Published on 12, July, 2020
There is some contentious stuff out there about high levels of tv watching increasing the chances of a child becoming autistic. What if however children with autism/autism traits are more likely anyway to watch tv. I don't know if that is true, I'm just throwing it out there for debate.Possibly more time stuck in front of the box would mean less time engaged in imaginative play.I was a toddler in the late 50s/early 60s and apparently watched a lot of television. Nowadays a toddler watching lots of tv or videos would not be that unusual, but I'm not sure it was the case back in the late 50s/early 60s .
I am always extremely wary about such claims (such as T.V causes Autism) as, in my experience, they tend to have an underlying agenda such as, ‘it’s the parents or individuals fault,’ or that ‘Autism is something that could therefore have been avoided or can be controlled’ etc. Such seemingly innocuous ‘rumours’ can be very damaging, especially if they gather momentum in the ‘Trial by Media,’ hearsay arena,) to the plight of raising awareness and respect, and enabling effective support, for Neuro Diversity.
I initiated a discussion a few months ago about whether AS is caused by teaching children to read at too young an age.
http://community.autism.org.uk/f/miscellaneous-and-chat/8857/is-as-caused-by-teaching-children-to-read-at-too-young-an-age
The NAS holds the position that ASD is genetic although this effectively places a hard limit on research into the true causes of ASD.