ABCCD
Background
The Autism, Bilingualism, Cognitive and Communicative Development (ABCCD) group of the University of Fribourg focuses on both Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders today, and bilingualism, which is currently more common than monolingualism. Parents of children with ASD often fear that bilingualism may be too difficult for their children, but preliminary studies suggest that bilingualism can enhance areas specifically affected by the autistic condition. Nevertheless, research at the intersection between bilingualism and autism remains sparse and presents limitations that make it difficult to generalize the reported results to children across the spectrum.
Objectives
The work of the ABCCD aims to uncover if and how bilingualism can be beneficial for the development of cognition and communication in children with, and without, ASD. We will carry out an unprecedented large-scale, longitudinal study, involving various European collaborations, to shed light on skills that are negatively affected by ASD yet may potentially be boosted by bilingualism.
Scientific and social implications of the project
The ABCCD findings promise not only theoretical implications, thanks to uncovering new ways that experience shapes the mind, but also practical applications, thanks to shaping evidence-based language policies for the autistic community.
Members
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Group leader
- Senior scientist
- PhD student
- Alumni
Projects
Publications
On the impact of exposure to different languages on Theory of Mind in neurotypical and autistic children
Franziska Baumeister, Pauline Wolfer, Ehsan Solaimani, Moritz M. Daum, Stephanie Durrleman, Bilingualism: Language and Cognition (2025) | Journal articleDifferences in Language Impairment Between Developmental Language Disorder and Autism: Insights From Mandarin ba and bei Constructions
Chaowei Nie, Yi (Esther) Su, Stephanie Durrleman, Xiaowei He, Autism & Developmental Language Impairments (2025) | Journal articleBilingualism and second‐order theory of mind development in autistic children over time: Longitudinal relations with language, executive functions, and intelligence
Eleni Peristeri, Margreet Vogelzang, Ianthi Maria Tsimpli, Stephanie Durrleman, Autism Research (2024) | Journal articleParent-led Communication Therapy for Young Bilingual Autistic Children: A Scoping Review
Sarah Oudet, Katie Howard, Christina Gilhuber, Marie Robert, Joanna Zimmerli, Napoleon Katsos, Stephanie Durrleman, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2024) | Journal articleTraining Syntax to Enhance Theory of Mind in Children with ASD
Stephanie Durrleman, Anamaria Bentea, Andreea Prisecaru, Evelyne Thommen, Hélène Delage, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2023) | Journal articleLanguage in autism: domains, profiles and co-occurring conditions
Ileana Grama, Petra Hendriks, Mikhail Kissine, Marta Manenti, Theodoros Marinis, Natalia Meir, Rama Novogrodsky, Alexandra Perovic, Francesca Panzeri, Silvia Silleresi, Nufar Sukenik, Agustín Vicente, Racha Zebib, Philippe Prevost, Laurice Tuller, Jeannette Schaeffer, Muna Abd El-Raziq, Elena Castroviejo, Stephanie Durrleman, Sandrine Ferré, Journal of Neural Transmission (2023) | Journal articleWorking memory training in children with developmental language disorder: Effects on complex syntax in narratives
Hélène Delage, Emily Stanford, Clara Baratti, Stéphanie Durrleman, Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences (2023) | Journal articleThe language-communication divide
Stephanie Durrleman, Eleni Peristeri, Ianthi Maria Tsimpli, Evolutionary Linguistic Theory (2022) | Journal articleEarly years autism and bilingualism: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of parent perceptions during lockdown
Sarah Oudet, Katie Howard, Stephanie Durrleman, Autism & Developmental Language Impairments (2022) | Journal articleSyntactic Strategy Training for Theory of Mind in Deaf Children
Stephanie Durrleman, Annie Dumont, Hélène Delage, The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education (2021) | Journal articleA Preliminary Examination of the Impact of Working Memory Training on Syntax and Processing Speed in Children with ASD
Delage H and Eigsti I and Stanford E and Durrleman S, Journal of autism and developmental disorders (2021) | Journal articleA Preliminary Examination of the Impact of Working Memory Training on Syntax and Processing Speed in Children with ASD
Delage, H. and Eigsti, I.-M. and Stanford, E. and Durrleman, S., Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders (2021) | Journal articleBilingualism effects in the narrative comprehension of children with Developmental Language Disorder and L2-Greek
Peristeri, E. and Andreou, M. and Tsimpli, I.M. and Durrleman, S. (Studies in Bilingualism, 2021) | BookLocality in the acquisition of object a'-dependencies: Insights from french
Durrleman, S. and Bentea, A., Glossa (2021) | Journal articleRelations between intensionality, theory of mind and complex syntax in autism spectrum conditions and typical development
Schroeder, K. and Durrleman, S. and ?okal, D. and Sanfeliu Delgado, A. and Masana Marin, A. and Hinzen, W., Cognitive Development (2021) | Journal articleThe cognitive benefits of bilingualism in autism spectrum disorder: Is theory of mind boosted and by which underlying factors?
Peristeri, E. and Baldimtsi, E. and Vogelzang, M. and Tsimpli, I.M. and Durrleman, S., Autism Research (2021) | Journal articleTheory-of-mind during childhood: Investigating syntactic and executive contributions
Burnel, M. and Durrleman, S. and Reboul, A. and Carré, A. and Baciu, M. and Perrone-Bertolotti, M., Social Development (2021) | Journal articleWorking memory training enhances complex syntax in children with Developmental Language Disorder
Delage, H. and Stanford, E. and Durrleman, S., Applied Psycholinguistics (2021) | Journal articleAn eye-tracking study of selective trust development in children with and without autism spectrum disorder
Ostashchenko, E. and Deliens, G. and Durrleman, S. and Kissine, M., Journal of Experimental Child Psychology (2020) | Journal articleMentalizing: What’s language got to do with it?
Durrleman, S., Language Acquisition (2020) | Journal articleOn links between language development and extralinguistic cognitive knowledge: What we can learn from autism
Schaeffer, J. and Durrleman, S. and Eigsti, I.-M., Language Acquisition (2020) | Journal articleTheory of mind, executive functions, and syntax in bilingual children with autism spectrum disorder
Andreou, M. and Tsimpli, I.M. and Durrleman, S. and Peristeri, E., Languages (2020) | Journal articleTraining complements for belief reasoning in developmental language disorder
Durrleman, S. and Delage, H., Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research (2020) | Journal articleWorking memory training: What are the effects on memory and syntax in children with developmental language disorder?,Entraînement de la mémoire de travail: Quels effets sur la mémoire et la syntaxe d'enfants présentant un trouble développemental du langage ?,Entrenamiento de la memoria de trabajo: ¿cuáles son sus efectos sobre la memoria y la sintaxis de los ninos con un trastorno del desarrollo del lenguaje?
Delage, H. and Stanford, E. and Piller, A.-G. and Durrleman, S., ANAE - Approche Neuropsychologique des Apprentissages chez l’Enfant (2020) | Journal articleData_Sheet_1_The Impact of Grammar on Mentalizing: A Training Study Including Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Language Disorder.pdf
Stephanie Durrleman, Morgane Burnel, Jill Gibson De Villiers, Evelyne Thommen, Rachel Yan, Hélène Delage, (2019) | Data setImage_1_The Impact of Grammar on Mentalizing: A Training Study Including Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Language Disorder.jpeg
Stephanie Durrleman, Morgane Burnel, Jill Gibson De Villiers, Evelyne Thommen, Rachel Yan, Hélène Delage (2019) | OtherImage_2_The Impact of Grammar on Mentalizing: A Training Study Including Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Language Disorder.jpeg
Stephanie Durrleman, Morgane Burnel, Jill Gibson De Villiers, Evelyne Thommen, Rachel Yan, Hélène Delage (2019) | OtherThe Impact of Grammar on Mentalizing: A Training Study Including Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Language Disorder
Durrleman, S. and Burnel, M. and De Villiers, J.G. and Thommen, E. and Yan, R. and Delage, H., Frontiers in Psychology (2019) | Journal articleThe effect of working memory training on a clinical marker of french-speaking children with developmental language disorder
Stanford, E. and Durrleman, S. and Delagea, H., American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology (2019) | Journal articleDevelopmental dyslexia and specific language impairment: distinct syntactic profiles?
Delage, H. and Durrleman, S., Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics (2018) | Journal articleEditorial: Investigating grammar in autism spectrum disorders
Durrleman, S. and Gavarró, A., Frontiers in Psychology (2018) | Journal articleFalse belief and relative clauses in Autism Spectrum Disorders
Durrleman, S. and Hinzen, W. and Franck, J., Journal of Communication Disorders (2018) | Journal articleNot committing has its advantages: Facilitating children's comprehension of object filler-gap dependencies is one of them
Bentea, A. and Durrleman, S., Journal of Child Language (2018) | Journal articleReducing the language content in ToM tests: A developmental scale
Burnel, M. and Perrone-Bertolotti, M. and Reboul, A. and Baciu, M. and Durrleman, S., Developmental Psychology (2018) | Journal articleSentence repetition and language impairment in French-speaking children with ASD , in Language Acquisition and Language Disorders
Silleresi, S. and Tuller, L. and Delage, H. and Durrleman, S. and Bonnet-Brilhault, F. and Malvy, J. and Prévost, P. (2018) | Book chapterSyntactic awareness of clitic pronouns and articles in French-speaking children with autism, specific language impairment and developmental dyslexia , in Language Acquisition and Language Disorders
Guasti, M.T. and Delage, H. and Durrleman, S. (2018) | Book chapterDo Grammatical and Cognitive Phenotypes Illuminate Each Other? Reflections on Un-Cartesian Linguistics and the Language-ToM Interface
Durrleman, S., Theoretical Linguistics (2017) | Journal articleErratum to “Exploring links between language and cognition in autism spectrum disorders: Complement sentences, false belief, and executive functioning” (J. Commun. Disord. (2015) 54 (15–31) (S0021992414001051) (10.1016/j.jcomdis.2014.12.001))
Durrleman, S. and Franck, J., Journal of Communication Disorders (2017) | Journal articleFormal models in the study of language: Applications in interdisciplinary contexts
Blochowiak, J. and Grisot, C. and Durrleman, S. and Laenzlinger, C. (Formal Models in the Study of Language: Applications in Interdisciplinary Contexts, 2017) | BookFormal models in the study of language: Introduction , in Formal Models in the Study of Language: Applications in Interdisciplinary Contexts
Blochowiak, J. and Grisot, C. and Durrleman, S. and Laenzlinger, C. (2017) | Book chapterGrammar and theory of mind in autism , in Formal Models in the Study of Language: Applications in Interdisciplinary Contexts
Durrleman, S. (2017) | Book chapterRole of two types of syntactic embedding in belief attribution in adults with or without asperger syndrome
Burnel, M.C. and Perrone-Bertolotti, M. and Durrleman, S. and Reboul, A.C. and Baciu, M., Frontiers in Psychology (2017) | Journal articleThe comprehension of passives in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Durrleman, S. and Delage, H. and Prévost, P. and Tuller, L., Glossa (2017) | Journal articleTheory of mind in SLI revisited: links with syntax, comparisons with ASD
Durrleman, S. and Burnel, M. and Reboul, A., International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders (2017) | Journal articleAutism Spectrum Disorder and Specific Language Impairment: Overlaps in Syntactic Profiles
Durrleman, S. and Delage, H., Language Acquisition (2016) | Journal articleConnections among complementation sentences, executive functioning, and theory of mind in autism , in Innovative Investigations of Language in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Durrleman-Tame, S. and Burnel, M. and Reboul, A. (2016) | Book chapterDisentangling sources of difficulty associated with the acquisition of accusative clitics in French
Delage, H. and Durrleman, S. and Frauenfelder, U.H., Lingua (2016) | Journal articleRefining intervention: The acquisition of featural relations in object A-bar dependencies
Bentea, A. and Durrleman, S. and Rizzi, L., Lingua (2016) | Journal articleSyntactic complexity in the comprehension of wh-questions and relative clauses in typical language development and autism
Durrleman, S. and Marinis, T. and Franck, J., Applied Psycholinguistics (2016) | Journal articleThe acquisition of Jamaican Creole: Null subject phenomenon
De Lisser, T.N. and Durrleman, S. and Rizzi, L. and Shlonsky, U., Language Acquisition (2016) | Journal articleThe language cognition interface in ASD: Complement sentences and false belief reasoning
Durrleman, S. and Burnel, M. and Thommen, E. and Foudon, N. and Sonié, S. and Reboul, A. and Fourneret, P., Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders (2016) | Journal articleComplex syntax in autism spectrum disorders: A study of relative clauses
Durrleman, S. and Hippolyte, L. and Zufferey, S. and Iglesias, K. and Hadjikhani, N., International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders (2015) | Journal articleExploring links between language and cognition in autism spectrum disorders: Complement sentences, false belief, and executive functioning.
Durrleman S and Franck J, Journal of communication disorders (2015) | Journal articleNominal architecture in Jamaican Creole
Durrleman, S., Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages (2015) | Journal articleAna Deumert & Stephanie Durrleman (eds.), Structure and variation in language contact. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2006. Pp.viii, 376. Hb €125.
Kate Whisker, Language in Society (2008) | Journal articleStructure and variation in language contact. Edited by Ana Deumert and Stephanie Durrleman
Geneviève Escure, Journal of Pidgin and Creole Languages (2008) | Journal article - Senior scientist
