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Elizabeth
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I was going to blog this but I decided it was really a discussion piece...
From Slate:
Today, Cornell University researchers are reportingwhat appears to be a statistically significant relationship between autism rates and television watching by children under the age of 3. The researchers studied autism incidence in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Washington state. They found that as cable television became common in California and Pennsylvania beginning around 1980, childhood autism rose more in the counties that had cable than in the counties that did not. They further found that in all the Western states, the more time toddlers spent in front of the television, the more likely they were to exhibit symptoms of autism disorders...
Read more here..
And see what the American Academy of Pediatrics has to say about television and very young children here.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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guitarnan
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This is a fascinating study...it would explain a lot, though. No one had ever heard of autism when I was a child. There are tons of good reasons to limit TV exposure; this just adds to the list. (When I did daycare for the Navy, we were only allowed to watch TV for an hour per day, less if the kids used any computer games. Good rule!)
Hopefully scientists will be able to study more groups of children and discover more links to autism.
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Elizabeth
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Problem is, it doesn't explain it all. I didn't read the whole study, but what about families with autistic children who don't watch TV? TV might be a part of the puzzle but it can't be the whole explanation.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Willa
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The study says that the hypothesis is that TV acts as a trigger, a catalyst; presumably other influences might trigger the autism as well. Otherwise one can't explain why so many TV watching kids aren't autistic, either.
One other possibility the study mentioned was that something else associated with TV watching might cause the problem. For example, indoor toxins -- so the kids that are indoors watching TV are more exposed to the toxins.
The study also mentioned a connection between TV watching and ADHD.
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Angie Mc
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There are so many confounding variables involved in the autism spectrum, as we know. Many cultural novelties were on the rise right along with cable and tv. When I think about the many variables, I keep coming back to a flower metaphor that I heard while working with "socially and emotionally disturbed" children (as they were called in the 80's, some of whom were autistic.) Some children are like a dandelion weed. They can face the harshest of circumstances (external variables) and thrive. Some children are like a fragile flower (gardenia?) who need the safest environments and gentlest care to thrive. Most children are like all the flowers found in between, able to face some harshness while needing consistent, specific-to-them care.
Our culture continues to throw questionable variables into the mix, as if all children are dandelions. Can all children be expected to take on our modern world without hitting their cumulative breaking point? (I ask the same question about adults, too.)
What keeps me optimistic while thinking about this callous and mind boggling cultural situation, is to know that there are many families willing to love and care for the most fragile among us...while understanding that being fragile isn't "wrong." Families can't control or anticipate the many variables that may or may not affect their children, but they can do their best with their current understanding while loving and protecting their children. As Catholics, we have the added understanding of purposeful suffering, of carrying our cross.
Didn't mean to go off on my own tangent for so long! I've just been thinking about cultural impacts on children for so long...and I freely admit that I have way more questions than answers.
Love,
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KC in TX
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I think back to my son's early years. And, I cringe at what I allowed. There's always been a lot of guilt for me--not succeeding at breastfeeding, allowing too much TV (is that what caused his ADHD?), not realizing he had issues beyond quirkiness.
Is TV what caused his autism? I don't know. I didn't give him that much TV until he was about 2 when I was pregnant with Michaela and just sick as a dog with no relief (we knew no one and my family was 12 hours away). I think the overall thing we all need to remember is to limit these not very good, but not necessarily very harmful things such as TV. I limit TV now very much.
Just rambling here. Angie, great post.
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Rebecca
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Interesting thread.
When my oldest was a baby, I read (somewhere?) that the brain cannot adjust to the constant changing of images on the tv screen. The child just begins to focus and then the image has changed. The images, shot from many different cameras, change so often that there are sometimes 50-60 different images to "visually digest" in each minute.
This would explain a lot (in regards to ADHD) if a child is exposed to that constantly changing scene, entranced in the show. It is almost *training* the child not to be able to focus.
At the time (10 years ago), Fred Rogers' show was the only one left that was still being filmed with one camera, making the image constant, rather than fleeting.
I understand (though I don't remember personally) that most shows, pre-1975 were shot with one camera, rather than several whose tapes were then pieced together.
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Elizabeth
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KC in TX wrote:
There's always been a lot of guilt for me--not succeeding at breastfeeding, allowing too much TV (is that what caused his ADHD?), not realizing he had issues beyond quirkiness.
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And herein lies one of the biggest problems with a study like the one cited. Guilt. I don't think TV can cause ADHD or autism. But I do think that looking at TV as a trigger when there is a pre-existing tendency towards a neurological issue is worthwhile. And then, we need to recognize that we might not know that such a pre-existing tendency is in play until it manifests itself as more-than-quirkiness after the baby and toddler has watched lots of TV...or been exposed to too many indoor toxins...or been vaccinated to early or too often or with too many vaccines at a time...or...
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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doris
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Very interesting thread. Buuuut
Elizabeth wrote:
or been vaccinated to early or too often or with too many vaccines at a time...or...
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There is *no* scientific evidence for any link between vaccines and autism -- well, at least the MMR vaccine as used in the UK. All the hype about it was based on *very* flawed research. The result is that lots of kids are coming down with diseases that had been practically eradicated. And the complications of measles, for one, are no joke.
Don't shoot me down in flames!
Elizabeth
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MacBeth
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The TV thing is interesting, but I wonder if it's not a matter of certain kids with these traits liking TV more, and thus being exposed. For instance, I have three kids who do not watch TV most of the time, and who never ask to put it on. My youngest, who has the most ADD symptoms (and some food-induced autism syptoms, from time to time), loves TV, though we rarely watch it. He never had it on as a baby, but asks daily to watch something. So, could it be that TV is not a cause, but a symptom?
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Elizabeth
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doris wrote:
Very interesting thread. Buuuut
Elizabeth wrote:
or been vaccinated to early or too often or with too many vaccines at a time...or...
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There is *no* scientific evidence for any link between vaccines and autism -- well, at least the MMR vaccine as used in the UK. All the hype about it was based on *very* flawed research. The result is that lots of kids are coming down with diseases that had been practically eradicated. And the complications of measles, for one, are no joke.
Don't shoot me down in flames!
Elizabeth |
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The article linked mentioned that there was no proof that there is a link between vaccines and autism. My point was that it is impossible to know everything that might be later suspected of causing harm to our children. We have to do the best we can with the information we have. I was addressing the guilt that mothers can take on when they read reports like this one or the many ones that relate vaccines to autism (whether erroneously or not). And I definitely don't think anyone considers measles or the complications a joke.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Elizabeth
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MacBeth wrote:
| The TV thing is interesting, but I wonder if it's not a matter of certain kids with these traits liking TV more, and thus being exposed. For instance, I have three kids who do not watch TV most of the time, and who never ask to put it on. My youngest, who has the most ADD symptoms (and some food-induced autism syptoms, from time to time), loves TV, though we rarely watch it. He never had it on as a baby, but asks daily to watch something. So, could it be that TV is not a cause, but a symptom? |
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I think this is a great point. It's noted often that ADHD kids gravitate to TV and especially to video games.We had no TV for the first five years or so of my ADD kid's life and he still gravitates to TV. And the signs of ADD (and some autism signs) were there well before the television.
I did find the point that the Amish have such a low incidence and interesting one. Is it low incidence or low reporting or is it that they don't require the same behaviors of children as we do? Amish children do much more physical labor than most American children and probably spend more time outside--things that really benefit ADHD children and some autistic children as well.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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Willa
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MacBeth wrote:
| The TV thing is interesting, but I wonder if it's not a matter of certain kids with these traits liking TV more, and thus being exposed. For instance, I have three kids who do not watch TV most of the time, and who never ask to put it on. My youngest, who has the most ADD symptoms (and some food-induced autism syptoms, from time to time), loves TV, though we rarely watch it. He never had it on as a baby, but asks daily to watch something. So, could it be that TV is not a cause, but a symptom? |
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I started a post to that effect but then skimmed the pdf document itself and found that they discovered a general incidence between the advent of cable in certain areas and a seeming corresponding increase in the incidence of autism diagnosis a couple of years later. So I still think there could be some room for accidence but not quite the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy -- not quite at least.
The pdf article did mention that video machines came to the home in the 80's and that didn't seem to be associated with the autism increase so there may be more to this than just "too much screen time".
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Natalia
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Elizabeth wrote:
I think this is a great point. It's noted often that ADHD kids gravitate to TV and especially to video games.We had no TV for the first five years or so of my ADD kid's life and he still gravitates to TV. And the signs of ADD (and some autism signs) were there well before the television.. |
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So if this is the case, and ADHD and ADD kids gravitate to the TV, I wonder what is the best thing to do: let them watch tv or limit the tv drastically. Do they gravitate to tv for the estimulation or for another reason? Can tv or video games be beneficial to them or do they perpetuate the symptoms?
Just curious at what your take is on this,
Natalia
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I believe that right now their are many theories floating around about the increase in autism.
A doctor friend told me that the vaccine link and autism is still being researched (he attended a conference on the subject within the last year). Some scientists and doctors believe that certain people are predisposed to autism (they have autism in their gut or something like that). It is believed that when these individuals are given certain vaccines, autism is triggered.
I am currently reading Upside Down Brilliance. In one chapter, the author mentions a possible link between the extended use of pitocin (more than 3 to 4 hours) and autism.
I pray that the reason for the rise in autism is found in the near future.
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MEBarrett
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There is currently a lot of promising research into the causes of autism. The study of a housekeepiing gene called Reelin is believed to show the most promise.
Whenever a new study comes out claiming to find a link between autism and some behavior I tend to be skeptical. Ryan was autistic as an infant. He made almost no eye contact, imitated nothing and cried relentlessly at the slightest change in his routine. All classic autism signs that were evident long before he watched an episode of Barney or had an MMR. I also have six other children being raised in the same way with no sign of autism. Even the twins are not exhibiting any of the behaviors yet and you can bet I look for them.
While I am sure certain environmental factors may contribute to certain aspects of autism I think focusing on these rather than the direct cause (an abberant gene or leaky gut) is less than helpful. Studies making me feel guilty about Ryan watching an episode of Barney twice a day while I showered and cooked dinner isn't going to cure autism or even aid in anyone's recovery. It's better to focus on what does work. Perhaps I did do something that helped cause his problem, I just don't see the point in making people crazy - parents of autistic children have enough to worry about.
Temple Grandin makes a big point in her book about the importance of physical activity everyday preferably outside in her recovery. Her book is enlightening and I highly recommend it for people who are raising an autistic child.
Ryan was diagnosed at three and I was told his degree of autism was severe because he was not yet verbal. He is fully verbal now (although behind - he sounds six rather than 11) and works on grade level in some of his subjects. He is less mature than boys his own age and his interests are different but if I had written off his ability to progress everytime someone told me what he can't do or that his MMR was going to ruin the rest of his life I'd be a nut case by now. He is now considered high functioning and only moderately affected. Everytime I see the nuero he has some new theory on what causes Ryan's problems - his newest being the epilepsy - I am beyond caring. I just want to make Ryan's life as fufilled and productive as possible. Give me a theory to help with that.
The television thing is interesting because I think it will make people less apt to park a difficult child in front of it and to focus on their abilities and a plan for helping them. As a causal connection to autism I think it's just not such great science. Statistically interesting perhaps.
Just my, rather long, two cents. Hopefully not offensive to anyone.
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Angie Mc
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Angie Mc wrote:
Some children are like a dandelion weed. They can face the harshest of circumstances (external variables) and thrive. Some children are like a fragile flower (gardenia?) who need the safest environments and gentlest care to thrive. Most children are like all the flowers found in between, able to face some harshness while needing consistent, specific-to-them care.
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This article isn't about autism but about childhood resiliency.
Love,
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Angie Mc
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Television Viewing and Autism
