The
Toxic Relationship: Technology and Autism
Parent
Education Seminar
Christopher
Mulligan LCSW
The
Relationship Between Technology and Autism
It is widely held computer literacy skills are
critically important for children, teens, and young adults diagnosed with
autism spectrum disorder (hereafter ASD). Parents of young children are
informed by a wide variety of autism specialists that school achievement and achievement
in the 21st century workplace is dependent upon mastering computer skills.
Although it is undeniable 21st century education and
employment requires some degree of competency in computer literacy, the
importance of computer literacy in the lives of autistic children and teens has
been vastly overstated. More importantly, the negative impact on cognitive, emotional,
social development associated with the use of computers (and technology in
general) is vastly understated or ignored altogether within the community of
autism specialists.
Why
Technology is Toxic for the ASD Brain
International research examining the relationship
between technology and autism is showing that the enormous amounts of attention
consumed through engagement with technology --
whether it be computer database searches, Facebook, watching YouTube
videos, or video gaming – blocks the brain’s capacity to develop new mental
processes which, in turn, exacerbates the core deficits of ASD: innovating,
improvising, reflecting, anticipating, evaluating fuzzy logic, synthesizing
contextual processing, insight, and empathy.
While some technologies promote
higher level thinking, the majority of technology used by children and teens
with ASD impedes cognitive and social development. Studies have shown that
early exposure to TV, DVD/videos, video gaming, and the internet result in the
brain “pruning” connections in the frontal cortex of the brain.
The ASD child’s brain develops
increasingly complex and sophisticated mental processes in relationship to the
environment and how they spend their time. If a child with ASD is
repetitively exposed to the intense stimulation of technology, their brain
efficiently “short circuits” or “prunes” neural connections in the frontal
cortex of the brain
Exposure to technology can result in
the loss of executive functioning, impulse control, and critical thinking -- three
necessary elements for learning. Technology exposure also results in the loss
of imagination and creativity, two mental processes necessary for learning and
integral for eventual success and survival in increasingly competitive work
environments.
Termed “The Learning Paradox,” early
use of technology by ASD children actually serves to increase deficits in joint
attention, thereby decreasing the ability to be successful learners in
adulthood. Research is also showing that early exposure to technology changes
brain structure, chemistry, and function in areas associated with addiction.
The younger the child is, and the more intense the exposure to technology, the
more prone that child will be to addiction.
Research in the United States and Europe has found
that youth with ASD are likely to prefer computer mediated communication over
face-to-face communication due to the reduced complexity of screen-based social
interaction. The absence of nonverbal communication simplifies the amount of
information required to communicate. Unfortunately, youth with ASD show a much
higher risk of developing compulsive Internet use than youth without ASD and
report higher rates of loneliness and depression.
The correlation between computer and videogame use
and depression is documented in multiple research studies in United States,
Western Europe, Korea, and China. Although it is unclear whether compulsive use
of the computer and/or video gaming produces depression or individuals
suffering from depression are more likely to engage in compulsive use of the
computer and/or video gaming, it is clear that there is a strong relationship
between increased levels of depression and compulsive use of technology. At the
very least, technology does not improve the mood and overall social functioning
of teens with ASD and very likely exacerbates an underlying vulnerability to depression
and loneliness.
Parents and educators who think that
early exposure to technology is necessary for eventual success in our technological
world need to take an informed and critical look at the real cost of exposure
to technology. This seminar will review current research on the relationship
between autism and technology and provide parents with a skills and strategies
to protect their children from toxic exposure to technology.
For more information on this seminar contact Christopher
Mulligan LCSW at 310-2871640.
