Saturday, October 21, 2006
Autism: Is there a link to watching television?
Some scientists seem to relate TV to autism. As recently as 30 years ago, it was thought one in 2,500 people had the condition. Today the figure is one in 166, a 15-fold increase.
The researchers recommend that parents follow the American Academy of Paediatrician's recommendation of no TV before age two, and no more than an hour or two of TV a day for older children.
Is this just another silly newspaper report? Here is a PDF link to the actual research, which none of the papers have bothered to do . Based on the autism rates across the US, there should be several hundred autistic Amish, but fewer than 10 were found.
Obviously the work is of serious psychological interest, apart from the kids. Further research suggestions are made within the paper and obviously while links may be merely correlational they may suggest some real effect.
The researchers recommend that parents follow the American Academy of Paediatrician's recommendation of no TV before age two, and no more than an hour or two of TV a day for older children.
Is this just another silly newspaper report? Here is a PDF link to the actual research, which none of the papers have bothered to do . Based on the autism rates across the US, there should be several hundred autistic Amish, but fewer than 10 were found.
Obviously the work is of serious psychological interest, apart from the kids. Further research suggestions are made within the paper and obviously while links may be merely correlational they may suggest some real effect.
# posted by uv : 9:39 PM
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