When You Have the Knowledge You Have the Power

Educating Parents and Providers to Help Young Children with ASD Reach Their Potential

We have developed this website based on a deep commitment to increase awareness regarding child development and screen exposure, especially as it relates to autism. While more research is needed, there is extensive information which cannot wait another 5 or 10 years to be shared. Scroll down to see the types of information we have compiled or click the button below to view an FAQ style page where the content is grouped by issue.

Who We Are and Our Mission

We are an international group of academics, scientists and treatment professionals who have come together in order to encourage the scientific community to undertake studies on the affect of screen usage on children as it relates to autism.

We are sharing research and real-life stories that we hope will impart wellness for children and families. Several of the researchers in our network are parents of children with autism and most of us have worked with parents of autistic children. We fully support these incredibly dedicated parents and the diversity of approaches and opinions they embrace in order to help their children.

However, we believe that some parents may have been exposed to misinformation leading them to believe that early screen viewing poses no risk to their children. We seek to share what researchers all across the world are finding in regards to the affect of screen time on child development so that parents can make the most informed decisions regarding their children’s health and well being.

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Selected Research

Screen time and autistic-like behaviors among preschool children in China.

November 2020
Chen JY, Strodl E, Wu CA, Huang LH, Yin XN, Wen GM, Sun DL, Xian DX, Chen YJ, Yang GY, Chen WQ.
Psychol Health Med. 2020 Nov 23:1-14. doi: 10.1080/13548506.2020.1851034. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 33227216.

Association of Early-Life Social and Digital Media Experiences with Development of Autism Spectrum Disorder-Like Symptoms.

July 2020
Heffler KF, Sienko DM, Subedi K, McCann KA, Bennett DS.
JAMA Pediatr. 2020 Jul 1;174(7):690-696. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.0230. PMID: 32310265; PMCID: PMC7171577.

The consumption of virtual environment more than 4 hours/day, in the children between 0-3 years old, can cause a syndrome similar with the autism spectrum disorder.

January 2018
Zamfir, M. T. (2018).
Journal Romanian Literary Studies, 13, 953-968.

Causation Model of Autism: Audiovisual Brain Specialization in Infancy Competes with Social Brain Network

June 2016
Heffler, K. F. and L.M. Oestreicher
Medical Hypotheses, 91, 2016, pp. 114-122

Comparison of Television Viewing Between Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Controls

July 2011
Chonchaiya, W., P. Nuntnaraumit, and C. Pruksananonda
Acta Paediatrica, 100, 2011, pp. 1033-1037

Does Television Cause Autism?

December 2006
Waldman, M., S. Nicholson, and N. Adilov
National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No, 12632, Revised December 2006.

Featured Media Coverage

In Search of the Cause of Autism: How About Television?

SLATE, September 5, 2006

TV Really Might Cause Autism

SLATE, October 16, 2006

Is an Economist Qualified to Solve Puzzle of Autism?

Wall Street Journal, February 27, 2007

Researchers Who Are Studying the Relationship Between Screen Time and Autism

Photo of child sitting on chair while holding tablet

Meet the international team that is studying the association between
electronic screens and autism

Michael Waldman

Michael Waldman, Ph.D

  • Charles H. Dyson Professor of Management and Professor of Economics: Johnson Graduate School of Management
  • Editor: Journal of Labor Economics

Cornell University, Sage Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
Tel: (607) 255-8631
Email: mw46@cornell.edu
Faculty web page

Karen Heffler MD

Karen F. Heffler, MD

  • Researcher, Autism Spectrum Disorder
  • Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry

Drexel University College of Medicine
219 N Broad Street, 3rd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
Email: kfh37@drexel.edu

Sean Nicholson

Sean Nicholson, Ph.D.

  • Professor and Director of the Sloan Program in Health Administration
  • Weiss Presidential Fellow
  • Department of Policy Analysis and Management, Cornell University
  • Research Associate, National Bureau of Economic Research

3301c MVR Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853
Tel: 607-254-6498
Email: sn243@cornell.edu
Faculty web page here

Lori Frome

Lori Frome, M.Ed.

Early Interventionist/Special Instructor
South Central Pennsylvania
Email: LFrome@me.com

Marius-Teodor Zamfir

Marius-Teodor Zamfir, M.D.

  • Expert psychologist- Clinical psychology and judicial psychology Member of the Panel of Expert Psychologists Psychologist
  • Coordinator Saint Michael’s Center for Children with Autism Children in Distress Foundation – Romania

Tel: +40216676433, Mobile +40762818124
Email: contact@stopautism.ro
Web sites: www.cid.org.ro
http://stopautismvirtual.ro/

Ana Maria Zagrean

Ana-Maria Zamfir, M.D.

  • Principal Psychologist- Clinical psychology and judicial psychology Member of the Panel of Expert Psychologists
  • Executive Director and Vice-President Association for Child Mental Health

Tel: +40728643414
Email: contact@stopautism.ro

Anne-Lise Ducanda

Mrs. Anne-Lise Ducanda, M.D.

Physician expert of Child’s Health and Development, French
Email: aldk@thinks.pro

Sabine Duflo

Sabine Duflo, M.D.

  • Clinical psychologist, family therapist: Georges Daumezon Public Mental Health Institution.
  • UHTC-A Full-time Hospitalization Unit for adolescents
  • Psychologue et thérapeute familial (centre médico psychologique enfants/ados EPS Ville-Evrard)

Author: Hooked on Screens (Marabout , Pocket Edition, 2018)
Email: 4paspourmieuxavancer@gmail.com
Website: sabineduflo.fr.

Hamid Pouretemad PHD

Hamid Reza Pouretemad, BA, MSC, MPh, Ph D

  • Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology
  • Founder & Head of the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University
  • Founder of the Iranian Society for Cognitive Science and Technology
  • Founder & Director of the Center for the Treatment of Autistic Disorders

Tel: + 98 21 2243 1617
Email: h_pouretemad@sbu.ac.ir

Saeid Sadeghi PHD

Saeid Sadeghi, Ph.D.

  • Assistant Professor at the Institute for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran
  • C​enter of Excellence in Cognitive Neuropsychology, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
  • Autism therapist in Tehran autism center

Tel: + 98 21 2243 1617
Email: Sae_sadeghi@sbu.ac.irSaeidsadeghi.psychologist@gmail.com

Michael Davidovitch MD

Michael Davidovitch MD

  • Pediatrics
  • Child Neurology and Development
  • Maccabi Healthcare Services
  • Chairman of the Israeli Society for Child Development
  • Israeli Medical Association

Email: davidom13@gmail.com

Weerasak Chonchaiya MD

Weerasak Chonchaiya MD

  • Developmental and behavioral pediatrician,
  • Researcher, Autism spectrum disorder, effects of screen media exposure on child development and behaviors
  • Professor of Pediatrics,
  • Head of Maximizing Thai Children’s Developmental Potential Research Unit,
  • Head of Division of Growth and Development, Department of Pediatrics,
  • Faculty of Medicine​, Chulalongkorn University,
    King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, The Thai Red Cross Society,
    Bangkok, Thailand, 10330

Email: weerasak.ch@chula.ac.th
Weerasak Chonchaiya, MD – ‪Google Scholar
Weerasak Chonchaiya, M.D. – Chulalongkorn University
Weerasak Chonchaiya (researchgate.net)