The role of bilingualism and executive functions in the comprehension of which-questions by typically developing and autistic children

Cognition. 2026 Nov 5;279:106756. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106756. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Bilingualism has been associated with enhanced Executive Functions (EFs) in typically developing (TD) children and autistic children, although findings remain mixed. Furthermore, while studies investigating the effect of bilingualism on complex syntax in autistic children are still scarce, they tend to show that bilingualism does not exacerbate performance. The main aim of this study is to examine whether bilingualism enhances particular EFs which, in turn, has a cascade effect contributing to the improved comprehension of which-questions. We tested 134 verbal autistic and 234 TD children aged 3 to 13. Bilingualism was examined both categorically (monolingual vs. bilingual) and continuously (proficiency, length of exposure, length of use, balance of exposure, and balance of use) using the parental Quantifying Bilingual Experience questionnaire (De Cat et al., 2025). Executive functions were assessed using performance-based tasks measuring working memory, inhibition and shifting, alongside a parent-report measure of attention. Furthermore, all children completed a character selection task to assess comprehension of subject and object which-questions. Results showed specific bilingual experiences (e.g., balance and length of language exposure and use) indirectly supported comprehension of which-questions through their influence on EFs. The mediating EF domains differed for TD and autistic children, highlighting the need to consider cognitive diversity in bilingualism research. These findings suggest that bilingual experience may serve as a cognitive-linguistic resource, especially for autistic children, by enhancing domain-specific EFs that underpin complex language processing.

PMID:42987570 | DOI:10.1016/j.cognition.2026.106756