Autism and Screen Time: Striking the Right Balance for Growth and Well-being – Part 1
Societal perceptions of children with autism often oscillate between misunderstanding and growing acceptance. Historically, limited awareness led to stereotypes, social exclusion, and inadequate educational support. Many still view autism solely through the lens of deficits, overlooking the unique strengths and abilities these children possess. However, increased advocacy, inclusive education, and media representation are gradually reshaping public attitudes. But still only private international syllabus schools are accepting these children on an inclusive way for a handsome fee. Not affordable for common parents.
Communities are learning that autism is a spectrum, with diverse needs and potentials. The emphasis is shifting toward acceptance, empathy, and creating supportive environments that allow children with autism to thrive as valued, contributing members of society. Awareness fosters inclusion and dignity.
For parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), understanding the unique relationship between autism and screen time is more than a matter of good parenting—it is a critical component of supporting their child’s development. While concerns about excessive device use apply to all children, the stakes are different for those on the spectrum. Digital platforms offer enormous potential for learning, communication, and social development, but they also carry risks that require careful, intentional management.
Children with ASD often face a complex set of challenges—difficulties in social interaction, heightened sensitivity to stimuli, and a tendency toward repetitive behaviors. In this context, digital environments can feel safe and predictable, offering comfort in a world that often feels overwhelming. This makes understanding how and how much screen time is used an essential part of supporting these children.
Why Digital Learning Appeals to Autistic Children ?
The allure of screens for autistic children lies in their predictability and structure. Video games, apps, and educational platforms deliver consistent outcomes and allow engagement at the child’s own pace. Research shows children with ASD tend to spend more time on screens than their neurotypical peers, with many gravitating toward TV, gaming, social media, or messaging.
For many parents, these tools have become indispensable since the child who has a socitial interaction problem feels comfortable in the digital privacy to communication and predictable digital activities often reduce their inherent anxiety.
Digitally accessible mode of GeF provide accessible learning opportunity for the ASD child, than having tough time with non-accessible print content and conventional teachers and peers. For these special children visual and auditory content can support comprehension where face-to-face learning struggles. Online communication allows autistic children to process interactions more comfortably.
Besides these factors digital learning enables powerful visual learning with the digital tools often present concepts in clear, visual formats, bridging gaps in traditional teaching methods.
Also help foster Independence and the comfort of privacy to children with ASD. A Chromebook with built in GfE offer familiar, low-stress environments for self-paced learning.
In many cases, these advantages make digital devices not just helpful, but essential, for daily functioning.
Using a GfE platform help to regulate the excessive screen use can which tip the balance from benefit to harm. While screen time does not cause autism—a condition with strong genetic foundations—too much exposure can lead to behaviors that resemble autistic traits, a phenomenon dubbed “virtual autism.” These include delayed speech, reduced eye contact, and withdrawal from real-world socialization.
Some therapy based autism specialists claim that digital learning can bring Sensory Overload, Worsening Core Symptoms such as reinforce repetitive behaviors and reduce face-to-face communication, Developmental Setbacks, Physical Health Concerns such as sleep disruption, reduced physical activity, obesity risk, and exposure to inappropriate content. But according to my experience with Children with Special Needs in a controlled GeF platform nullify all these baseless arguments. These claims are baseless and it is applicable for any child left to use digital world in an uncontrolled manner and zero digital grooming.
Digital Grooming and the Key to Healthy Screen Habits
Managing screen time for autistic children is not about banning devices—it is about grooming them digitally with the Google for Education (GeF) platform. Every child, be it Neurotypical or Neurodiverse, should be groomed the skills to use technology purposefully, safely, and in balance with offline and safe online mode with GeF is the key to set a child with ASD to his confidence and future developmental road mapping.
Case studies:
1. Rajesh Dadi (9) – Kankipadu, Krishna District
Andhra’s faulty Sadaram Medical certificate for Children with Special Needs prompt that he is mentally retarred and his mother saddened and left the certificate attempt, since she knows that her son is not mentally ill and he is extremely brilliant. In one of my visits to Kankipadu Middle Primary School, I met Rajesh first time, he was in the Bhavitha Centre an asylum for the Children with Special Needs. He was in a rage and ran out of the Bhavitha Centre to the ground and screamed loudly.
I thought to enquire the matter and asked the special educator, why he is in a rage? She said, she took the Tab back from him, since he is over using. Surprisingly when I talk to Rajesh, he spoke to me in impeccable English language with an American Accent. But to the question, and keeping the brevity in words. During the conversation, I understood he is at least 5 years advanced than his age in IQ.
Now Rajesh Dadi does code in Python and learning his interest using Google Chromebook under the training of Ram Parivar. At the age of 4 during the Covid lockdown, he started using mobile phones and started speaking. But in a house where no one speak English, Rajesh speak English and Arabic, an alien language for the home. Rajesh falls into the Asperger’s syndrome as per the test conducted. Asperger’s Syndrome is a form of border line autism spectrum disorder with many shows high IQ. Young people with Asperger’s Syndrome may have a hard time relating to others socially, repetitive behavior patterns, and a narrow range of interest and brilliant in cognitive nature.
Case study 2
2. Arvind Kumar, Gurukul, Chennai
Arvind started using computers at the age of 5. A nonverbal, no screen contact Autistic youth, defies all norm and closures of the societal believes on autism. He never had normal education due to his ASD. But I am amused of his linguistic skills and the art of conversation with the help of a keyboard and computer. He is an author and an entertaining conversationalist in public gathering. He is intuitive and always answer your difficult questions with a wonderment and linguistic excellence. He now appears on stage shows title Chat with Arvind.
Few questions and answers from his book “ Book of Hope”.
Q: Most important lesson we should teach a child?
Ans: Sense of Liability.
Q: What mythological character do you relate and why?
Ans: Hestia. Her Chastity.
Q: What would be your recommendation to state government for differently abled children?
Ans: Education should reach those who lives in poverty and makes one an able person.
To be Continued: Part 2 – Myths and realities on Therapies and Autism
Author: Author is the founder of Chakshumathi a research think tank on Inclusive Education and Neurodiversity. He is the inventor of Digitally Accessible Pedagogy for effective learning for children with special needs (CwSN)