[oramar]

http://www.slate.com/id/2151538/

[yeSICU]

And the search continues... Some things I have noticed in general are that a. People are having children a lot later in life since that time period... I notice a lot of gray haired parents and very educated professionals have autistic children and b. It is interesting that it is so low in the amish community... I wonder what the mean age for childbirth is and the age of both of the parents... Plus autism spectrum disorder encompasses such a broad range of attributes and it is almost like a blanket diagnosis.
I think I personally am more inclined to think that a genetic component is much stronger (although I do not claim to be an expert). Studies have shown Schizophrenia is linked to the age of the father at time of conception, maybe there is a link there. There is so much research on the mother and factors affecting children, maybe instead some attention can be turned to factors that males add to the equation. Autism definitely needs more attention and some concrete research though.

Those damn Backyardigans! Why are they so cute! I guess I will turn the Noggin channel off and put on some music... lol

[oramar]

Originally Posted by yeSICU

And the search continues... Some things I have noticed in general are that a. People are having children a lot later in life since that time period... I notice a lot of gray haired parents and very educated professionals have autistic children and b. It is interesting that it is so low in the amish community... I wonder what the mean age for childbirth is and the age of both of the parents... Plus autism spectrum disorder encompasses such a broad range of attributes and it is almost like a blanket diagnosis.
I think I personally am more inclined to think that a genetic component is much stronger (although I do not claim to be an expert). Studies have shown Schizophrenia is linked to the age of the father at time of conception, maybe there is a link there. There is so much research on the mother and factors affecting children, maybe instead some attention can be turned to factors that males add to the equation. Autism definitely needs more attention and some concrete research though.

Those damn Backyardigans! Why are they so cute! I guess I will turn the Noggin channel off and put on some music... lol

I watch Backyardigans with my grand child all the time. However, she is five, that is very different than a 6 mo. old watching them.

[scribblerpnp]

This isn't a new idea. It's been floating around for about 10 years. Just to be rotten, I'm going to say it.

If you work in peds, think about all of the parents who refuse vaccination due to a fear of autism. How many parents are going to D/C the TV watching? My guess, it isn't going to come close.

I wish something like this would make the big news like the supposed vaccine and autism link did. THEN maybe all these parents would listen to me about sitting their 3 month old in front of the Baby Einstein videos for hours at a time.

I agree with the genetic link and the blanket dx. I went to school with some kids, and now looking back I would swear they had undiagnosed Ausberger's.

[momandstudent]

My patho. instructor told us that the "Baby Einstein" videos were the worst things an infant could watch. I do not remember if this was her own opinion or something she had gotten somewhere. I have never seen the videos but have seen many of them given for baby shower gifts. In my opinion they are just another form of "free babysitting".

[birdgardner]

My guess is that many autistic infants already show subtle signs but that it doesn't get picked up until they reach toddlerhood (barring those who have a dramatic loss of abilities and interaction.)

I was 26 when my oldest was born, knew something was off when he was two weeks old. My fears were downplayed by his doctors but today I think he would have been identified somewhere between 7 and 9 months. Back then, 18 months.

Before he was identified I read him the Sesame Street books first and then I let him watch Sesame Street on TV when he responded well to the books. It was a mother's instinct therapeutic decision, to facilitate cognitive integration between different domains, and to dwell on the social interactions. (He could understand, but he couldn't talk; all his communication was very limited, and his interaction was limited.)

I still think Sesame Street was a good choice, but I didn't use the TV as a baby sitter; I was with him, and it was only an hour a day.

[Livenlearn]

This article reminds me of the days when they thought a mothers inattention and inability to bond with her child caused autism, therefore creating the "hug therapy" that was so popular.

I am not an expert but teach autistic children functional mobility skills. Many autistic children like a predictible environment, lack social skills and have great difficulty playing appropriately with toys. Especially pretend and role playing situations. It makes sense that children with autism would sit and enjoy watching TV longer because they tend to avoid social interaction and will not seek people out. Therefore, TV is a comfortable predictible environment that autistic children love. TV can become an interactive activity if you ask questions and seek eye contact during the program.

IMHO many activities that lack social interaction would be highly desirable, TV and compters being no exception.

I think studies like these cause conscientious parents excessive fear of TV and others to disregard the study.

Early intervention programs in my area are very strong and should provide some great statistics in the future on how well these programs improve the outcome of children with autism.

With autism diagnosis in the forefront many children are being diagnosed with autism at an early age (18 months). Other disorders including OCD, ADHD, PDD, mental retardation and oppositional deviant disorder are not being ruled out.

I'll stop for now. This is a hot topic for me.

[CHATSDALE]

we are learning more and more every day...trouble is that some expert will throw out and opinion and it gets picked up on a slow news day by the media
too much tv is not good for any child but blaming the mom for the child esp an infant, who is later dx with atusim doesn't make much sense

[ivanaBEEaRN]

I didnt read the whole article I have heard of the theory before. To me it sounds like the refridgerator mother idea as someone else had stated. Looking back now I can see how my son displayed some symptoms of autism at around 4-6 months. I know that when he got to be around 2.5 I let him watch TV, because that is what brought about language with him. He would copy the words he heard on TV for car commercials, his first word was Ford at around age 3, he didnt say mommy until 6 months later, but through car commercials on TV his language began to progress. No matter where he was in the house if the TV was on and he heard the start of a car commercial he would come running to watch it. He then would be able to walk through a parking lot and tell you, Ford, dodge, chevy, just by looking at the logo of the car, but through that we were finally able to make a connection with him.

[scribblerpnp]

Some very true statements about early signs of autism and why an autistic child would gravitate to the TV. I think MOST parents of autistic kids looking back seem to remember vague, early signs. The problem is that they are usually so discrete and difficult to pick up. How do you determine in a 4 month old if it is early autism or just a difficult temperment? Now, by 18 months of age, the language really starts to lag, and that is usually (unless there are earlier signs of a gross develop delay) the first really strong red-flag that a person can get. It also happens to be close to the time of the MMR vaccine- thus why it is such a hot topic on parent's minds.

There is just so much we don't know. Yes, rates have been going up, but is that because we really have more autistic children, or is it because we are just using the dx more (because there is a wider set of guidelines? Seems like our practice has a lot of "high functioning" autistic spectrum kids. Ones who I would fully anticipate to go to college, get a job, get married, have kids, etc. And how often do we run into 40 or 50 year old people, that have led a normal life, but just "seem odd?"