TV might cause autism
Categories: Safety, Media, That's Entertainment
Despite adamant declarations that I'd never let Nolan watch TV, a little bit of cartoon land has crept into our living room. It keeps Nolan mercifully out of trouble for 10-15 minutes while I whip around, preparing lunches and getting ready for the day. I knew the cartoons weren't good for him per se, but I didn't think they could inflict a serious condition on him.A startling Cornell University report has just revealed a perplexing connection between a toddler's time in front of the television and the likeliness of autism symptoms.
Though the television has been pondered as a possible connection to the increased incidence of autism (along with vaccines and environmental factors), it has never been proven. This is the first study that shows a direct link between television and Autism.
Studies suggest that American kids now watch about four hours of television daily, and it seems logical that the disorder would be related to something that has changed in kids lives in the past twenty years.
I know the study is preliminary and we shouldn't all hysterically throw our TV sets into the trash can but I think this is just enough evidence for me to ban Dora in the mornings.
Thanks to tipster Megan, for the head's up!
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 16)
Tina 10-17-2006 @ 11:24AM
I think the study you are referring to has found a CORRELATION, only, which means that they could find that socioeconomic status plays in as well because usually the less educated, poorer families let their children watch more tv, eat less healthy food, don't breastfeed, live in areas with more environmental pollutants, smoke, etc. Of course, TV can be harmful for many reasons, but my cousin's two autistic sons spent NO time in front of the TV....My non-autistic children watch it.
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nahuelito 10-17-2006 @ 12:11PM
The study looked at when cable became available in an area and found that in towns where cable was available, autism was also on the rise. The problem is that both cable and diagnosis of autism have been increasing since the 1980s. The study also looked at whether areas that got more rain (such as coastal Washington state) would have more autism than areas with less rain. The idea was that kids would be inside watching tv rather than playing outside. They could just have easily said that the usgae of cell phones in the hosue causes autism.
Also, this study was conducted by some guys in a Management program, not by doctors. 15 minutes here and there is probably fine!
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Tiffany 10-17-2006 @ 12:06PM
Correlation does not imply causation. I would love to read the actual study on this one, because there appear to be some large holes in the conclusions based on the media coverage. For example, they say that the incidence of autism was greater in counties with cable than without. So, have they done the work to determine that kids with cable watch more TV? Further more, the data is based on the *assumption* that rain outside increases TV viewing inside. Like the Slate article says, there are many possible criticisms.
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Jessica 10-17-2006 @ 12:11PM
I read the article and just don't see how they could measure this. I agree with PP in that it is a correlation. I would like to see some medical information on how the 2-dimensional images could affect the brain development to this extent. To an extent that it couldn't be corrected? Autism, as I know it, is a condition which can not be corrected. How could TV do that???? I just don't see it. I can't wrap my brain around it.
What about educational TV and movies? I know the "NO TV" advocates think this is just as bad--but I also know my daughter learns from occassionally watching her Baby Babble video and has picked up sign language from Baby Einstein.
What about the old adage that certain things are good IN MODERATION?
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Ginny 10-17-2006 @ 12:27PM
Neither of my kids were interested in TV at that young of an age anyway. Now at 5 and 6, they barely watch it now. I just can't see a toddler watching that much TV. Does it even really happen?
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Tina 10-17-2006 @ 12:46PM
Oh yes, Here is something else that was in the news today... From CNN.com :
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- U.S. researchers said Monday that they had identified a genetic mutation that raises the risk of autism and could also explain some of the other symptoms seen in children with autism.
Although autism and similar disorders can clearly run in families, theirs is the first study to find a definitive genetic link to the disorder, which affects as many as 1 in 175 U.S. children.
Dr. Pat Levitt and colleagues at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, studied 743 families in which 1,200 family members were affected by autism spectrum disorders, which range from fully disabling autism to Asperger's syndrome.
They found a single mutation in a gene called MET, which is known to be involved in brain development, regulation of the immune system and repair of the gastrointestinal system. All of these systems can be affected in children with autism.
"This is a vulnerability gene," Levitt said in a telephone interview. "There are not genes that actually cause autism. It raises the risk."
People with two copies of the mutated gene have 2 to 2.5 times the normal risk of autism and people with one mutated copy have 1.7 times the risk, he said.
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Adrienne Backus 10-17-2006 @ 12:53PM
WARNING: The act of living will ultimately result in death.
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Michael 10-17-2006 @ 7:23PM
The key problem with correlation studies is that there is no causal link established, even though one appears in the mind of the media/public. For example, it is simply likely that autistic children like to watch a lot of TV.
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Meredith 10-17-2006 @ 3:22PM
A wise friend of mine just said to me:
"They also have found that their are more drownings when more ice cream is sold- so be careful of eating ice cream because it will make you drown."
I think this about sums up my feelings on this as well.
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Jessie 10-17-2006 @ 3:45PM
I think this generation of parents are out of control in this area. What happened to common sense? do you think 10-15 mins in the morning is going to contribute to autism? My son is 3 knows how to spell, count to 50 and say 10 words in Spanish - most of this is from Sesame Street and Dora and shows like that. I think if you put your kids in front of SpongeBob at the age of 2, that is a little much but these educational shows are designed to help kids learn. Ugh. This is what makes me slightly nauseous about this generation of parents.
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thordora 10-17-2006 @ 5:06PM
I'm curious to know if there are any studies showing the increase of diagnosis since the autism spectrum was broadened. I can't help but wonder how many cases of "bad kids" 50 or 60 years ago weren't just autism cases.
Of course, I'm also wondering how many childhood problems we have due to air pollution from too many cars on the road-but I doubt people are as willing to reduce their emissions as they might be to turn off the TV.
Interesting, but I want to see more.
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L. 10-17-2006 @ 4:32PM
My kids watched about eight hours of TV when they were small. We were in Japan and I wanted them to learn my language -- English -- so I turned on English-language programming as soon as they woke up. After they got home from school/daycare, I kept the TV on until they went to sleep. I suppose the didn`t watch it continuously, but they were always hearing it in the background.
My kids aren`t autistic, and they speak unaccented English. Thank you, TV.
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ann adams 10-17-2006 @ 5:08PM
From the article:
Researchers might also turn new attention to study of the Amish. Autism is rare in Amish society, and the standing assumption has been that this is because most Amish refuse to vaccinate children. The Amish also do not watch television.
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The strictest of the Amish don't drive cars and most don't have telephones in their homes. Electricity? Sometimes a generator in the barn but no electricity in their homes.
I suppose if someone wanted to generate a study, they could make a case for avoiding cars and telephones.
No kid should stay glued to the t.v. for hours at a stretch and I don't remember mine being very interested when they were toddlers.
But one program so mom can get a couple of things done? I'd have to see a lot more concrete evidence before I began worrying.
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ann adams 10-17-2006 @ 5:10PM
Psychic link Thordora? I hadn't seen your comment when I sent mine.
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thordora 10-17-2006 @ 6:18PM
I think we're both distrustful of blanket assumptions, that's all Ann :)
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Tina 10-17-2006 @ 6:57PM
Ann,
The Amish also have a relatively small gene pool- therefore lessening the risk of geneic disorders uncommon to them.
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Uly 10-17-2006 @ 11:53PM
Exactly, Tina. In addition to their really small gene pool (they have a number of genetic disorders that aren't really found outside of Amish families) making them a bad group to study in this sort of case, they also have their different social group. It may be that they don't "have autism" because their autistic kids aren't being diagnosed for one reason or another. Who can say?
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Mae 10-18-2006 @ 2:53AM
I thought Autism genreally starts showing up around 18 months? Is it possible that autistic children, who tend to be more stationary and inverted just end up 'watching' more tv than the average on-the-go 4 year old? Perhaps the link isn't tv=autism, but rather autism=tv.
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Jenny 10-18-2006 @ 11:34PM
This study was written by economists, not doctors. When I first read it I thought "well, I liked Freakonomics but apparently it convinced economists that they could study anything." I just noticed that the Freakonomics guys didn't like this study either: http://www.freakonomics.com/blog/2006/10/17/tv-causes-autism-i-doubt-it/#comments
Also, I'm one of those who thinks that a huge proportion of the increased diagnosis is just that there IS a diagnosis. I learned from the link that 1980 is the year Autism became a diagnostic entry in the DSM-III. I could name for you various members of my extended family that would probably be diagnosed as autistic spectrum today, but the only ones actually diagnosed in my family are my niece, nephew, and my cousin's daughter. They all were noticeably "different" from close to birth, well before they'd been around a TV.
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Eric 10-22-2006 @ 6:11AM
The main cause of autism is the vaccines they are stuck with. The mercury in the vaccines which is still used today, stays in the brain basically foreever, causes the problem. Tv watching comes as a result of this. Autism starts around age two....right after the child gets their 45th shot.
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