Evaluation of the Impact of Screen Time and Parental Play on Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in Comparison with Normal Children

Abstract

Background: There is a decremental trend seen in parental play in recent times, and there is a mounting trend in screen exposure in children. This changing trend in parental play and screen time exposure may affect child social and communication domains.Objective: To assess the impact of screen time and parental play in children with autism spectrum disorder.Methodology: This is a comparative cross sectional study with a sample of 60 children. Thirty children of age group 2-6 years diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder as per DSM-5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) attending child guidance Clinic, Government Hospital for Mental care were included in the study.The Parental Play Questionnaire assessed parental play in children. The Digital Screen Exposure Questionnaire(DSEQ) evaluated child screen time exposure. The severity of ASD was assessed by using the CARS scale.Results: Out of thirty samples with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), 60% of children had moderate ASD, while 20% accounted for mild and severe ASD. Nearly 53.3% of ASD children had a frequency of watching smartphones more than 5 times a week with an average duration of more than 2 hours a day. In contrast, in normal children, only 6.7% have such frequency and an average time of watching smartphones less than 1 hour, significant with a p-value of <0.001. Among the ASD group, 80% of children had active physical parent-child play frequency of less than twice a week. In normal children, about 60% had a frequency of parent-child play several times daily.(p-value <0.001). About 66.7% of ASD children never had to pretend play, and 30% had pretend play once a week.Conclusion: The result showed significantly higher screen time exposure and lack of parental play in childrenwith ASD than in normal children. The need of this digital era is mounting concern about reducing screen time exposure and increasing parental play in childhood.