Do Autistics Need Human Interaction to Acquire Language? A Case Study from Morocco

Abstract

This research paper explores the linguistic profile of a six-year old autistic boy who acquired the English language without receiving formal instruction. The study tries to shed light on the child’s linguistic abilities in the light of Chomsky’s innateness theory. This paper uses participant observations and informal questioning to collect data covertly in a naturalistic setting which is the school. The findings of the study revealed that school boy has a functional and communicative use of the English language, which exceeds basic knowledge. His early exposure to YouTube videos in English made him fully conversational, even verbose, contrary to his state when he is using the Moroccan dialect, a fact that implies that English might be his L1 language.