Biography
Biography: Dalal Nasr
Abstract
Autism is a disorder that typically manifests itself in early childhood and is characterized by "markedly abnormal or impaired development in social interaction and communication and a markedly restricted repertoire of activity and interests," according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Diagnoses of autism have risen dramatically over the past few decades, from an estimated one in 2500 children thirty years ago to one in 150 today. As a result, autism has become a subject of great concern for parents, medical providers and researchers, and policy makers alike.
Despite the growing interest in autism, its causes are not well understood. It is widely accepted that genetics or biology plays an important role in the development of autism. However, many in the medical community believe that the increasing prevalence of autism points to a role for an environmental "trigger" that is becoming more common over time. Yet there is little consensus as to what the trigger (or triggers) might be.
With the recent explosion in television programming and videos aimed at very young children, exposure to electronic media may be one possible trigger. One study found that on a typical day, four out of five children aged 6 months to 6 years old use screen media (TV, videos and DVDs, computers, and video games), for an average of two hours per day. While similar statistics for earlier periods are hard to come by, it seems likely that young children are spending more time in front of the television today than they did in the past.
"Does Television Cause Autism?" , researchers Michael Waldman, Sean Nicholson, and Nodir Adilov explore the hypothesis that "a small segment of the population is vulnerable to developing autism because of their underlying biology and that either too much or certain types of early childhood television watching serves as a trigger for the condition."