Don’t miss the interview with a mom who helped her 14-month-old son overcome screen-induced syndrome, a condition also termed “virtual autism.”: Watch it here.
Pediatricians are alarmed that babies and toddlers who spend hours a day on phones, tablets, and around TVs can develop a syndrome of marked behavioral changes that appear similar to autistic-like symptoms. The good news: the changes often disappear when the children stop all screen exposure and switch to face-to-face contact, reading, and play with parents, caregivers, other children, and non-electronic toys.
Two doctors in France are leading an awareness campaign, which they explain in this video.
“Screen viewing several hours a day prevents the brain from developing and generates behavior problems and relationship problems,” reports Dr. Anne-Lise Ducanda, speaking also for colleague Dr. Isabelle Terrasse. “We decided to make this video to warn parents, professionals, and public bodies of the grave dangers of all screens for children between the ages of zero to four.”
The doctors had noticed more and more toddlers with unusual changes in behavior. Some had stopped responding to their names and speaking words, began avoiding eye contact, and had become indifferent to the world around them. Many children lagged behind developmentally for their age and were language delayed.
Drawing on left by a 4-year-old who spends little time on screen media. Drawing on right by a slightly older 4-year-old who was highly screen-exposed..
After asking parents in detail about the kids’ media use and household exposure, the doctors discovered almost all the children had spent large amounts of time on and around screens—in some cases, ten hours a day. But when families stopped the child’s screen exposure and greatly increased social interaction and play with the child, most if not all aspects of the condition eventually disappeared.
Various studies in Romania have come to similar conclusions, one stating “sensory-motor and socio-affective deprivation caused by the consumption of more than 4 hours/day of virtual environment can activate behaviours and elements similar to those found in children diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder).”
Because this phenomenon has been so often observed in Romania, screen withdrawal there is now a therapeutic protocol for early ASD and a campaign is underway informing parents about the problem.
Romanian psychologist Marius Zamfir coined the term “Virtual Autism” to describe the screen-induced syndrome. He worries about lack of motivation among children exposed to excessive screen content. “Children’s brains are used to getting pleasure without making any effort at all,” he says in this video made for the Romanian public information campaign.
Meanwhile, a study released in 2022 of more than 84,000 Japanese babies and their mothers found that “among boys, longer screen time at 1 year of age was significantly associated with autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age.”
“With the rapid increase in device usage,” concluded the authors, “it is necessary to review the health effects of screen time on infants and to control excessive screen time.”
Study Proves Observable Brain Changes
A study of toddlers’ brains seems to bear out the behavioral indicators.
Cincinnati Children’s Hospital researchers show evidence in JAMA Pediatrics that young children who spend more than two hours a day on screens have less brain white matter. The brain’s white matter aids in thought processing and organization, as well as performing other vital functions.
“Think of white matter as cables, sort of like telephone lines that are connecting the various parts of the brain so they can talk to each other,” study author Dr. John Hutton told CNN.
“These are tracks that we know are involved with language and literacy,” he continued. “And these were the ones relatively underdeveloped in these kids with more screen time.”
47 healthy toddlers were studied. Screen exposure among them ranged from zero to about five hours a day.
In their report, the study authors did not make a connection to virtual autism nor did they specifically mention autistic-like symptoms.
Astronomical Rise in Autism Incidence
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, in 1975—when VCRs first came on scene—only one in 5,000 children in the U.S. was reported to have ASD. But by 2016, video on demand had become ubiquitous and the incidence of ASD had risen to one child in 68. The CDC now estimates the rate is 1 child in every 44.
Until very recently, “AV (audio-visual) exposure in infancy has been overlooked” as a risk factor for autism, according to research ophthalmologist Karen Frankel Heffler of Drexel University College of Medicine. As she writes in the journal Medical Hypotheses, “There has been an explosion in viewing opportunities for infants over the past 25 years, which parallels the rise in autism.”
“Attention in the vulnerable infant is drawn away from healthy social interactions toward TV, computer screens, and electronic toys,” according to Heffler.
In early 2020, JAMA Pediatrics published an analysis that Heffler co-authored which found that babies who viewed TV and videos at age one had a slightly greater chance of displaying autistic-like symptoms than non-TV watching babies by the age of two. Conversely, the study found, “Less screen exposure and more parent-child play at 12 months of age were associated with fewer ASD-like symptoms at 2 years of age.”
In 2022, Heffler’s team published a pilot intervention involving 9 children between 1 1/2 and 3 1/2 years of age who were diagnosed with ASD and watched at least 2 hours of screen media a day.
As the study shows, when screen time was replaced by increased interaction with caregivers, “Children’s screen viewing decreased from an average of 5.6 hours/day prior to intervention to 5 min/day during the study. Significant improvements were observed in core autism symptoms and parent stress from pre- to post-intervention.”
Heffler’s team also published a case study of two toddlers diagnosed with autism showed that when screen time was stopped and social time increased, there were “marked improvements in developmental trajectories.”
Australian research also shows that babies with early signs of autism may avoid an autism diagnosis if parents are taught communication skills through video feedback.
LEARN ABOUT THE LATEST TODDLERS AND SCREENS RESEARCH HERE FROM DR. KAREN HEFFLER
Researcher has Firsthand Experience with Screen-Induced Syndrome
At the first-ever Children’s Screen Time Action Network conference, I happened to meet Dr. Heffler’s research associate, Lori Frome, M.Ed. Frome is an autism treatment specialist who discovered, also by chance, that the symptoms in one of her young patients who had been diagnosed with ASD disappeared after her screen exposure was curtailed.
Frome then tried the same treatment on her own young son, who also had an ASD diagnosis. Over the course of several months with no screens but intensive face-to-face interaction with herself and other loved ones, he had “a complete developmental trajectory change in the core deficits of ASD,” as Frome describes in this video. In other words, her son became developmentally normal for his age.
Screen media has a “very addictive power,” says Dr. Ducanda. “Little by little the child can no longer do without and demands it more and more. If the parents try and withdraw him, he can go into a real meltdown.”
Doctors Ducanda and Terrasse contend that heavy doses of screen time affect what would be, in pre-digital times, the natural wiring of a child’s brain.
Watching a ball move on a screen, for instance, does not register in a child’s mind the same way it does to manipulate and throw a ball. Says Dr. Ducanda: “The small child’s brain cannot develop without this sense of touch.”
Dr. Andrew Doan, an ophthalmologist and neuroscientist, produced this video explaining the phenomenon of Virtual Autism, with great suggestions on how to limit children’s screen viewing.
In this TEDx talk, I discuss the importance of parent-child Attachment and how digital devices can interfere with early relational health.
Avoiding Screen-Induced Syndrome
So, what’s a parent to do? For one thing: respect the child’s basic developmental needs. For babies and toddlers to learn to speak, reason, and develop crucial social skills, they need face-to-face interaction with loving people and to use all their senses as often as they can.
A study from Iran proves the power of parent interaction and play. Investigators selected 12 toddlers with autistic-like symptoms who had spent half their waking hours on screen devices. Their parents were then given 8 weeks of lessons in how to play with their children, with an emphasis on eye-to-eye contact, loving touch, and continuous communication. While the parents applied these lessons at home, objects that had absorbed the children’s attention were taken away, including digital devices.
At the end of the two-month period, the children’s screen time had shrunk to a bare minimum, their ASD-like repetitive behaviors were greatly reduced, and brain studies showed ASD-like readings had returned to nearly normal.
One of the study’s chief investigators told me consistency is the key. For the intervention to work, the parents had to stick with high-touch, high-talk interaction all day every day during the children’s waking hours. He says researchers can now confidently recommend that children under age three should spend their time playing and interacting face-to-face with caring adults and not using digital devices.
The American Academy of Pediatrics agrees that babies and toddlers should never use screens alone. Any interaction with screens should be limited to video calls with loved ones, with a caregiver standing by.
Preschoolers should not have more than one hour of screen time a day in order “to allow children ample time to engage in other activities important to their health and development,” says the AAP.
The World Health Organization agrees that, for the sake of their health and proper brain formation, children under age one should have no exposure to screens.
World Health Organization Infant Guidelines (Under Age One)
Early Childhood is a Once in a Lifetime Opportunity
When you look through Today’s lens, early childhood has become a rarified, once-in-a-lifetime pre-digital opportunity. As I write in The Durable Human Manifesto: Practical Wisdom for Living and Parenting in the Digital Age, each child begins life as a “wild human”—as free and unplugged as any other animal.
“When toddlers range around, freely using all of their senses to examine, taste and play with whatever they choose, they are making rich and lifelong neural connections.”
So kids can stay on a healthy developmental track, experts including Dr. Ducanda and Lori Frome recommend that you:
- Talk, play, and read with your child every day as much as possible
- Provide materials, toys, and games that require manipulation, such as empty plastic food containers and lids, stacking cups, play dough, finger paints, and a play kitchen
- Go outside at least once a day and make sure the child has time to play alone and with other children
- Not use screens when you are with your young child
- Not hand a phone to your baby or young child (and keep the screen locked, just in case they grab it)
- Keep the TV off around kids under age four, even if it’s TV on in the background and child doesn’t seem to be paying attention to what’s on the screen
- Explain to family members and caregivers why these measures are essential to a child’s healthy development, durability, and well-being
Dr. Heffler points out in her research that characteristics that may resemble those associated with autism in very young children can have a variety of causes. If symptoms do arise, Dr. Ducanda and her colleagues recommend keeping the child away from all screens for at least a month, which will require the cooperation of every household member. If that can be accomplished, she claims, ASD-like problems in many children may “miraculously disappear or diminish considerably.”
Conversely, if a child has a full, well-balanced life with very minimal screen exposure, these types of symptoms may never emerge.
Parent Resources
Watch an interview of an American mother who came forward after discovering information on this post to tell the story of how her 14-month-old son developed and overcame screen-induced syndrome.
This site has links to research and researchers.
Watch webinars with Lori Frome M. Ed. who explains how to detect, treat, and avoid screen-induced syndrome:
See the latest webinar on YouTube:
Also see this earlier webinar:
Download Lori Frome’s specially-curated Parent Resource List from the box on this page.
Finally, in this simple online course, I teach parents why and how to create loving bonds with their babies and toddlers as well as to maximize their brain development and language learning.
Note: This post was last updated on December 14, 2023
About the author:
The mom of three practicing durable humans, DurableHuman.com founder Jenifer Joy Madden is a certified digital wellness instructor, health journalist, digital media adjunct professor, and author of How To Be a Durable Human: Revive and Thrive in the Digital Age Through the Power of Self-Design and The Durable Human Manifesto.
Her work has informed millions on ABC News and Discovery Health Channel, in The Washington Post, Readers Digest and other news outlets.
My daughter is now 32 months old. We stopped the screen when she was 12 months old.
I am here to talk about the progress, Robin has been our mentor and guide the whole time.
My 32 months old daughter, can now speak about several thousands of words. Can count to 10, identifies alphabets, shapes, colors, vehicles, and animals, and knows and can describe 100s of stories and their characters.
She speaks with us all of the time. Can string long sentences like “I have become a little naughty but Santa can still give me a gift, I am not too naughty, children who are very naughty don’t get a gift from Santa”. She can now express her feelings in a collection of 5-6 very well-formed sentences.
She uses pronouns correctly 100% of the time.
Asks why questions all day long, can answer who, what, where, and how questions 100% correctly with perfect contextual awareness. She can answer “when” questions but incorrectly, and correctly sometimes, she is still figuring out time. answers why questions correctly sometimes, refuses to answer saying “I will not tell” and other times when she doesn’t know how to answer, this is a work in progress.
Can sing long songs. Can read books with us, name 100s of characters and what they do in the book along with context, and tell contexts of the stories.
I still remember at the 20-month mark she only had about 10 barely understandable words, but her understanding was far better, after that we started telling her stories, I remember the 1st day when I told her that “Come to me, and I will tell you a story” and she immediately climbed on my lap, and that point onwards, we continued this regime of telling her stories, she loved it, we making faces, enunciating words, narrating and enacting the stories and characters, she was fascinated and curious and we used that in our advantage.
I think most of the techniques are covered here by one or another parent, one thing that I want to add that worked well with my daughter was reading books and telling her stories, I have a collection of about 100 books at my home now which we have been reading to her, and she remembers all those stories now. While reading books in-acting the character and speaking from the perspective of the character using the right pronouns helped us teach her pronouns better. Colorful books attract children, and when they are interested they can be taught. With all the other things that all the parents are doing please also read books to your children, and not just read but enact the conversations that help develop language and contextual things such as pronouns.
I hope this story may bring some courage into the hearts of the parents like how Robin’s story brought into mine when I needed it the most.
Such a beautiful testimony @Ankur – and so powerful and important for our readers and all parents. Thank you for taking the time to share! Lots of new research also points to reading books together as being crucial for brain and language development.
You’re so lucky you caught it at 12 months. We caught it all so late, 23 months 🙁
Lyla, kids are mouldable, please stick to the basics. Go with as much as human interaction as possible.
Give them tons of exposure to the bright colors of books and the outdoors along with human interactions.
Speak a lot with them narrate everything, and read to them. I know a boy in our family had a spoken language of barely 10 words at the age of 30 months, today he can speak fluently, he was also exposed to a lot of TV(4 hours a day) and his parents did not even know it has to do with TV.
Stick to basics, remember there is no other way, also pull in help, like grandparents if possible, my parents played a crucial role in keeping my daughter engaged when we needed that the most.
It will work out! I read your other remark showing your daughter’s emotional connection, language will develop, just make sure you engage her, if your daughter is connected, if she is paying attention to your activities she can and will learn from it.
I have some tricks to teach pointing, This is how I taught my daughter pointing, at 14 months mark 2 months into no screen she was still not responding to her name half of the time, but she was curious and used to trying to reach to a Budha figure kept in my home, so I started keeping it on a place that was pretty high, I took my little one in my arms and stood next to Budha statue, she saw it and tried to reach to it, when she did I moved a little towards the figure and let her have it, then, I did the same thing, and continued to increase the distance a few cm at a time every time when she tries to reach, I would move towards it and let her have it, after a while when I was couple feet away from it and she looked at it, I started pointing at it saying do you that(pointing at the thing), after a couple of days doing this exercise holding her in my arms, she started pointing at the things(Remember pointing is extension to reaching), I also did a lot of points towards a lot of other things at home that were of her interest holding her in my arms, I will move around in the house, point at things, will take her to things I was pointing to and let her touch and feel the things. Basically, I did what I should have done when she was 5 months old. Kids typically learn it when they see us do it, if you never point she will never know there is a thing like pointing. So, you have to do activities, a lot of them that you have not done. I learned a lot of them from Robin. It boils down to picking items from MCHAT-R and finding activities that may help your daughter learn those skills.
Buy colorful kids’ books, make her see the books along with you, point at the items, and say their names out loud. This will help her with nouns, Enunciate a lot(kids learn to speak looking at your mouth movements), and focus on the right words like when you have a cookie in your hand, say “you want a cookie”, when you say “cookie”, speak the word cookie out loud so that it stands out, and point at it at the same time. That way she will be able to associate nouns with objects, this is the first aspect of language that a child learns i.e. the nouns.
Once your daughter knows some nouns, she will have some words and whatever you will speak will make some sense to you because at least she will know what you are talking about. Then focus on verbs, like words like “Give and take”, when you have to give it, hand it over to her and tell her “Take the cookie” Since she would know what cookie means she would be able to make it out that “take” means an action. For pronouns, always use them correctly yourself, when you say “pat on your chest” I mean you in this instance, I have some pronoun tips handy, and I can share them when you are there, I hope to see you there in another few months. I got the pronoun mess-up heads up from Robin, so we were very careful modeling them for our daughter.
As I said, focus on nouns, then verbs, and then when your child knows these two she will string other automatically, make sure you read her books for language development, pick bright colorful books, with animals, and birds(to teach nouns), and textures(for sensory) and spend hours in front of them. Remember you are the real OT, real language therapist and you can do it. You have started late, but kids are mouldable with a lot of patience and perseverance it will work. You can do it. Your little one is counting on your success.
As far as anxiety is concerned, I too was too anxious, I have slept countless sleepless nights, praying for the recovery of my daughter, and there is no workaround to that. But remember that at least I know someone who had only 10 words with only pointing skills at the age of 30 months, is speaking now at the mark of 4 years fluently. Stay strong, I wish you the best!
Hi Ankur! Amazing story! Congratulations!! Can you please your tips on pronouns? Thank you!!
Hi Luz, until my daughter was around 22 months we did not use any pronouns at home to keep the things simple for her, we were always speaking in 1st person. Like “give the ball to MOM”, “come to PAPA”, etc. We also never referenced her by any pronouns.
By the end of 22 months, she started speaking and answering small questions like, “who wants to have the ball?”, and she would say “Adu”. so she would always refer to her by the name, 1st person. like “Adu wants candy”, “Adu needs milk” etc.
Then when it was established that she understood nouns fairly well, we started adding the pronouns. One extremely important thing is your child observing conversations of 3 people including her, with 2 people “You” and “Me” become very confusing, but with 3 people child can understand that words like “you” are not nouns, I will explain later, but you need at least 3 people in conversations for a child to have a better understanding of pronouns..
1st thing we did was to explain to her “I” and “Me”, So when I would ask her who wanted the candy and she replied “Adu wants”, we explained to her ourselves that you can say “I want” and when we say the word I, we would also make her hand pat her chest. So, word “I” was always associated with her patting her chest. Similar to things like “Mine” or “Me”. So we would make her speak things like “I”, “Me”, and “Mine” by incentivizing them with some treat. So we explained to her where she could substitute “I”, “Me”, and “Mine” instead of her name, and every time we did it, we made her pat her chest giving an idea that those words associated with her. We did this exercise several times a day, whenever she would say “Adu wants” or “This is Adu’s”, we would correct her and tell her you could say it like “I want” and “This is mine” and incentivize it one way or other.
About teaching the 2nd person, we started with keeping nouns and pronouns together in the beginning like we would say “Adu, you go and do that”, or “Adu, you come to me”, so nouns and pronouns both together. This is where 3rd person comes into the picture, when your child is sufficiently observant have fun conversations with your partner that the child may find worth observing, it can be about anything, and use all the pronouns along with nouns, like “Mom, you tell me what noise did monkey make in the zoo”, So keeping things like “Mom and you” together, then when the mother would refer to the child or the dad, she would do the same. So children can understand pronouns can be used by anyone, and point at themselves when you use a pronoun. We did this for about 3-4 months by the time she was 26 months old, she used all the pronouns correctly.
Another thing that Robin had told me earlier which was of utmost importance was that when your child makes a pronoun mistake correct her immediately, and make her say the right word. If you won’t promptly correct it, the child would register that as a right response and that is where the problem begins. You remove this incorrect registration and things will go smoothly from there. Wish you the best!
23 months isn’t late! Do not give up.
Great to know about the progress of your daughter Ankur.
My son likes the book but he doesn’t love the explanation maybe I need more explanation and in-act.
I also would like to know your daughter’s schedule during the day and what are the milestones you saw in this journey.
They slowly grow the liking to things. On TVs, they are bombarded with bright colors and frequent changes to screen changes to keep them hooked, plus the music and repetitive sounds. So, colorful books are still something that attracts children and allows you to get their attention, gaining their attention is the most important thing, if they pay attention they can learn.
My daughter’s schedule is pretty normal in general now a days, me and my wife are both working, with some flexibility to do work from home, so we plan our week such that at least one of us is home, and we have a nanny that assists us. So, my daughter gets up, and now since she is potty trained now, so after potty and brushing, she plays on her own for a bit then the nanny shows up, who keeps her engaged and plays with her, helps feed her, (We still have to feed her ourselves, she doesn’t have the patience to sit and have our food unless she is really hungry), then she plays with her toys, keeps herself engaged with books, drawing books, we also take breaks from work and spend time playing with her, reading her books if she wants us to read one(Nowadays since she knows how to speak, she picks them up and brings to us and ask to read), , take her out a bit before the sun is fully up, giving her massage and bath, play bit more, having lunch and then post lunch she sleeps for a couple of hours, then in the evening when she is up, we let her have some snacks(some nuts, dry fruits, fruit, etc.) then we head to kids park or just a walk, play a bit there, where she also plays along with some other kids of her age, and then get back home, dinner, some more play, some more books and stories, and then it is time to bed. Pretty much the same every day, it is boring, but it is fine. We also have had my parents living with me for the last 6 months so there are many people at home to play with her, Human interaction is very important, the more people the better it is(As they say it takes a village to raise a child). She is back to some screen time now, but basically, it is only about her seeing our photos on the phone and video calls, nothing animated.
On milestones, I pulled my email conversations with Robin when she was guiding me, and here is what milestones appear roughly:
12 months:
Stopped screen time completely.
Response to name : Zero
Perceptive language: Zero
14 months:
She responded to name calls half the time.
Eye contact was pretty great.
Pointing emerged.
She understood object permanence and started finding hidden objects.
Some perceptive language emerged, she could understand put in and take out.
Beginning of 17 months:
Perceptive language became apparent. She could now answer questions, e.g. asking where is elephant, she could start pointing to the elephant.
Some rudimentary spoken language emerged, she only grunted but tried to mimic the sounds of cat and dog when asked.
Good use of pointing for communicating what she needs.
18 months:
Good perceptive language. She could follow directions now, “give me the elephant”, and “put the toy on the table”.
Name call response: 70%.
Spoken language: Some more rudimentary sounds, but mainly grunts and a lot of babbling with ba ba, ma ma, pa pa sounds but not meaningful use of sounds.
Very good pointing, and hand-leading emerged, she would pull the finger and take us to items that she needed.
20 months:
spoken language: At this point, we actively started putting efforts in 1.) Modeling some words like Mom and Papa, SInce she had decent perceptive language by now, I would hold her and tell her that “See, I will call your mama and she will come” and then I would call her mom loud, and ask her to do the same, and lo and behold within 2 weeks, she was calling papa and mama to gain our attention.
Perceptive language: Pretty good, she could point at almost all the household items when asked where they were, meaning she knew at least 500+ nouns and many verbs, as she could perform the actions we asked her to do, she knew colors and shaped and adjectives by now(like big/small etc.) Flash cards, books helped a lot.
21 months:
spoken language: She started speaking around 20+ words by now, only understandable to us.
23 months:
She was speaking in small 2-word sentences, like “Want ball”, “go there” etc.
At this point we started using pronouns heavily, we were very careful(Thanks for heads-up from Robin) to model it correctly.
24 months:
Small sentences emerged, like “I need milk”, “Want to go outside”.
Pronouns emerged, like “I”, “You”, “Me”, “We” etc.
She started asking what and where questions.
and now she is about to be 32 months and can speak countless words, and can express most of the ideas that she wants to. From month 12 to month 24, as a family all our activities revolved around her, we pulled out every available moment and did activities with her, took her out to get her experiences (mall, zoos, lakes, parks, books) and quite honestly we only did what we should have done 6 months earlier. So things are really basic, you have to do what you want your child to do, you want him to point, you point a lot, and so on and so forth.
What I have seen so far is that boys seek more physical activities than books, you can lean on his interest and start modeling his activities with words.
Mam please suggest me.I m physiotherapist nd currently working women. Mam my baby is 1year old. She behaved normal, proper eye contact. But after maternity leave when i joined duty diring 8 month to 12 month her life is always watching tv nd sleep. Now i notice she didn’t respond her name. No eye contact. Doc diagnosed she have mild virtual autism. Now I completely eliminate screen time. Please i want to know about how many month she take to give response. i m giving my time to her with playing activities. What i can do. How to make eye contact and avoid visual stimming 🥺🥺
Regard
I would advise you to go through the comments made by other parents here. I benefitted from them, Robin’s success story was my motivation. In the threads below she has explained a lot of techniques that I used. Find them in the conversations below. I was equally anxious as you were. Here are some of the suggestions, but you will find more from the logs below with my earlier interactions with Robin.
1.) No screen time, absolutely zero.
2.) Give her sensory play, take her out every day for 2 hours, 1 in the morning, and 1 in the evening. Let her feel nature, she will feel overwhelmed in the beginning, my daughter only touched grass for many months, but let her absorb all that.
3.) Human interaction is the key, find ways to interact with her, speak to her as much as you can, tell her what you are doing, and describe to her what she is doing. Carry her around and take her to things she appears interested in, asking her questions like “What is this”, point, label and naming the things, that way she will develop an understanding of the nouns.
4.) Point a lot, speak with her, and let her observe the conversations of the family members, it may appear that she is avoiding all that but they listen and understand.
5.) For better eye contact, play peek-a-boo a lot, play hide and seek with her, hide behind places, and make sounds, children love that, once she gets into this play, you will have her attention and from their things will start to fall in place.
I stopped screen time when my daughter was 12 months, She got eye contact back in a few months, her response to name calls improved over like 6 months, learned to point before she was 15 months, and before 16 months she knew many nouns and could answer by pointing to “Where is” questions. She will be fine, just make sure you are not missing out on the human interactions part, the more you do the better it is, and yet again, it has to be a quality interaction, go to her level when you try to interact with her. If she is sitting and playing with things you too go sit next to her and then try connecting with her.
Sir i want to talk to you. Please can u give me ur email. My email id is parmjitkaur0009@gmail.com. Just want to know about va bcz as a mother of 1 year old baby i m suffering nowadays. Please reply thanku
Hi Ankur, are u from India?
We are 8 weeks no screens. Almost 9. Showing some improvements like hugging me, kissing me, smiling at her dad again, noticing our dog who she never realized was there before. We started her in a great daycare that’s screen free, she gets OT and speech therapy weekly. We are trying so hard to do everything for our daughter because we believe it’s VA for her, but it’s early to tell. The anxiety is high and this is so stressful, but with the small improvements we see we are hopeful.
Hello everyone and glory be to God that spoke to me and saved my son!
I want to share my story with you all in the hope that it serves as a light at the end of the tunnel for anyone in need of encouragement. My son is now 26 months old, and until he was 18 months old, he was heavily exposed to cartoons. Since he was 3-4 months old, we thought he was one of the best kids you could ever have. From birth, he slept through 80% of the night without waking up and rarely gave us any trouble, except for brief growth spurts that lasted no more than 1-2 weeks. During the daytime, he watched cartoons for 4-5 hours a day sometimes, and even when he wasn’t watching, the TV was often running in the background with shows like Cocomelon and Super Simple Songs almost all day long.
Initially, he seemed to be developing somewhat normally for his age. However, around 12-13 months, I started to have concerns because he wasn’t communicating with me or others. He only played alone or with his mother and would only pay attention to others if they initiated play. This was a significant concern for me. Additionally, he only responded to his mother’s voice if she shouted and had no reaction to other voices until he was 16 months old.
My fears grew when I saw that he wasn’t talking at all. He didn’t have any meaningful words or even babbling with intent. He wasn’t pointing and exhibited a lot of stimming behaviors, such as tiptoe walking, tilting his head to his shoulder, looking out of the corner of his eyes, and following reflections constantly. Whenever I expressed my concerns, people would tell me that every child develops differently and that it was fine if he played alone because it meant he was independent. They always had an argument for everything I said and accused me of only seeing the negative in my child.
This situation, with my worries being dismissed, lasted until Milan was 17 months old. I started comparing him with his cousin, who was 2 months younger but lived with us since birth because my wife took care of her while her parents were at work. His cousin was doing many things, playing meaningfully with toys, and trying to communicate even if it was just babbling. This made me more convinced that something was not right with Milan.
I want to mention that we live in the UK, but we are originally from Romania. I stumbled upon some videos by Dr. Zamfir about virtual autism, which resonated with me. I also found many similar stories on this website. On September 3, after a huge argument with my wife, we decided to stop all TV and electronic toys. The very next day, my wife noticed changes and agreed that something was wrong with our baby.
The first week without TV was hell for all of us. Our previously calm and easy-going child turned into an addict going through withdrawal, screaming and crying constantly. Fortunately, we had a holiday planned in Romania at my parents’ place, which made things easier.
While in Romania, we consulted with my parents. My mom reassured us, saying that my sister started talking at 3 years old, but to my surprise, my dad took my side. We decided to see a psychologist, a family friend who had previously consulted my parents regarding my sister. The psychologist said we shouldn’t worry too much as Milan was still present in his surroundings but hadn’t been properly stimulated due to excessive TV exposure. She advised us not to consult a pediatric psychologist yet and to start a recovery protocol at home first, as some doctors might claim credit for any improvements and charge us heavily.
When we returned to the UK after two weeks, we started the recovery process. We followed many suggestions from this forum, and spent a lot of time outdoors regardless of the weather. The progress was slow in the first two months, and I went through a deep depression, blaming myself for everything. But after 3-4 months, things started to improve rapidly. Now, after 8 months, Milan is a completely different child. He points, counts to 10, recognizes some letters, and knows some of the alphabet with help. He knows where the moon is, has a large vocabulary, and can say some two-word sentences. He is very active, loves to be mischievous, and is generally like any other child his age. He still sometimes walks on his toes and tilts his head when he’s shy, but I believe these are things any neurotypical child might do.
A very important piece of advice from the psychologist in Romania was: “We are defined by the sum of ourselves, and we all have autistic, melancholic, psychotic, etc., traits to varying degrees. A neurotypical person is just balanced, but that doesn’t mean they have no issues at all.”
Currently, Milan doesn’t watch cartoons. We’ve only allowed it twice when cutting his hair, as it was the only way to keep him still. Sometimes he touches our phones, but he doesn’t care about the TV even when it’s on elsewhere because he’s too busy exploring and being active. We play music through speakers occasionally, but he spends most of his time outside, especially with the nice weather we’ve been having in the UK.
Having a child is hard and requires a lot of time and attention. It might be tough, especially if you’re young, but trust me, leaving a child in front of a TV creates a soulless statue that you cannot enjoy. It’s not difficult to engage in activities with your child; you just need to find joy in them, and it will get easier.
I hope you had the patience to read my entire story. It’s just a fraction of what I want to share, but I don’t want to bore anyone. I hope my story gives you hope, as God has spoken to me and saved my son.
P.S. Since the first week, we have given our son Möller’s cod liver oil almost every single day.
Hello, @Andrei. How wonderful for all our readers that you have shared the story of your family’s success! Thank you for giving all the details of helping your son, including the rough spots. Your point of finding the joy in the process of reconnecting with him is extremely important and echoed by other parents, including Robin in the Mother Speaks about Virtual Autism post. We are all indebted to Dr. Zamfir and all his crucial discoveries in Romania. He, too, encountered resistance to his ideas at first, but persevered, as you have. Bravo, too, to your wife for being willing to take a chance on screen removal. Your experience will help people have confidence that they, too, can get their children back. Your analogy of a child becoming a “soulless statue” after being left in front of too much TV will certainly ring true to others, and hopefully prompt them to follow your brave and loving footsteps.
Wow, this is amazing to read!!!! Congratulations!!! Do you mind sharing how did his communication flourished? How was his receptive language? When did he start saying words?
Hi there, I’m so sorry for the delayed response. I was checking the website here and there but didn’t realize I had messages in the reply section, and I didn’t get an email notification either. Thanks so much for your patience!
Since we cut screen time, we’ve seen gradual but encouraging progress. After two months of screen removal, he started picking up words here and there, and now he’s speaking in 2-5 word sentences, picking up new words each day, and understanding nearly everything we say. He’s showing a solid understanding of concepts like colours, numbers up to 20, and even directions like right and left.
There are still a few things we’re working on, like occasional tip-toe walking and some habits like tilting his chin, but these don’t seem to interfere with his learning or growth, so we’re focusing on areas where he needs the most support. He’s definitely attached to his mom and has some strong reactions when he doesn’t get his way, but we’re working on it gradually. Thankfully, he’s quite receptive when cared for by others, so it helps us see that he’s adaptable.
We had a tough time teaching him to point initially, despite trying various strategies. But interestingly, he seemed to develop the skill naturally on his own. He’s also been toilet trained for about three months now, though occasional accidents happen, which I believe is fairly normal at this stage.
I sometimes worry about seeing other kids excel in certain areas. But we remind ourselves that all kids are unique, and development varies. My wife and I aren’t the most communicative people, so we wonder if some of his tendencies are just natural personality traits. A psychologist once told us that all people have traits across some spectrums; it’s more about what we learn to manage. As long as he’s progressing toward a functional level, I feel hopeful.
Some minor concerns remain, like his fear of new things and certain toys that make noise, but the nurses here in the UK reassured us that his development is on track and that limiting screen time has been beneficial.
One of the more concerning things I’ve noticed is the trend of toddlers having reduced social engagement due to excessive screen time, as reported by many of my friends. This is something that deserves more awareness and action, especially considering the impact it can have on early development.
I hope this gives some insight and answers some of your questions. Wishing you and your child the best on this journey—things really do take time. After four or five months, we noticed bigger leaps, so don’t be discouraged by slow days or minor regressions. It seems like kids need occasional breaks to solidify the skills they’ve recently learned. Also, a balanced diet will make a difference, so we’re prioritizing nutritious foods while limiting the junk.
Take care, and God bless you and your family!
Hi Andrei! Thanks so much for sharing your story! Congratulations! Do you mind sharing more specifically when your child started talking and how that process was like?
Hi there, thanks for sharing it gives me hope. How is Milan now? Im nearing month two, so this is beyond hard and stressful but she shows small improvements. The hope parents like you give us parents who are early on or just starting is so needed. Thank you.
Hi Iv tried commenting before thanking you for this message of hope. But my comments seem to be deleted. I’m a mother who is almost 9 weeks screen fast for my now 25 month old. Like you said, it’s been depressing and scary because it’s early on. But I already see some changes like more awareness, she also hugs me and kisses me now, even notices my dog whereas she didn’t before. Theres no massive change yet like language or pointing but I have to accept this will take time. She sometimes claps (sometimes I wonder if it’s just a new stem though )and she has initiated hide and seek which seems hopeful. I’m hoping to get to the success part where you are, so thank you for the journey sharing. How is Milan now? Did you notice more stemming after removal? My daughter just recently at the 8 week mark started to spin in circles but not for long. Maybe 2-5 twirls and then she stops. I’m just wondering if your child cycled through new stemming habits and then they went away?
Hi, so it seems like my son who just turned 4 last month definitely has virtual autism. I’m going to completely cut off screen time as of tomorrow. But I’m just wondering is it too late to help my son as he is 4 now or if I cut off the IPad now the autism can be reversed? I know early intervention is key and I’m feeling like it’s too late for me. Please guide me.
Hello, Marryum. Thank you for writing in. Please know as you take the very important step of removing your son from screen exposure and electronic toys that the brain of a 4-year-old is still quite responsive to changes in his environment. As other parents will attest, their children at that age have generally responded well if the screen time is replaced with lots of intensive social time — that is, play, reading, talking, including your child in household routines, etc.. If you have not already, please read the information linked to in this post, the post on A Mother Speaks about Virtual Autism, and watch the videos on Virtual Autism on the Durable Human YouTube channel. I see you are also reaching out to join Kameron’s private group. There is also a private Whatsapp parent support group if you are interested. I hope you are encouraged by other parents’ experiences of success bringing their children back. Wishing you patience and strength on your journey!
Hello, it has been 2 months since screen removal and my daughter’s eye contact has improved (she will be 22 months) but when I play with her she doesn’t really look at me as she is more focused on the toys. For example: if we are stacking blocks (lego type) she won’t look at me at all as I’m holding the blocks for her to stack them. But when we are done stacking them we will clap and celebrate together and until then she will look at me. Same thing with other toys like sorting shapes. I got her used to clapping and celebrating when we are done stacking or sorting so she does it. What I try to do is grab a block hold it to my face and say “block” but she will just try to snatch it from me. Also, she will only try to stack the blocks ones and then she just wants to take them apart and just pile them between her legs and not want to build anymore. If try to take one and tell her “let’s build again?” She will take it away from me and if I insist she start getting really upset. But to be honest she has made progress because in the beginning she would just want to line them up or just display them in front of her and would get upset if we would try to grab them now she no longer lines them up and is finally ok to stack them at least once. She also started throwing the blocks and other toys randomly on the floor idk if this is “normal” toddler behavior, honestly sometimes I don’t even know what is “normal toddler behavior” anymore.
So I guess my question is how do you play to achieve joint attention? Because my daughter does not bring toys to me or initiate play. The only thing she does bring me are books. With books I get her to look at me more and she has finally started imitating some animal sounds (duck, horse, sheep and monkey). She doesn’t do the sounds exactly how they are pronounced but she is really trying. I try to play peek-a-boo with her although she smiles she does not try to do it back and gets over it very quickly.
When my husband plays with our son (7 years old) with dinosaurs she will walk over to them and stand or sit where they are and will just stare or she will try to take them away from them and just pile them between her legs. Whatever item or toy my son has she just wants to take it from him.
Most of the time I feel so lost and confused. I cry a lot especially when I come back from the park when I see other kids her age and I know I should not compare her but is just so hard not to. Sometimes I think she has autism other times I think she is developmentally delayed because of so much screen time and lack of interaction and wonder if she’s going to be ok?
I am on the wait list for speech therapy and occupational therapy so having that to look forward keeps me positive.