By India McCarty
Could early exposure to screens lead to your child developing autism? The answer is complicated.
“Television and mobile phones serve as both entertainment and educational tools, but excessive screen time, particularly in early childhood, has raised concerns about its effects on brain development,” Dr. Mohini, a pediatric physiotherapist at Artemis Lite NFC, New Delhi, told Zee News. “Many parents question whether prolonged screen exposure could contribute to autism in children.”
Mohini explained that autism is primarily linked to genetic and environmental factors and is not caused by excessive exposure to screens. However, such exposure can lead to something Mohini called “virtual autism.”
“Virtual autism is a disorder that occurs due to excessive use of the screen by children, causing developmental delays,” she explained. “Although it is different from ASD, its symptoms are delayed speech, poor social skills, no eye contact, short attention span, and inability to express emotions.”
While virtual autism is “not a DSM diagnosis [or] a real medical condition,” Dr. Citlaly Gonzalez, a clinical psychologist at Easterseals DuPage and Fox Valley, told Fox32 it is still something parents need to look out for.
Symptoms might include a delay in kids’ ability to process emotion and language, which can sometimes look like autism.
“A child might present looking like a child with high functioning autism spectrum disorder, but in reality, that’s not what’s going on,” Dr. Louis Kraus, head of Rush University Medical Center’s autism assessment program, told the outlet, adding that the main area of concern are the “language deficits that can develop in early use of screen time with kids.”
Anne Hoffman, a speech pathologist at Rush University Medical Center, explained, “Kids learn language by having responsive interactions with their caregivers, and so if they’re spending a lot of time on a screen they’re not getting all those responsive interactions so it can lead to a communication delay. A language delay. But that’s also something that we know how to treat.”
“I always want to reassure parents it’s nothing they did,” Gonzalez emphasized. “Autism is not caused by anything that a parent did or did not do.”
Related: Experts Answer: ‘Is Screen Time Linked With Autism?’
In a study published by the National Library of Medicine, experts counseled “setting screen time limits, selecting age-appropriate content, promoting physical activity, nurturing in-person relationships, and teaching digital literacy.”
“‘Virtual autism’ raises concerns about technology’s impact on children. This paper emphasizes the need to recognize risks from extended screen time and promotes proactive prevention involving parents, educators, and policymakers,” the study concluded. “Ongoing research and evidence-based guidelines are crucial to understanding technology’s impact on child development, ensuring a balanced digital environment for children.”
While early exposure to screens has not been proven to cause autism, it’s clear that it can still negatively impact your child’s cognitive development. As we have seen time and time again, there is really no downside to restricting your child’s screen time and encouraging them to spend time in the real world.
Read Next: Another Study Proves Just How Damaging Screen Time Is On Mental Health
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