Caregiver Reports of Screen Time Use of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Study

Stiller, Anja; Weber, Jan; Strube, Finja; Mößle, Thomas

doi:10.3390/bs9050056

Cited by 22 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 87 publications

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“…The current findings also have broader implications for the effective design of electronic screen media and screen-based learning activities for individuals with ASD. As is the case for children in general, electronic screen media is a preferred leisure activity for children with ASD (Montes, 2016; Shane & Albert, 2008; Stiller et al, 2019; Stiller & Mößle, 2018). Screen-based learning activities for individuals with ASD are also increasingly common in academic settings and intervention contexts (Shane & Albert, 2008; Stiller et al, 2019; Wainer & Ingersoll, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As is the case for children in general, electronic screen media is a preferred leisure activity for children with ASD (Montes, 2016; Shane & Albert, 2008; Stiller et al, 2019; Stiller & Mößle, 2018). Screen-based learning activities for individuals with ASD are also increasingly common in academic settings and intervention contexts (Shane & Albert, 2008; Stiller et al, 2019; Wainer & Ingersoll, 2011). However, numerous research groups have emphasized the importance of evaluating and refining electronic screen media as a learning tool for individuals with ASD (Gwynette et al, 2018; Odom et al, 2015; Shane & Albert, 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Visual perceptual salience and novel referent selection in children with and without autism spectrum disorder

Venker

Neumann

Aladé

2022

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

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Background & Aims Many young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate striking delays in early vocabulary development. Experimental studies that teach the meanings of novel nonwords can determine the effects of linguistic and attentional factors. One factor that may affect novel referent selection in children with ASD is visual perceptual salience—how interesting (i.e., striking) stimuli are on the basis of their visual properties. The goal of the current study was to determine how the perceptual salience of objects affected novel referent selection in children with ASD and children who are typically developing (TD) of similar ages (mean age 3–4 years). Methods Using a screen-based experimental paradigm, children were taught the names of four unfamiliar objects: two high-salience objects and two low-salience objects. Their comprehension of the novel words was assessed in low-difficulty and high-difficulty trials. Gaze location was determined from video by trained research assistants. Results Contrary to initial predictions, findings indicated that high perceptual salience disrupted novel referent selection in the children with ASD but facilitated attention to the target object in age-matched TD peers. The children with ASD showed no significant evidence of successful novel referent selection in the high-difficulty trials. Exploratory reaction time analyses suggested that the children with autism showed “stickier” attention—had more difficulty disengaging (i.e., looking away)—from high-salience distracter images than low-salience distracter images, even though the two images were balanced in salience for any given test trial. Conclusions and Clinical Implications These findings add to growing evidence that high perceptual salience has the potential to disrupt novel referent selection in children with ASD. These results underscore the complexity of novel referent selection and highlight the importance of taking the immediate testing context into account. In particular, it is important to acknowledge that screen-based assessments and screen-based learning activities used with children with ASD are not immune to the effects of lower level visual features, such as perceptual salience.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual perceptual salience and novel referent selection in children with and without autism spectrum disorder

Venker

Neumann

Aladé

2022

Autism & Developmental Language Impairments

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“…Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) commonly experience disturbances in their circadian rhythms, and commonly find difficulty in both falling asleep as well as sleeping through the night (Cohen et al, 2014; Devnani and Hegde, 2015; Mazurek and Sohl, 2016; Baker and Richdale, 2017; Shelton and Malow, 2021). Perhaps because of this difficulty sleeping at night, ASD patients spend more time exposed to the electronic screens at night compared with age-matched controls (Engelhardt et al, 2013; Stiller et al, 2019; Healy et al, 2020; Dong et al, 2021). It has been speculated that this exposure to DLaN via screens and other lighting sources could be detrimental to ASD populations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long wavelength light reduces the negative consequences of dim light at night in the Cntnap2 mouse model of autism

Wang

Luk

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Many patients with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) show disturbances in their sleep/wake cycles, and may be particularly vulnerable to the impact of circadian disruptors. We have previously shown that exposure to dim light at night (DLaN) in contactin associated protein-like 2 knock out (Cntnap2 KO) mice disrupts diurnal rhythms, increases repetitive behaviors while reducing social interactions. These negative effects of DLaN may be mediated by intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) expressing the photopigment melanopsin, which is maximally sensitive to blue light (480nm). In this study, we used a light-emitting diode (LED) array that enabled us to shift the spectral properties of the DLaN while keeping the intensity at 10 lx. First, using wild-type (WT) mice, we confirmed that the short-wavelength enriched lighting produced a strong acute suppression of locomotor activity (masking), a robust light-induced phase shifts and c-Fos expression in the suprachiasmatic nucleus, while the long-wavelength enriched lighting evoked much weaker responses. Furthermore, exposure of WT mice to the short-wavelength light at night reduced the amplitude of locomotor activity rhythms and impaired social interactions. Mice lacking the melanopsin expressing ipRGCs (Opn4DTA mice) were resistant to these negative effects of DLaN. Importantly, the shift of the DLaN stimulus to longer wavelengths ameliorated the negative impact on the activity rhythms and autistic behaviors (i.e. reciprocal social interactions, repetitive grooming) of the Cntnap2 KO model. The short-, but not the long-wavelength enriched, DLaN triggered cFos expression in the peri-habenula region as well as in the basolateral amygdala (BLA). Finally, DLaN-driven c-Fos induction in BLA glutamatergic neurons was about 3-fold higher in the Cntnap2 KO mice, suggesting that these cells may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of photic disruption. Broadly, our findings suggest that the spectral properties of light at night should be considered in the management of ASD and other neurodevelopmental disorders.

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“…Online social media platforms offer autistic individuals an alternative method of engaging in social interaction, and may be appealing due to the diminished levels of social demands (Lough et al, 2015) whilst at the same time drawing on strengths and interests in screen-based technology (Mazurek, 2013). Research has shown that groups with developmental disabilities spend greater amounts of time online compared to their typical counterparts (Kagohar et al, 2013;Mazurek & Wenstrup, 2013) and rely more on online communication for social interactions and relationships (Heasman & Gillespie, 2019;Stiller et al, 2019;Ward et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using social media to be ‘social’: Perceptions of social media benefits and risk by autistic young people, and parents

Gillespie‐Smith

Hendry

Anduuru

et al. 2021

Research in Developmental Disabilities

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Caregiver Reports of Screen Time Use of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Qualitative Study

Cited by 22 publications

References 87 publications

Visual perceptual salience and novel referent selection in children with and without autism spectrum disorder

Visual perceptual salience and novel referent selection in children with and without autism spectrum disorder

Long wavelength light reduces the negative consequences of dim light at night in the Cntnap2 mouse model of autism

Using social media to be ‘social’: Perceptions of social media benefits and risk by autistic young people, and parents

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