Autism was previously believed to be a developmental delay not a mental illness. But today unfortunately many children with autistic traits are prescribed anti-psychotics and anti-depressants. So there has to be an “illness” for which the drugs are a treatment.
True. But some of the evidence suggests causation. For example, in counties in California and Pennsylvania where a children’s cable television channel arrived relatively early subsequently have autism rates higher than in other counties.
More generally, correlation can be used to determine where research dollars are most likely to be effective in identifying triggers. A randomized controlled trial of children at high risk of autism could identify causality, which is what we are recommending.
I agree that “autism” is not a disease. It is a set of behaviors and traits which a panel of psychiatrists has voted to be called “autism.” However, I think anyone would agree that having some of the more severe traits like lack of language development makes life more difficult.
Thank you for your comments. Here is our response (from Mike Waldman, Sean Nicholson and Marilyn Wedge). Some of the traits/symptoms associated with more severe forms of autism would be considered deficits by most people (for example, lack of language development). One possibility is that screen viewing amplifies these traits/symptoms and makes a formal diagnosis more likely. It’s difficult to understand how anyone could object to bringing attention to this possibility, thus allowing parents to make the best decisions for their own families.
Thank you Mad in America team for bringing the above comment from a parent to my attention. I was able to connect her with the virtual autism network, and now the parent says that their family has hope.
Than you Brett. I agree that without informed consent this practice is not only unethical but is also a violation of a child’s human rights. I know how we got here. I don’t know how we will get out.
Thank you Lawrence. I confess that after fighting this battle for so many years on so many fronts, I have retreated to a one-child-at-a-time tactic. That seems to be what I do best. From reading my books and articles an amazing number of parents have contacted me over the years asking for help finding a like-minded therapist in their community. I help as I can, one-parent-at-a-time. Psychiatrists learn the medication/pharmaceutical propaganda approach in medical school and residency. That’s all they learn. It’s shocking. Adam’s pediatrician, by the way, feels as helpless as I do enface contemporary child psychiatry.
I think you make an important point about ADHD children becoming comfortable with taking drugs early in life because their parents handed parenting over to psychiatrists and drugs. It becomes natural to these kids to take a pill to sooth all of life’s troubles later on. This can well lead to addiction to amphetamines or other drugs in young adulthood. I wasn’t aware that doctors prescribed opioids for patients with depression in the 1990’s. That is shocking information that might well have the consequences that you describe.
The article is not about all autism. There is a difference between classic autism and virtual autism. It sounds like your son has the latter. And of course at a later age, educational apps can be helpful to any child, when used in moderation.
Dear Lori,
thank you so much for sharing your story and all the useful information. I am so happy to hear that your son is doing so well, thanks to your interventions. I hope your story reaches the eyes of many parents whose children have been diagnosed with ASD and are struggling to find solutions. Removing screens, though it might inconvenience a family in the short term, is so much better than having a child struggle for the rest of his life. Thank you also for bringing up Dr. Michael Waldman’s (et alia) important work on the topic of TV and “virtual autism.”
This is a great question. I just got out of a session in which an 11 year old girl had been plagued by “fears” that she or her parents might die of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. This girl had been mis-diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety disorder 6 years ago and had been taking taking 2 stimulants and Zoloft when I met her 2 months ago. As it turns out, she was getting the “fears” from watching TV commercials. Her parents were puzzled and confused by what the psychiatrist kept telling them “She has disorders”), but they felt they had no choice. The girl is entirely off meds now and according to her parents her “true personality” is coming out–an outgoing, unworried and happy 11 year old. I see that as well. This is one of the saddest things about drugs–they alter the personality so that a child feels distanced from her true self. Children should not watch commercial TV at all. I tell that to all parents. And yes, even the most caring and involved parents are entrusting their children to psychiatrists, and any virtually-induced worries are attributed to brain disorders.
Victoria, thank you so much for sharing your experience of how many so-called ASD kids change like “magic” when screens are removed. You are assuredly not alone, although most of the willingness to speak out about the topic is among European mental health professionals.
As you say, there is of course classic “autism” not related to technology use. In my clinical experience, these children can be helped by framing their problems as developmental and treating them with intensive family therapy, speech therapy, and at times occupational therapy. Actual autism, in my view, affects about .5 percent of children or less. Anna Freud once said “If a child can play, the child is not autistic.” I think that is a good rule of thumb.
Please stay in touch and feel free to share your case stories.
Marilyn
I disagree. If biological psychiatry posted research that did not advocate psychiatric medication as a cure, this community would welcome it.
However, since removing screen time does not bring more wealth to Pharma, such an article would be highly unlikely.
Thank you for raising the important point about eye contact. Donald Winnicott said that in healthy child development, a baby sees his reflection in his mother’s eyes. Today, a baby or young child is more likely to see his reflection in his mother’s smart phone or tablet.
Thank you also for your kind words about “A Disease called Childhood.”
Let us remember that Freud dared to say to the medical community that sexual abuse (trauma) was the origin of mental disorders. History has proved him correct.
You bring up an important point. Clearly, the step of re-engaging with society comes later in the process, when the person is stabilized and no longer hearing voices or feeling paranoid.
Thank you for writing this excellent analysis and for bringing the Lancet article to my attention. Having read some of Dr. Ilina Singh’s previous work (‘I Bambini e le Droghe’: The Right to Ritalin vs the Right to Childhood in Italy, and the hopeful study mentioned in this article: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/oct/15/adhd-study-reveals-childrens-views) I am disappointed that Dr. Singh has succumbed to dogmatism. I can only hope that she moves beyond this way of thinking about ADHD in the future.
I would like to thank all of you for your well-honed comments. I want to say something to clarify the context of my work.Unfortunately, in my daily work as a therapist I have to deal with psychiatrists who do believe that there is a biological disease called schizophrenia. If I had said to Alan’s psychiatrist “There is no such thing as schizophrenia so of course you are misdiagnosing him,” I would have lost credibility with him and would not have been able to influence him to take Alan off the meds. What I think in my own mind (and I have always agreed with Laing’s and Mosher’s view of schizophrenia),and what I have to say to protect my patients in my daily work, are sometimes very different. This article was intended to be about the dangers of misdiagnosis which in turn can lead to the wrong kind of treatment. I hope this helps. Thanks.
Marian, Like other psychological problems, “schizophrenia” is intimately connected with a person’s life story or psycho-social context. Like severe depression, anxiety, or obsessions, schizophrenia is a reaction to painful or traumatic life circumstances and can be treated through a caring relationship with a skilled therapist. I couldn’t agree with you more.
Ed, Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment and careful reading of my post. I will read the article you suggest and double check that the tapering of the drug is as slow as it should be. Actually, the psychiatrist has been tapering the meds extremely slowly.
In order to (hopefully) interest pediatricians and child psychiatrists one must use their language.
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Bravo! This is an excellent way of framing the history of psychiatry.
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Who can argue against parents spending more time interacting with their young children instead of putting them in front of electronic screens?
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“Virtual autism” or “environmentally-triggered autism” applies only to excessive screen use by young children under age three.
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Thank you for your comment.
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Autism was previously believed to be a developmental delay not a mental illness. But today unfortunately many children with autistic traits are prescribed anti-psychotics and anti-depressants. So there has to be an “illness” for which the drugs are a treatment.
Report comment
True. But some of the evidence suggests causation. For example, in counties in California and Pennsylvania where a children’s cable television channel arrived relatively early subsequently have autism rates higher than in other counties.
More generally, correlation can be used to determine where research dollars are most likely to be effective in identifying triggers. A randomized controlled trial of children at high risk of autism could identify causality, which is what we are recommending.
Report comment
I agree that “autism” is not a disease. It is a set of behaviors and traits which a panel of psychiatrists has voted to be called “autism.” However, I think anyone would agree that having some of the more severe traits like lack of language development makes life more difficult.
Report comment
Thank you for your comments. Here is our response (from Mike Waldman, Sean Nicholson and Marilyn Wedge). Some of the traits/symptoms associated with more severe forms of autism would be considered deficits by most people (for example, lack of language development). One possibility is that screen viewing amplifies these traits/symptoms and makes a formal diagnosis more likely. It’s difficult to understand how anyone could object to bringing attention to this possibility, thus allowing parents to make the best decisions for their own families.
Report comment
Thank you Mad in America team for bringing the above comment from a parent to my attention. I was able to connect her with the virtual autism network, and now the parent says that their family has hope.
Report comment
Than you Brett. I agree that without informed consent this practice is not only unethical but is also a violation of a child’s human rights. I know how we got here. I don’t know how we will get out.
Report comment
Thank you Lawrence. I confess that after fighting this battle for so many years on so many fronts, I have retreated to a one-child-at-a-time tactic. That seems to be what I do best. From reading my books and articles an amazing number of parents have contacted me over the years asking for help finding a like-minded therapist in their community. I help as I can, one-parent-at-a-time. Psychiatrists learn the medication/pharmaceutical propaganda approach in medical school and residency. That’s all they learn. It’s shocking. Adam’s pediatrician, by the way, feels as helpless as I do enface contemporary child psychiatry.
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Lawrence, very well said and certainly not an exaggeration. Thank you for your courage and honesty.
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I think you make an important point about ADHD children becoming comfortable with taking drugs early in life because their parents handed parenting over to psychiatrists and drugs. It becomes natural to these kids to take a pill to sooth all of life’s troubles later on. This can well lead to addiction to amphetamines or other drugs in young adulthood. I wasn’t aware that doctors prescribed opioids for patients with depression in the 1990’s. That is shocking information that might well have the consequences that you describe.
Report comment
The article is not about all autism. There is a difference between classic autism and virtual autism. It sounds like your son has the latter. And of course at a later age, educational apps can be helpful to any child, when used in moderation.
Report comment
Dear Lori,
thank you so much for sharing your story and all the useful information. I am so happy to hear that your son is doing so well, thanks to your interventions. I hope your story reaches the eyes of many parents whose children have been diagnosed with ASD and are struggling to find solutions. Removing screens, though it might inconvenience a family in the short term, is so much better than having a child struggle for the rest of his life. Thank you also for bringing up Dr. Michael Waldman’s (et alia) important work on the topic of TV and “virtual autism.”
Report comment
This is a great question. I just got out of a session in which an 11 year old girl had been plagued by “fears” that she or her parents might die of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. This girl had been mis-diagnosed with ADHD and anxiety disorder 6 years ago and had been taking taking 2 stimulants and Zoloft when I met her 2 months ago. As it turns out, she was getting the “fears” from watching TV commercials. Her parents were puzzled and confused by what the psychiatrist kept telling them “She has disorders”), but they felt they had no choice. The girl is entirely off meds now and according to her parents her “true personality” is coming out–an outgoing, unworried and happy 11 year old. I see that as well. This is one of the saddest things about drugs–they alter the personality so that a child feels distanced from her true self. Children should not watch commercial TV at all. I tell that to all parents. And yes, even the most caring and involved parents are entrusting their children to psychiatrists, and any virtually-induced worries are attributed to brain disorders.
Report comment
Victoria, thank you so much for sharing your experience of how many so-called ASD kids change like “magic” when screens are removed. You are assuredly not alone, although most of the willingness to speak out about the topic is among European mental health professionals.
As you say, there is of course classic “autism” not related to technology use. In my clinical experience, these children can be helped by framing their problems as developmental and treating them with intensive family therapy, speech therapy, and at times occupational therapy. Actual autism, in my view, affects about .5 percent of children or less. Anna Freud once said “If a child can play, the child is not autistic.” I think that is a good rule of thumb.
Please stay in touch and feel free to share your case stories.
Marilyn
Report comment
I disagree. If biological psychiatry posted research that did not advocate psychiatric medication as a cure, this community would welcome it.
However, since removing screen time does not bring more wealth to Pharma, such an article would be highly unlikely.
Report comment
Thank you for sharing this story. Hopefully, it will encourage other parents to remove screens and get their child into nature.
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Thank you, Monica, for sharing your experience. As you say, there is a spectrum of sensitivity that is not in itself a “disorder.”
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Thank you for raising the important point about eye contact. Donald Winnicott said that in healthy child development, a baby sees his reflection in his mother’s eyes. Today, a baby or young child is more likely to see his reflection in his mother’s smart phone or tablet.
Thank you also for your kind words about “A Disease called Childhood.”
Report comment
Let us remember that Freud dared to say to the medical community that sexual abuse (trauma) was the origin of mental disorders. History has proved him correct.
Report comment
You bring up an important point. Clearly, the step of re-engaging with society comes later in the process, when the person is stabilized and no longer hearing voices or feeling paranoid.
Report comment
Thank you for writing this excellent analysis and for bringing the Lancet article to my attention. Having read some of Dr. Ilina Singh’s previous work (‘I Bambini e le Droghe’: The Right to Ritalin vs the Right to Childhood in Italy, and the hopeful study mentioned in this article: http://www.theguardian.com/society/2012/oct/15/adhd-study-reveals-childrens-views) I am disappointed that Dr. Singh has succumbed to dogmatism. I can only hope that she moves beyond this way of thinking about ADHD in the future.
Report comment
Thank you both for your supportive comments.
Report comment
I would like to thank all of you for your well-honed comments. I want to say something to clarify the context of my work.Unfortunately, in my daily work as a therapist I have to deal with psychiatrists who do believe that there is a biological disease called schizophrenia. If I had said to Alan’s psychiatrist “There is no such thing as schizophrenia so of course you are misdiagnosing him,” I would have lost credibility with him and would not have been able to influence him to take Alan off the meds. What I think in my own mind (and I have always agreed with Laing’s and Mosher’s view of schizophrenia),and what I have to say to protect my patients in my daily work, are sometimes very different. This article was intended to be about the dangers of misdiagnosis which in turn can lead to the wrong kind of treatment. I hope this helps. Thanks.
Report comment
Marian, Like other psychological problems, “schizophrenia” is intimately connected with a person’s life story or psycho-social context. Like severe depression, anxiety, or obsessions, schizophrenia is a reaction to painful or traumatic life circumstances and can be treated through a caring relationship with a skilled therapist. I couldn’t agree with you more.
Report comment
Ed, Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment and careful reading of my post. I will read the article you suggest and double check that the tapering of the drug is as slow as it should be. Actually, the psychiatrist has been tapering the meds extremely slowly.
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