in Latin America in 2020. 

After collecting almost 3,000 online surveys from across Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela, Montiel-Nava’s team found that about 20% of the population who needed services for autism had never received any. In addition, those who were receiving treatment fell short of the standard 20 hours per week of intervention. 

“Just 3% of our participants were getting that,” Montiel-Nava said. 

Furthermore, the online survey was not representative of the whole population – most of those who took the survey had internet access and private insurance – so she believes there are many more individuals in need they did not reach. 

The Rio Grande Valley is a similarly challenging landscape, culturally and socioeconomically, she said.  

“It’s really hard for families without information or resources, because like many rural areas, we’re lacking services,” she said. “Resources in Spanish were especially lacking.”  

CREATING NEEDED RESOURCES  

Students of the UTRGV Behavior and Child Development Lab, of which Montiel-Nava is the director, highlight psychoeducational resources available in the Valley in a video podcast, Habla Autismo. The original series is in Spanish with English subtitles, and highlights the stories of Spanish-speaking parents of children on the autism spectrum. 

Additionally, Montiel-Nava has partnered with Autism Speaks to create a culturally adapted resource for family caregivers. In 2023, she led the first Spanish-language caregiver skills training (CST) program, which was offered again in early 2024. The program currently has a waitlist for registration for September.  

NOTE: Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number SC2GM144163. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.