Electronic Screen Media Use in Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder

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Key points

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    Extended screen time has a multitude of harmful effects on typically developing youth and those with autism spectrum disorder, including but not limited to physiologic, cognitive, social, emotional, and legal/safety effects.

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    Youth with autism spectrum disorder may be even more at risk than typically developing peers for many of these harmful effects.

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    Several technology-aided interventions have emerged to help youth with autism spectrum disorder across multiple domains, including social skills,

Scope of media use in youth with autism spectrum disorder

Youth with ASD watch more television than TD matched peers,1 and spend approximately 4.5 hours a day on screen time with 2 or less hours dedicated to nonscreen activities.2 Youth with ASD spend most of their free time on screens compared with 18% of TD peers, and youth with ASD play video games an average of 1 hour more per day than TD peers3 and tend to have a preference for video games over television.4

The difficulty for youth with ASD in disengaging from ESM is further elaborated in parental

The unique interplay between autism spectrum disorder symptoms and media

In the last two decades, the prevalence rate of ASD has risen two-fold and now stands at 1 in 68 children. ASD awareness has correspondingly soared through increased media coverage, culminating in the recent introduction of a new character with Autism (Julia) on PBS' Sesame Street television series.

Simultaneous to this spike in ASD prevalence, access to ESM overall has increased exponentially, doubling over a 2-year period between 2011 and 2013.5 Children with ASD, who already have a strong

Sequelae of unhealthy and improper electronic and social media use in youth with autism spectrum disorder and families

Unhealthy and improper use of ESM is associated with several negative outcomes, many of which could disproportionately impact youth with ASD and their families in a detrimental way.

Technology-aided interventions for youth with autism spectrum disorder

Children with ASD can potentially learn more efficiently from computers than from in-person teachers14 and technology has been used to assist children with ASD for more than 40 years, beginning with early augmentative and assistive communication devices to promote language development. Since the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, there has been a massive shift away from desktop applications and toward mobile devices, along with a simultaneous explosion in publications on TAI for youth with ASD

Future directions

Autism combines in myriad ways with the fast-moving and ubiquitous technological advancements of the day. Within the flurry of activity and innovation in the area of ASD and TAI, there are several key trends that are likely to continue. First, development of interventions based on mobile platforms has grown exponentially in the last 10 years and will likely be the foundation of future innovation. Mobile and wearable devices can now recognize where the user is, how they are moving, and what they

The Complex Interplay Between Electronic and Social Media Use in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Family Dynamics

Many parents of youth with ASD find the management of electronic media to be a source of distress in the family.64 Approximately half of such families have identified rules on media use, and even those who endorse having rules admit that such rules are ineffective.65 Table 2 outlines and categorizes risk factors that lead to negative outcomes.25, 27, 65

General Recommendations for Families

Great care should be taken in educating youth with ASD and their families in the clinical and school settings such that there is an adequate

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Ben Kinsella and Christina Whalen for their contributions to this article. They also thank several individuals who allowed them to share their impressive work as a part of this article.

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    Disclosure Statement: Dr M.F. Gwynette has nothing to disclose. Dr S.S. Sidhu has received an honorarium for writing CME questions for the American Psychiatric Association journal, FOCUS. Dr T.A. Ceranoglu has nothing to disclose.

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