Virtual Autism

 

Case 21:  A Mother accompanied by her 2 year old child visited  our clinic. The mother was anxious regarding her child's condition. 

Chief Complaints:

1) The child has recently decreased his social activities like talking,playing with his mother etc.

2) The child was day dreaming where he was living in his imaginary world.

3) Since 6 months the child has started distancing himself from the rest of the family members.

4) The child has been avoiding direct eye contact with his family members.

After listening to chief Complaints verbalised by mother the psychiatrist collected the history regarding Growth and Development and also queried regarding Milestones which was normal and the child also achieved his milestones till 2 years.

After applying "Autism rating scale" the child was falling under the criteria of Autism. For further information the psychiatrist asked about further history:

• Does your child prefer to play alone?
• Does your child respond when you call his name?
• When you smile does your child smile back?

The answer to above question were No respectively.

Since 6 months the child had developed Autistic symptoms thus indicating it that it's NOT Congenital (from birth). Which lead to another question by Psychiatrist 

Does your child spend his maximum time on screen as like watching cartoons or anything on Mobile,Laptop or Television?

The answer was Yes by mother thus making the diagnosis for the child named Virtual Autism.

What is Virtual Autism?

Is it Temporary or a Permanent Disease?

Is it same like Autism?

What are it's symptoms?

And most importantly does it have any treatment?

You'll get all your answers just stick to this blog.

              Virtual Autism

 The term Virtual Autism is described as 'Autism' induced by Electronic Screens.

 The term was introduced by Clinical psychologist Dr. Marius Zamfir.       

Dr Zamfir was curious about the astonishing prevalence of Autism presenting in a children hospital in Romania. He went through the leads and discovered that the children who were presenting with autism were being exposed to excessive daily screen time.

Does Screen time really cause Autism?

Research does show a link Disorder Autism Spectrum Disorder and exposure to excessive screen time. Children who are predisposed to ASD have shown localised changes to their brains due to repetitive non-social sights and sounds from screen time.

Research also shows that children whose days are filled with excessive screen time sometime lacks of sufficient real life social interaction. This can cause child to mimic the Robotic Output of Electronic devices, instead of learning normal human-to-human social cues.

Symptoms:

1. Not responding to their Names.
2. Avoiding Eye Contact.
3. Not smiling when you smile at them.
4. Getting very upset if they do not like certain taste,smell or sound.
5. Repetitive movements such as flapping their hands, fricking their hands or rocking their body.
6. Not talking as much as Children.
7. Mimic the Robotic output of Electronic device.

What should Parents Do?

• Children of toddler age(1-3 yrs) should not have Any screen exposure.
• In case of working Parents, Children should be allowed to go to play and in school too parents should know whether their child has friends or not and how their child interact with other children and school members.
• Communication with Parents is a Key to develop language and speech skills.
• Parents who arrive home after work should be able to spend some quality time with their children.
• Be physically active with the child several times in a day in a variety of ways particularly through interactive Floor-Based play.
• Screen time IS NOT RECOMMENDED.
• When sedentary, engage in reading and Storytelling with the child.
• Include good quality sleep,including naps at least for 10-12 hours of sleep.

Virtual Autism is a temporary case if diagnosed at early stage,taken care and have keen observation on child's behavior.