If you ever suspected it was no coincidence that the
rise in childhood autism began around the same time as the advent of cable TV, a Cornell study shows you
were on to something.
Researchers at Cornell
University claim to have established a
definite link between autism rates and TV watching among toddlers in California, Pennsylvania,
Washington, and Oregon. Beginning in 1980, when cable TV brought
Nickelodeon and other children’s programs into people’s homes, autism rates rose
most sharply in counties with a high percentage of homes with cable. Specifically,
the Cornell study found that “roughly 17 percent of the growth in autism in California and Pennsylvania
during the 1970s and 1980s was due to the growth in cable television.”
And studying the amount of time children watched television
based upon particularly rainy and snowy years in the Western states (bad
weather is known to increase child TV watching), the researchers concluded that
“just under 40 percent of autism diagnoses in the three states studied is the result
of television watching.” Although it’s possible that these numbers reflect a
relationship between autism and staying indoors (not watching TV), these numbers
are much more conclusive than any of the numerous studies looking to establish
a link between autism and vaccines.
The Cornell researchers are advancing no theories as to why
increased television watching among toddlers causes an increased likelihood of
an autism diagnosis, but it’s possible the link is related to the fact that the
ability to process visual data develops in the first three years of life; children
with autism exhibit abnormal activity in these areas of the
brain.
It may be time that researchers turned their attention away
from chemicals and genetic links in the search for a cure for autism. If something
as simple as avoiding TeleTubbies and Baby Einstein could help lower autism
rates, this is something every parent needs to know.
Photo: Cleveland Leader
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