'Did I cause this?' Examining the reality behind claims of 'virtual autism'

CHICAGO - Virtual autism has been a viral topic of discussion for the last few years.

In a FOX 32 Special Report, Elizabeth Matthews finds out what's fact or fiction regarding this condition.

"Virtual autism is something I’ve started to hear a little bit more primarily in parent forums within online parent communities," said Dr. Citlaly Gonzalez, a clinical psychologist at Easterseals DuPage and Fox Valley.

Part of Gonzalez's job is to evaluate children to see if they have autism or another developmental condition.

"I would say more often than not parents will ask ‘is there something that I did that caused this,’" Gonzalez said.  

Something as simple as not watching their child's diet.

"I think a lot of times when parents have kids with delays, the anxiety is already heightened and the feeling of parental guilt, the worries, the anxieties are already there," Gonzalez said.

Even though the pandemic is over, she said some parents are anxious that they did some wrong back then.

"So a lot of parents tell me we didn’t have daycare, we didn’t have anywhere to go. I was working from home so I turned on the TV to entertain them," Gonzalez said.

That could be causing a problem for their child now.

"Virtual autism is not a DSM diagnosis. It is not a real medical condition," Gonzalez said.  

"When you have language delays, you get delays in other areas of development like social development," said Dr. Louis Kraus, head of Rush University Medical Center’s autism assessment program. "So a child might present looking like a child with high functioning autism spectrum disorder, but in reality, that’s not what’s going on."

"It’s really talking about language deficits that can develop in early use of screen time with kids. In particular, too much screen time. Kids that are quite young, the only screen time they should use is in communication if a parent is away," Kraus added.

Doctors say children who might develop this condition are usually three years old and younger, which can pose another problem.

"We know that probably at least 25% of kids that are diagnosed with autism. You know young kids diagnosed with autism end up not having it as they grow up. It’s social anxiety disorder, speech and language disorder. Other struggles that they’re having," Kraus said.

"I'm a parent too. I live in the real world. I'm not saying let’s get rid of all the devices and screens but let’s be smart consumers of media information," Gonzalez said.

For Gonzalez, that means letting your child's screen time be on a TV instead of an iPad or a phone.

"When you’re watching TV you’re still open to the world around you. When you’re watching a tablet, your face is down here (looks down). You’re not really open to what’s happening around you," Gonzalez said.

Which means less chance for building social and language skills.

"So kids learn language by having responsive interactions with their caregivers," said Anne Hoffman, a speech pathologist at Rush University Medical Center. "And so if they’re spending a lot of time on a screen they’re not getting all those responsive interactions so it can lead to a communication delay. A language delay. But that’s also something that we know how to treat."  

That starts with less screen time.

"I think reducing is the right word," said Maureen Karwowski, an occupational therapist and head of clinical services for Easterseals DuPage and Fox Valley. "I think going cold turkey is going to be very disruptive for the child."

"If they are so used to being passive consumers, then they’ll need support on how to play. They are going to need you to get on the floor with them. A good game of hide and seek, an obstacle course around the living room," Karwowski said.

While we hear a lot of concerns about too much screen time for kids, some of it does have a place in your child's development.

"And so what I think is really difficult is that it’s easy for us to start to think about all or nothing," said Dr. Kristin Sohl, chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Council on Children with Disabilities Autism Subcommittee.

"And child development is not about all or nothing. It’s about trying to expose children to a well-rounded environment that may include some screens," she added.

Which is why the American Academy of Pediatrics has developed this set of screen time guidelines for children as they grow.

For those parents who might be looking for answers regarding child development delays on the internet, Gonzalez said the bottom line is this.  

"I always want to reassure parents its nothing they did. Autism is not caused by anything that a parent did or did not do," Gonzalez said.

If you think your child has a developmental delay, the experts we spoke with said the first step is to contact your pediatrician.

More resources

• Free Developmental Screening Tool, askeasterseals.com
• Autism Services
• Maureen Karwowski interview touched on DIR Floortime TherapyAdditional information on our blog here
• Additional information on our blog here
• National Easterseals Information on Autism
• American Academy of Pediatrics screen time guidelines