Ani living article on screen time causing autism

amother

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 4:41 pm

Horrifying.

As a wahm whose babies don't go out partially because they don't take bottles, I'm certainly in the guilty category.

My kids are bh fine but the horror of what Harm could have been done.

She does mention that the Jewish videos are better. But doesn't explain how or why. I wonder if that's factual.

amother

Mintcream

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 4:44 pm

Nonsense and impossible to reach such a conclusion. But lots of screen time is not good it should be used sparingly and only for educational things. Mindless sitting in front of a screen for hours is not good for anyone.

At the same time I know kids that had a lot of educational screen time and surpassed their peers in intelligence.

amother

Snowflake

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 4:46 pm

Did not read the article, but it sounds like nonsense. There is no way to actually prove causation. Even if there were a scientific study done about this, the only thing it could show would be a correlation. This is just fear mongering.

amother

Lavender

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 4:49 pm

I haven't read it yet, but I can't imagine... Screen time of certian types has been shown to shorten attention spans. Any time in front of a. Screen that replaces time spent with peope will reduce opportunities to develop social skills, and if it replaces time getting various sensory opportunities, that can sometimes affect sensory issues. But for those two, the same can be said about most interests.

I would love to hear how they explain it for kids who were showing signs before age ane and a half or two but weren't watching screens yet. After that, it become a circle- the screen is the only thing to occupy them while you do various things, they won't play with kids so they gravitate towards it and it's predictability, etc

amother

Linen

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 4:51 pm

amother OP wrote:

She does mention that the Jewish videos are better. But doesn't explain how or why. I wonder if that's factual.

Sorry I didn't read the article but if the author actually said that then she lacks all credibility. I don't belive screen time causes autism but if it did there would be no way the brain would differentiate between Jewish and secular videos.

amother

Midnight

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 4:56 pm

it doesn't cause it but there is def some connection. just googled it and article came up from JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). says that
Findings A total of 84 030 mother-child dyads were analyzed using data derived from a large birth cohort study conducted in Japan. Among boys, but not girls, longer screen time at 1 year of age was significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder diagnosis at 3 years of age.

Meaning Guidance on appropriate screen time in infancy is recommended.

Abstract
Importance It is unclear to what extent the duration of screen time in infancy is associated with the subsequent diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder.
https://jamanetwork.com/journa.....88488

amother

Gladiolus

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 5:27 pm

Didn't read the article and doubt screen time causes ASD, though too much is really not good for kids. However, the fact that Jewish movies might not be as bad may be factual. And that would be because they have lower quality graphics.

Look at Cocomelon, which is terrible for your kid's brain. The background images keep changing, the POV/ camera angle jumps around, super bright colors that keep flashing .. it's terrible for their attention span.

By the same logic, a TV show like Mr. Rogers neighborhood would also not be as bad. It's a slower pace with stable backgrounds and point of views, normal color saturation...

Editing to add: it's basically the more overstimulating the screen time, the worse it is.

amother

Sunflower

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 5:31 pm

Not that screens are good, and less is better, but no, this is ridiculous. The correlation exists because parents of challenging children are more likely to resort to screens from sheer desperation.

amother

Ghostwhite

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 5:32 pm

Didn’t read the Ami article but this article is the real deal. https://handsonotrehab.com/scr.....sing/ And no fear mongering.

They actually have another one with practical steps to help. Shabbos reading is going to be interesting.

smss

Fri, Oct 27 2023, 6:04 pm

1. I definitely think screen time can be harmful to kids in many ways. (We're not a screen free home though.)

2. I don't trust the Ami when it comes to science at all.

3. IF it's true that kids with autism have more screen time... could that be because their parents find it's one of the only things that calms them? Maybe there's a correlation (I don't know if there is or not, I'm saying maybe) that doesn't mean there's a cause.

amother

Burntblack

Sat, Oct 28 2023, 1:19 pm

These articles are so annoying.
Autistic people are more attracted to screens because they give input without demanding social reciprocation.
Therefore, a child who is already autistic (but his parents may not realize it) will demand more screen time than a child who enjoys social interaction.
So yes, they may demand more screen time and afterwards be diagnosed with autism but it isn't cause and effect it's a system.

Signed, mom of 2 autistic teens who allowed NO screen time until it became necessary for school work during covid and has clearly seen the difference between the way autistic kids need it and non autistic kids need it.

Ridethewaves

Sat, Oct 28 2023, 2:44 pm

I read the article, it didn’t say all autism was caused by screen time. It says there’s something called “virtual autism” which is caused by too much screen time with deliberately constantly changing images to keep attention span on screen. I found it to be a positive article because the mother was able to reverse the damages caused by screens when she cut it out and increased sibling interactions.

amother

Firebrick

Sat, Oct 28 2023, 2:54 pm

amother Mintcream wrote:

She addresses that actually. She says that parents are often so proud of how their child knows all the ABCs, states, lyrics etc.

But learning by rote is not a key skill at that age. No three year old needs to know anything that's on an educational video.

It's much more important to be able to answer "How was your day?" or to make functional use of toys.

I'm not saying I agree or disagree, just that she addresses that.

amother

Lotus

Sat, Oct 28 2023, 5:31 pm

amother OP wrote:

This alone should show you how what this woman is spewing makes no sense.

amother

Apple

Sat, Oct 28 2023, 7:31 pm

the article was a bit upsetting because it put the blame on screens rather than on the lack of human interaction.
it mentioned a nanny who barely spoke to the children and then the screen.
I think that the main cause of the childs regression was the fact that noone was interacting with him/her.

a child needs back and forth circles of communication to progress.

scintilla

Sat, Oct 28 2023, 7:41 pm

Gosh people, read the article before you get all worked up about it. She did not say that screens cause autism. I'll try summarize it but caveat that I'm hearing about it for the first time myself

It's a very interesting article and is based on some new research coming out that a lot of screen time can cause something that looks like ASD, but is actually caused by certain things that result from too much screen time at a very young age and if it's really this (one researcher called it 'virtual autism') then it can be reversed by eliminating screen time and early intervention to catch up on the skills missed. From what they have seen so far, this only works if it's caught at an early age, the earlier the better but generally up to age 5, in some cases as late as 8.

It's completely different than autism just presents very similarly, and the way to know the difference is that kids with this improved rapidly and dramatically when screens were taken away.

It's a new area of research so they are still exploring exactly how it works but it's good to know as mothers, and I for one appreciate having knowledge that helps me make informed decisions in my parenting.

amother

DarkKhaki

Sat, Oct 28 2023, 7:49 pm

Me and my siblings, as well as all my friends, grew up with lots of screen time. As a kid I literally went to movie camp in the summer. We are fine and no one I know from my childhood is autistic or even on the spectrum at all that I can tell.

The people I do know on the spectrum all grew up with zero screens.