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Exploring Maze Patterns in Bilingual and Monolingual Children with and without Autism: A Pragmatic Perspective

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Title: Exploring Maze Patterns in Bilingual and Monolingual Children with and without Autism: A Pragmatic Perspective
Language: English
Authors: Marianna Beradze (ORCID 0000-0001-6028-5915), Sveta Fichman (ORCID 0000-0001-9426-811X), Natalia Meir (ORCID 0000-0002-4946-4506)
Source: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2026 69(2):462-486.
Availability: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 21
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Multilingualism, Monolingualism, Children, Bilingualism, Language Rhythm, Russian, Hebrew, Phonemes, Thinking Skills, Language Skills, Interpersonal Competence
DOI: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00255
ISSN: 1092-4388
1558-9102
Abstract: Purpose: Monolingual autistic children show distinct patterns of linguistic mazes (disfluencies), such as fewer filled pauses (e.g., "uh," "um") and utterance-initial connectives (e.g., "and"), than non-autistic peers. Maze types are multifunctional, but some (e.g., filled pauses) are used primarily for pragmatic, listener-oriented purposes such as signaling an upcoming delay, while others (e.g., repetitions) reflect speaker-internal processes such as lexical retrieval. This study examined the separate and combined effects of autism and bilingualism on children's maze production, exploring whether different types are primarily listener- or speaker-oriented, thereby contributing to the ongoing debate about their function in spontaneous speech. Method: Four groups of children aged 5-9 years participated: bilingual Russian-Hebrew autistic (n = 20), bilingual non-autistic (n = 27), monolingual Hebrew autistic (n = 17), and monolingual non-autistic (n = 22). Narratives, elicited using the LITMUS Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives, were analyzed for various maze types. Results: The results indicated that while autism and bilingualism alone did not predict maze rate, their joint influence systematically interacted with specific maze types. Monolingual autistic children showed higher rates of phonological fragments, inter-utterance silent pauses, and prolongations, but lower rates of the utterance-initial connectives ve "and" and filled pauses than non-autistic peers. Bilinguals in both groups produced more intra-utterance silent pauses. Among autistic children, bilinguals used connectives more often but produced fewer prolongations and inter-utterance silent pauses than monolinguals. Conclusion: Bilingualism may enhance communicative adaptability in autistic children by strengthening narrative cohesion through greater use of connectives and fewer inter-utterance silent pauses.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1497120
Database: ERIC
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IllustrationInfo
Items – Name: Title
  Label: Title
  Group: Ti
  Data: Exploring Maze Patterns in Bilingual and Monolingual Children with and without Autism: A Pragmatic Perspective
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  Label: Language
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  Data: English
– Name: Author
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  Group: Au
  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Marianna+Beradze%22">Marianna Beradze</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6028-5915">0000-0001-6028-5915</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sveta+Fichman%22">Sveta Fichman</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9426-811X">0000-0001-9426-811X</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Natalia+Meir%22">Natalia Meir</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4946-4506">0000-0002-4946-4506</externalLink>)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="SO" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language%2C+and+Hearing+Research%22"><i>Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research</i></searchLink>. 2026 69(2):462-486.
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  Label: Availability
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  Data: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
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  Data: Y
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  Data: 21
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  Data: 2026
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  Data: Journal Articles<br />Reports - Research
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Autism+Spectrum+Disorders%22">Autism Spectrum Disorders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multilingualism%22">Multilingualism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Monolingualism%22">Monolingualism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Children%22">Children</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Bilingualism%22">Bilingualism</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Rhythm%22">Language Rhythm</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Russian%22">Russian</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hebrew%22">Hebrew</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Phonemes%22">Phonemes</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Thinking+Skills%22">Thinking Skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+Skills%22">Language Skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interpersonal+Competence%22">Interpersonal Competence</searchLink>
– Name: DOI
  Label: DOI
  Group: ID
  Data: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00255
– Name: ISSN
  Label: ISSN
  Group: ISSN
  Data: 1092-4388<br />1558-9102
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: Monolingual autistic children show distinct patterns of linguistic mazes (disfluencies), such as fewer filled pauses (e.g., "uh," "um") and utterance-initial connectives (e.g., "and"), than non-autistic peers. Maze types are multifunctional, but some (e.g., filled pauses) are used primarily for pragmatic, listener-oriented purposes such as signaling an upcoming delay, while others (e.g., repetitions) reflect speaker-internal processes such as lexical retrieval. This study examined the separate and combined effects of autism and bilingualism on children's maze production, exploring whether different types are primarily listener- or speaker-oriented, thereby contributing to the ongoing debate about their function in spontaneous speech. Method: Four groups of children aged 5-9 years participated: bilingual Russian-Hebrew autistic (n = 20), bilingual non-autistic (n = 27), monolingual Hebrew autistic (n = 17), and monolingual non-autistic (n = 22). Narratives, elicited using the LITMUS Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives, were analyzed for various maze types. Results: The results indicated that while autism and bilingualism alone did not predict maze rate, their joint influence systematically interacted with specific maze types. Monolingual autistic children showed higher rates of phonological fragments, inter-utterance silent pauses, and prolongations, but lower rates of the utterance-initial connectives ve "and" and filled pauses than non-autistic peers. Bilinguals in both groups produced more intra-utterance silent pauses. Among autistic children, bilinguals used connectives more often but produced fewer prolongations and inter-utterance silent pauses than monolinguals. Conclusion: Bilingualism may enhance communicative adaptability in autistic children by strengthening narrative cohesion through greater use of connectives and fewer inter-utterance silent pauses.
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  Data: 2026
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  Label: Accession Number
  Group: ID
  Data: EJ1497120
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00255
    Languages:
      – Text: English
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        PageCount: 21
        StartPage: 462
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      – SubjectFull: Autism Spectrum Disorders
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Multilingualism
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      – SubjectFull: Monolingualism
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      – SubjectFull: Language Rhythm
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      – SubjectFull: Russian
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      – SubjectFull: Hebrew
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      – SubjectFull: Thinking Skills
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      – SubjectFull: Language Skills
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      – SubjectFull: Interpersonal Competence
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      – TitleFull: Exploring Maze Patterns in Bilingual and Monolingual Children with and without Autism: A Pragmatic Perspective
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