Watching tv when growing up and autism

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 .

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  • I haven't read this thread yet, but will take a look.  One obvious thought springs to mind, though.  How does that account for high-functioning autistics who are slower to learn to read?  How about autistics who can't read at all?