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SN children

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Original poster

TV and Autism

38 replies

Anoah · 20/10/2006 14:38

My kid has a diagnosis of high functioning autism. My dad has just sent me an article that concludes that autism is caused when young children watch too much TV. I think it is a load of rubbish, but obviously he doesn't. My son has hardly ever watched TV.

Comments? Would love to hear from parents of autistic kids who don't have a TV so I can prove my dad and his stupid article wrong.

OP posts:

PeachyBobbingParty · 20/10/2006 15:03

Crap.

No-one knows what causes autism, and I never heard this before.

My kids do have a TV, but just the one in the house

If it's TV, how come a gluten free diet hellped Sam immensely? Or how come Autism is seen worldwide?

2mum · 20/10/2006 15:25

My kids do watch quite a lot of dvds and tv and i dont think theres any harm in it. But i dont believe it causes autism, not for a second.

Jimjams2 · 20/10/2006 19:52

Blimey did someone get paid to write that? Frightening.

coppertop · 20/10/2006 20:26

I'm about as certain as I can be that my dad and a couple of his brothers were/are on the autistic spectrum. They had no television when they were growing up. If autism was caused by TV then how come it existed long before televisions were a household fixture?

I think I might try getting paid to write an article about how autism is caused by fathers wearing socks during conception.

Homsa · 20/10/2006 20:42

I recently came across a web forum where some posters claimed just that, that watching too much TV causes autism, and it made me feel bad even though I think it's total nonsense.

They're confusing cause and effect IMO, lots of autistic children love watching TV because it provides the visual stimulation many of them crave, and they are comforted by the endless repetition that DVDs and videos provide. But they're not autistic because they've watched too much telly, they're watching too much telly because they're autistic!!!

I think my DS was already displaying autistic traits long before he ever watched telly, there's a very interesting article here about how autistic babies move differently from NT babies almost from birth.

sorrell · 20/10/2006 21:07

What a load of utter bollock! What is this article? Where was it published? Who wrote it?
It's crap! Take no notice. Why did your dad send it to you? Men often stay in denial about children's problems while women get on with dealing with them IME (though dh is not like that)

MrsForgetful · 21/10/2006 10:04

its stuff like that that makes it so much harder to get family support for me...cos just as i think family are finally 'getting it'...something like that comes along that suggests a cause...which both implies blame and the idea that 'if we only did or didn't do this or that....then 'all would be well'.

i am continually being told how if I fed them this or if I ignored that...then i'd see an 'improvement'....

ScummyMummy · 21/10/2006 10:07

What absolute, total, utter, complete bilge. Would it be worth sending the article to the National Autistic Society, Anoah? I really think that this kind of myth is appalling and should be actively challenged by people concerned to educate the public about autism.

BATtymumma · 21/10/2006 10:33

articles like this make me so angry.

for the next few weeks autistic kids and parents will be given 'those' looks....you know the ones where you know damned well they are thinking he is only that way becasue your a crap mum.

these people should be able to have legal action taken against them.

I couldn't write an article stating that orange juice cures aids, so why should it be allowed to write such utter nonesense about another damaging illness.

and in repsonse to the initial question, my DS has only ever watched DVDS and he still doesn't pay much attention to them

Original poster

Anoah · 21/10/2006 11:26

I was a bit angry because he sent it to me as if to see "it is probably your fault". He knows the hell we are going through with DS. His teacher said to me on monday that he needs to get the heck out of mainstream school and into a special school. Senco and autism outreach said that is complete bullshit. So it has been a crap week. I think it was a just a bit insensitive of my dad and I got upset.

The article was sent in an email but I will try to find the link and post it.

OP posts:

tobysmumkent · 21/10/2006 16:47

Message withdrawn

Hamandcheese · 21/10/2006 19:09

DS1 watched NO TV at all till about 2.4yrs, and since then 10 - 20 mins per day. He has AS, I noticed his difficulties / problems at age about 18mo, if not before. I wonder whether he would be more typical if he watched more TV....

Some grandparents seem to struggle coming to terms with grandchildren with SN, esp those SN they don't really understand.

flack · 21/10/2006 19:55

There is some research that links excess tv watching to developing adhd. I think that's really only in a few kids who already have a susceptibility, though.

Are autistic kids more likely to have adhd, too?

sorrell · 21/10/2006 21:26

is this it?
Because it is total crap! No evidence whatsoever. It's the same as saying, 'does chocolate cause autism'.

MrsForgetful · 22/10/2006 01:14

if that is it....just read the replies to it!!! here!

PeachyBobbingParty · 22/10/2006 13:00

Drivel, I can trace a clear line genetially through my family; add in Sam's birth trauma and you have a pretty good explanation of why he is who he is.

Now, had they said that sitting a child in front of a TV all day if they have ASD tendencies doesn't help communication skills isn't the best idea, then fine.

FWIW there's loads of things that have changed since 1980: use of microwaves, use of nursery settings, amount iof time spent in cars etc etc etc- why not pick on any of these??? An agenda, methinks!

(FWIW Don't think any of these things increase asd either, fully believe it's an innate tendency exaccerbated by various factors. Else, how come gluten free diets (for example) are helpful?)

TwigTwoolett · 22/10/2006 18:44

Drivel - bollocks - crap

its not worth any further comment... your father is patently not using his brain to consider how a correlation is NOT a causation

ignore it

ClutterJunkie · 22/10/2006 18:49

...another angle is that believe it or not my eldest actually learns about what he sees as the 'real world' from things like coronation street!!! (last week saw the funeral they had....)
Mind you...having said that...when he has watched a film and starts to disect it piece by piece...examining every 'figure of speech'...'taking everything literally'...etc....then to me tv just seems as a tool to get him talking aboutwhat he sees in RL that confuses him.

one day he heard the phrase 'clean shave'...and was confused as the actor had cut him self ...and DS couldn't understand how it was a clean shave...as blood is 'dirty' in his eyes.

so there began a 10minute explanation of what people mean by 'clean shave'....and all started by something he saw on tv.

i also still have to convince him at 12 that the asda's they show on tv is not our local branch...i've had to expain that the stores are designed and laid out in such a way that they appear to look the same.....

so ...my perspective is that in my AS experience...t.v is a tool....helps my son make sense of life

Blandmum · 22/10/2006 18:54

Oh FFS you can show that there is a direct correlation between global warming and declining number of pirates in the world!

erinssleepymum · 22/10/2006 20:02

cant believe what ive just read?? what a load of crap!!! if you click the link mrs forgetful posted, it talks about anti depressants causing autism passed through the WOMB!! blaming the early eighties widespread use!! who writes these bloody articles?? as a mum of a 17 yr old with aspergers i have a hard enough time as it is without idiots like these!!
do you not agree we blame ourselves already? we dont need someone to blame us some more!! sorry, had to let off steam!

PeachyBobbingParty · 23/10/2006 08:51

(MB- LOL, Love that website )

PeachyBobbingParty · 23/10/2006 08:52

If ad's cause autism then Sam is not mine, I didn't take Ad's

so that's shit then

Rosyspookily · 23/10/2006 10:44

My neice has aspergers and the family have no tv. She does have to be dragged away from it though at my house. So tend to agree that its more likely the other way round.

coppertop · 23/10/2006 10:48

No ADs here either.

caroline3 · 23/10/2006 11:06

There was an article in the S.Times about this. Really made me angry... I know its a load of crap but it just spreads more ignorance about and gives people a stick to hit paretns with ASD kids with. Which is just what we all need.

Now I am waiting for someone in my family to say "had you heard that TV could be causing ds's AS, why don't you try getting rid of the TV..."

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