VIRTUAL AUTISM
How screen use is increasing autistic symptoms in children.
Hold on to your iPad. This article is a must and might make you re-think how you and your children use technology. Research completed around the globe on our obsession with screens and social media is providing results that show a worrying increase in Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This is a new problem and it has a name - Virtual Autism. In brief, it means the development of autistic symptoms in children, induced by electronic screens. Significant research was presented by two French doctors, Drs Ducandwa and Terrasse, who demonstrated that there was a dramatic elevation of Autistic Spectrum Disorder in children who had high exposure to TV and digital screens. After removing screens from these children for a period of one-month, Ducanda and Terrasse found the autistic symptoms of these children disappeared completely. Now given that the rate of ASD is on a concerning upward trajectory, this research has huge implications. Technology is not totally to blame because there are some other factors at play. Better documentation of ASD behaviours and changes in diagnostic criteria of ASD have been adopted, so this may account for the increase in data,
Screen use is mimicking autism in children.
but it does not account for the alarming rise in the overall statistics. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health report found the prevalence of ASD as one in 59 among children aged 8 years in 2014. This is a 15 percent increase from two years ago and the highest since tracking ASD in 2000. Boys were four times more likely to be identified with ASD than girls. Data from richer socio-economic areas, that can afford screen technology, also include the highest rates of ASD. Evidence over time shows rates of ASD have been increasing since the popularity of
Virtual autism is a serious issue with far reaching consequences.
television after 1975, perhaps the initial introduction of screen transference away from each other to technology. It seems the more our children use screens rather than having human interaction, the greater their development is negatively impacted. Toddlers are being denied the development of normal social skills. Screens are training toddlers to read emotional facial expression and modelling, instead of engaging in personal conversation that develops the essential understanding of face and body language. These are critical human skills needed to live in this world. And what about parental investment in learning new skills? How are new parents developing better negotiation strategies, compassion and selflessness if these human abilities are being replaced by engaging toddlers with a screen rather than real life? How disengaged have we become as we stare at our own screens rather than interacting with our children and those around us? While technology had advanced our capabilities exponentially in some areas, excessive screen use is diminishing the next generations ability to connect.
THE GOOD NEWS THE SOLUTION IS SIMPLE:
1. Take the screens away and replace them with human interactions, such as playing peek-a-boo, reading a story book and just talking to toddlers and babies. 2. This teaches toddlers and babies how to read emotions through seeing faces, interpret facial expressions, learn about speech patterns and tone, comprehend emotions and recognise body language. 3. This develops higher skill levels in parents to manage those often irrational and unpredictable emotional brains of children. Once screens are introduced as a natural part of our social and interpersonal evolution, it becomes the standard pattern for all interactions. And yes, in taking away screens there may be a tantrum or such. Parents may need support and guidance on how to do things differently, but change will always be a challenge. Virtual autism is a serious issue with far reaching consequence in our social world. We have an opportunity to change the socio-emotional direction of a generation of children emerging into a more technologically dependent world than ever before. It is up to all of us to turn the technology off and interact with each other, teach and learn how to grow as human beings and focus on connectivity in the real world. The choice is ours to make.
Sarah Godfrey has been a practising psychologist for two decades focusing on personal development. She works with her clients to build successful futures, speaks at conferences and writes books and blogs on discovering how to improve your life, find happiness and master human skills. Sarah may be contacted via website or email.