TV might cause autism

I've just woken up and have almost went into a panic. Why? I have one child w/ Aspergers and one that is Autistic. I think OMG I've done this! I then start to think back. My thoughts race back 12+ years to prsent. I then start to realize, (w/ my first), there was just something different about him. I also know, where he was born, seems to have played some crucial, (We were military /o in the High Desert you couldn't even drink the water), part. I come to present. My son's interst in TV was never cartoons. They have always ranged on the serious. His favorite programing is the weather channel. He keeps track of the currents and other phenomens. I don't think it is the television but a differnce in the children. How they function and what they relate to. The study needs to look from a different perspective and see that this may be one thing that calms the child or may actually hold there attention. NOT what causes it.

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Being a father of an autistic child, I can say my son didn't watch TV until he was already diagnosed with autism (because his mother and I don't watch enough to make it worthwhile to own one until 2003). I have, however, detected the fact that an autistic child will respond more to TV than verbal instructions due to the visual stimulis he recieves. We have banned quite a bit of television in the house due to him re-enacting things he sees on television. Our other 4 children were born without autism, a curious fact considering the only time she ate tuna was when she was pregnant with the autistic boy. Scientists have long speculated about the link between autism and mercury found in fish. But I think the "TV as a sole reason for autism" is someone wasting government money on a useless study, and trying hard to justify continued government grants for further uselss research.

As a side note, my autistic child is in third grade in a normal school and normal class and gets good grades. This is without medication or any other means. Simply spending the time to know how his mind works and making it go in the directions it needed to in order to function was sufficient to achieve this result. I think if parents spent a little more time with the autistic children and learned about it and them, the problem would not be as bad as the media makes it out to be. {And before anyone accuses our family of having the time and resources to do things they can't: we have 5 children, both of us work full time jobs, and still found success through effort and sacrifice. That's all it takes, along with loads of patience. :) }

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I work screening children in an area that is economically depraved w/ mostly young parents. My work involves developmental screenings of children birth - 5yrs. I am continually shocked at the number of parents putting infants in front of tvs with the sound blaring, tv has become the babysitter for many families. It's sad because there are toys and kitchen floors that can be utilized when moms are busy. play time should not be on moms & dads time it should be focused on the kid learning. We as a society need to be educating moms & dads alike on proper parenting techniques, rather than bitching about the demise of our society when they get into their teens and twenties. TV is not the culprit, it is lack of parenting. I understand moms and dads are single parents and don't have time, but make time. we cannot expect to reep a good harvest when we don't fertilize the crop.

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"Autism symptoms" do no necesarily translate into autism. The diagnosis of autism used to be fairly rare. Now it happens in one out of every 166 births. Since the the broadening of the diagnosis of autism to include all the autism spectrum disorders the numbers have shot thru the roof. Speaking as a mother of an autistic son I well know that is has nothing to do with television. To suggest otherwise is an insult to all of the parents with autustic kids. Your blog had it's intended effect. It caused a response. I sincerely hope your ego is stroked by the many responses you've received. You Kristin are a rather simplistic, poorly informed ass! Watch out in the time it took you to read this your child may have turned on said TV and is now exibiting "autistic symptoms."

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My sister and son have Autism and they did not watch TV at all. Next. I think that Autism, which studies have shown has been linked to anitibiotics and immunization shots, is more likely caused by the fact that people with more money, give their kids more shots and anitibiotics and therefore can afford cable. My son definitely had an abundance of shots and antibiotics, but no TV. Next.

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This is the most ridiculous nonsence I have read this year. Autism is a complex spectrum disorder that is not yet clearly defined in the DSM or by any professional I have encountered during the past 15 years. As that is the period of time I have been awaiting a clear diagnosis for my son. What I have learned learned after consulting with 20 professionals in the field seeking answers and hope for my son is there are no clear definitive causes for autistic sprectrum disorders but without a doubt exposure to television is no more a cause of autism than dreaming about cookies is a cause for obesity. Get real better yet get off the blog and go back to your reasearch through the national enquirer wherever this research was done needs to be shut down immediately. IDIOTS

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In a study coming soon, i'm sure they will somehow link cancer to watching tv as well. I wonder if the government,who still denies their role in the mercury laced vaccines that they knew full well would have ill effects on our children, financially backed this study? I personnally have worked with autistic kids and not only disaggree with this ridiculous claim but will go so far as to say TV can be a highly effective tool in teaching these kids, who are highly VISUAL LEARNERS. They understand abstract concepts, from numbers and counting to vocabulary and speech to what it means to have a birthday or what holidays are, when they are continuously modeled in a fun way like that evil show Sesame Street, or Blue's Clues that lures them in with dance and song. If you ask parents of an autistic child how they conquered the sometimes very difficult feat of potty training, 9 times out of 10, they will cite a potty training video hosted by a fun, lovable, furry character.
It's a shame that this proposterous study makes front page news on the internet when everyone could benefit much more from a study that shows the correlation of GOVERNMENT TO AUTISM and how they need to pay for more than prescription drugs to mask the effects of the disorder.

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There are too many varying factors for a study like this to have meaning. Remember when kids were told to sit back at least 5'from the TV? Screens were 14" & most of the TV was furniture. Now they are 56" and kids sit 2' away. Does the TV emit electromagnectic waves that affect the child's brain function? In any case, the assumption that Sponge Bob Square pants causes autism doesn't take into account all other possible factors. I agree with the people who think Autistic kids would probably rather watch TV than play (interact) outside with other kids.

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This is ridiculous, as we all know correlation does not prove causation. And considering Autism being linked to savant syndrome, I doubt increasing the amount of TV encourages a child's brain to be an adept musician or mathematician. Another progressive social issue to consider, is the way families are changing. Now more than ever both parental units are working, so its easy to see how there's an increase in children being placed in front of the TV as a makeshift nanny.

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why is it that every thing is a possible link except thermasol in the vaccines?

is it because that merc has boyh political parties in their pocket?

or it skewers the great liberal cause of mandatory childhood vaccinations through it's very heart?

or most likley, that the great explosion in autisim happened during the clinton administration, and they were asleep at the switch??

the link will never be known because nobody other than the parents and sibilings really care.

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I have my own "autism theory"....I was wondering if any of this autism in the children has derived from the mother taking prenatal vitamins...b/c women didn't really start taking them habitually during pregnancy till about the same time that autism started to appear in our children...and as far as the t.v. is concerned I had a professor in college that referred to t.v. as candy for the brain..and too much of it can't be good for any person...so as a parent..just try to monitor your child's t.v. time...b/c everybody including children need a little candy....but too much can make you sick...thanks Kasia

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It would be interesting to know who funded this study. One guess, the pharmaceuticals companies who want to deviate from the issue of Vaccination=Autism! It’s all propaganda. Don’t believe the LIES!!!

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Vaccines do not cause autism. If they did, we would have a huge number of autistic kids. Also, they used to contain ethyl mercury and not methyl mercury that is in fish that, at high doses can cause poisoning of the brain. Many Amish groups vaccinate their children because they believe in protecting their children out of love. Many of us older folks remember children having "routine" childhood disease and being crippled for life by polio, babies with congental rubella syndrome, hospitalized with encephalitis after mumps (my husband as well). My dauther was hospitalized with hib and was nearly hospitalized with her severe chickenpox. People seem to forget how severe these little diseases can get.
I believe more in the theory of a genetic link. TV definately contributes to childhood obesity, but autism? I will need more data on that to really consider it as a causal relationship.

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I have several issues with this study, which I read..not just the reports. For one, the researcher is a professor in the Cornell business school - The Johnson School. Autism is in no way linked to any part of his specialty whatsoever. Second, he merely did a statistical analysis of the correlation between cable TV use and incidence of the rise in autism by county in 3 states - CA, PA and GA.

This study is so flawed on so many levels, the best that can be said about it is that he may have shown a symptom of autism development but it's not a strong enough study to make a causal connection between TV watching and children developing autism.

I was a university LD Specialist. What I can tell you about autism spectrum disorders is that there are 15-20 genes involved in the development of a predisposition to the disorder. Usually it's a combination of genes from both mother and father. Through my husband's research into developmental toxicology (he's also a Cornell prof), there may be environmental factors apparent in prenatal exposures.

This study also didn't look at why children that young were being allowed to watch that much TV. Was it due to more parents both working and having less time to spend with the child? Was it because the child was heavily visually oriented as many austic kids can be? Was there a problem with brain development before they began TV watching?

This is more like a doctor acknowledging your pain and telling you to take 2 aspirin and call me in the morning.

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That's incredibly ridiculous. My children have watched TV since they were small and now they are incredibly verbal, articulate, funny, and smart 5 & 7 year olds! If TV makes kids autistic, mine would be! Parents need to relax; everything in moderation.

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I entirely agree with Mae: autism=tv, not the other way around. My son, who is autistic, actively sought to watch TV and videos and was clearly drawn to them much more than his slightly older, non-autistic sister. And now that I know what I should have been looking for (Danny is 18 so this is back in the 1980s), he was already manifesting symptoms of autism when he started watching videos in preference to other activities. Furthermore, Danny has relatively good verbal and social skills and I suspect that some of this is attributable to modeling behavior and language he sees and hears in videos. So I would be very cautious about taking TV away on the basis of one study that sounds very poorly done.

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There is NO evidence that TV watching or vaccines, for that matter, causes autism. In the current study, the authors found a correlation, which can never imply causation. Any two things can be correlated and that doesn't mean that one causes the other. For example, my neighbor and I might get up for work at the same time but that doesn't mean that my alarm clock causes my neighbor's alarm clock to go off! In the case of this study, it is more likely that their results are either random and would not be found again if another research team studied the same issues, or due to some third variable. For example, perhaps children who will eventually develop autism are more drawn to the bright lights of the TV when they are younger and so they watch TV for longer than kids who won't become autistic. Autistic children do tend to fixate on certain environmental stimuli, such as lights. This doesn't mean that the TV watching caused the autism, but rather, that it was a symptom of a disease process that was already developing, but not yet prominent.

Similarly with vaccines, studies have only shown a correlation between vaccine administration and autism. But again, this is a function of autism appearing about the same time that certain vaccines (e.g, MMR) are given. You might as well say that the Dr's visit causes autism, but you don't because you know that that is just something that occurred at the same time. Autism rates are going up while vaccine rates are staying the same and the use of mercury in vaccines is going down.

The best evidence we have for a "cause" of autism comes from genetic studies. Autism appears to be highly heritable, suggesting a genetic base to the disorder. It is likely that you need to inherit a number of "bad" genes to get the disorder (e.g., it isn't a single gene disorder), which makes it difficult to find the genes and understand the cause of it better. Additionally, there may need to be some environmental toxin that interacts with the "bad" genes that ultimately leads to the disorder.

In general, when the media reports research, they get it wrong and don't explain it carefully enough to the general public. I encourage you to think critically about what they report.

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#20 I agree with. People, read up on the amount of vaccinations you're children/babies are receiving these past 10-15 years; the contents of mercury, the POLITICAL positioning of our government (once again) behind these hidden vaccacinations...and lo and behold, the direct correlation of these shots with the uprise of autism.
Signed,
A Very Concerned Citizen/Mother/Nana

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I am the parent of a 5 year old autistic boy. IMHO, we are back to the chicken and the egg question, once again. Does watching TV cause autism, or are children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders drawn to TV? The television is welcome sensory for many ASD kids. It requires no reciprocal communication, which can be laborious and uncomfortable, or even impossible for a child with autism.

I don't think TV is good for kids with ASD, but I don't believe it causes it either.

As for the vaccines, well, I researched my son's shots and he has never had a drop of thimerisol (mercury). His only possible exposure was that I received the rhogam shot, which I am told is loaded with mercury, after I had my first child, so maybe he was exposed in that way, but I doubt it.

As for dietary, well, we tried the caesin free, gluten free diet with no result.

My son's neurologist said that every child that he has ever diagnosed with Autism has a blood realative with either aspergers, OCD or bipolar disorder. It has something to do with the part of the brain that regulates seratonin. At least that is what he believes.

All that I know for certain is that I have a beautiful, handsome charming and extremely smart little boy, and I don't know if he will ever be able to care for himself as an independant, self sufficient adult. We are trying, very hard to make that a reality, but there are no guarantees.

It's a rip off and I'm mad as hell. But, it is the hand we have been delt and we will do the best we can with the cards we have been given.

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I would absolutely love to see this study. As a special educator of 5 students with Autism, I ponder the idea of where Autism is stemming from. However, it has never crossed my mind that TV is a factor. Even as an educator, I use media to teach my students. It is a different and more motivational form of teaching that allows concepts to sink in.

Years ago, Autism was not that popular. My feeling is it's because doctors were unaware of it at the time and didn't really know what it was. With that, they were unable to diagnos it. Now, with Autism practically becoming an epidemic, doctors find it easier to pinpoint the disability and diagnos children with it. I do not think TV is a factor. This is what out Autistic children need at times to allow them to become more social. They're not interested in reading a Social Studies text book. They want pictures, images, movies. This study is obsurd. Do we have a link??

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