Patterns of early exposure to screens by children with ASD

To further explore and discuss the characteristics of exposure to screens in Autism Spectrum Disorder in the Tunisian context.

This case control study explored the exposure to TV in 150 children with ASD, aged 1 to 4 years old in comparison to a comparable group of 150 typically developing children.

Results showed Significant differences were observed between groups regarding the age of television viewing onset (4 vs. 14 months) and daily viewing duration (7 h vs. <1 h). Children with ASD predominantly viewed television alone, showing preference for repetitive content such as music videos, with viewing occurring throughout the day. Television exposure served as both a child-occupying strategy and a parental soothing technique, and was associated with increased autistic symptomatology.

While acknowledging methodological limitations, this study suggests that the impact of early intensive screen exposure warrants further investigation in ASD populations.