Autism and Screen Time: If you are like many parents, who find their child spending more time in front of a screen, then you are probably looking for answers to questions like:
Will too much screen time be harmful? How can I limit my child’s time on screens?
Research indicates some potential negative side effects for children who have prolonged exposure to screens. Let’s be real in today’s time, it is nearly impossible to eliminate screens entirely. Still, it’s important to know that young children who spend more than two hours a day in front of screens may face an increased risk for developmental delays in language acquisition and communication skills. That violent, fast-paced content and overall screen time are linked to ADHD-related behavior.
To parents of children with autism, this knowledge can feel daunting, considering that kids with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can have delays in communication and language acquisition along with deficits in attention.
Let’s not forget the tremendous influence we have on our children and the many tools we can equip them with. To manage their own exposure and create healthy habits around screen time, these self-management strategies can help immensely as they grow up and transition to adulthood.
How, exactly can you foster healthy screen-time practices in your child with ASD?
Autism and Screen Time: Create Structure and Routine
Home is often a less structured environment than school, so screen time can be a “filler” activity when a child doesn’t have anything to do. An easy way to reduce time on screens is to plan out what the day will look like with your child. As you plan, involve your child in the process as much as possible and know that failing to plan is often a plan to fail especially for kids with autism, who tend to rely on structure and routines to help them navigate the day.
To establish natural boundaries around screen time, designate time that your child will have access to their devices. This will help your child understand your expectations and what they need to do before they can access their electronics. For instance, you might say, “First you need to eat breakfast and shower. Then you can watch 30 minutes of television.”
Autism and Screen Time: Modify The Environment
Modifying your child’s environment is another easy way to reduce access to screen time. Removing computers, televisions and tablets from bedrooms and making devices available only in common spaces allows you to monitor your child’s screen time more easily. Holding batteries, chargers, and power cords in a separate location that must be accessed by an adult is another way to limit or monitor exposure. These steps also encourage social interaction, given that your child must interact with you to access their electronics.
Keep in mind too, that some devices allow you to set time limits, so that after a specified amount of time, the device will restrict access or lock particular screens. This sort of intentional planning will go a long way in creating an environment that sets up your child and family for success.
Autism and Screen Time: Invest your time and introduce new things to keep them busy
Give your time to your child so that they enjoy playing indoor and outdoor games with you. Schedule fix days for activities like –
Monday: visit a park, Tuesday: arrange a playdate with other parents and children, Wednesday: play indoor games and listen to music and so on.
Set the days according to your child’s interest and need.
Keep encouraging them for pursuing new hobbies like painting, dancing, reading, cooking, swimming, cycling etc. So that they spend their time in constructive way, make sure if they are playing games on their tabs or mobile introduce them to only play useful apps appropriate to their age.
Autism and Screen Time: Encourage self-monitoring
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, long-term success with screen-time consumption depends largely on your child’s ability to monitor and adjust their own behavior. Each child requires varying degrees of support to self-monitor based on their development, but helping to bring awareness around “how much and what kind of consumption is healthy?” will empower your child to start. What can you do?
While implementing a true self-management protocol should be done you can do some simple things to encourage your child’s self-management skills. Start by setting clear expectations around what kind of content is acceptable in your home. If appropriate for your child’s age and development, discuss why certain content is acceptable, while other content is not. Parents control can help you and your child make informed decisions and can kick start discussions on acceptable content.
While these four steps are not exhaustive, they’re a simple starting point for encouraging “screen-time success” in your home and with your family.
Most importantly, don’t be afraid to try out different strategies and see what works best for you and your child. As every child is unique.
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