a) this is Romania. Eastern Europe is very bad at diagnosing autism in general; b) these were children who apparently were long-time in a children’s hospital – why? presumably because they were institutionalized as autistic (or developmentally delayed) before being given screens; c) of course autistic children will prefer spending time in front of a screen rather than playing with other children – it’s kind of the definition of autism; d) autistic children benefit from screens, which in many cases is their only way of communicating with each other and other people (see augmentative and assistive communication devices); e) for that reason, depriving autistic children of screens is not making them non-autistic, it is just making them more isolated and thus should be seen as a human rights violation; f) France is an equally bad example, where autistic children are treated with psychoanalysis and “packing” and mothers are still blamed as refrigerator mothers – never trust a French psychiatrist; g) how many 4 year olds, autistic or not, would do more than repeat words without knowing what they mean? seems perfectly age-appropriate; h) there are not less autistic children in non-rich countries, there are simply less psychiatrists in poor countries (often only one or two adult psychiatrists in an entire country and no child psychiatrists at all) – that’s why less children are diagnosed there; i) that said, of course parents should spend as much time with their autistic child as possible and build a relationship with them, on the child’s terms, respecting their autistic identity and interests, using screens to communicate with the child if necessary
a) this is Romania. Eastern Europe is very bad at diagnosing autism in general; b) these were children who apparently were long-time in a children’s hospital – why? presumably because they were institutionalized as autistic (or developmentally delayed) before being given screens; c) of course autistic children will prefer spending time in front of a screen rather than playing with other children – it’s kind of the definition of autism; d) autistic children benefit from screens, which in many cases is their only way of communicating with each other and other people (see augmentative and assistive communication devices); e) for that reason, depriving autistic children of screens is not making them non-autistic, it is just making them more isolated and thus should be seen as a human rights violation; f) France is an equally bad example, where autistic children are treated with psychoanalysis and “packing” and mothers are still blamed as refrigerator mothers – never trust a French psychiatrist; g) how many 4 year olds, autistic or not, would do more than repeat words without knowing what they mean? seems perfectly age-appropriate; h) there are not less autistic children in non-rich countries, there are simply less psychiatrists in poor countries (often only one or two adult psychiatrists in an entire country and no child psychiatrists at all) – that’s why less children are diagnosed there; i) that said, of course parents should spend as much time with their autistic child as possible and build a relationship with them, on the child’s terms, respecting their autistic identity and interests, using screens to communicate with the child if necessary