Thank you so much for your beautiful testimony, @rizwanmadni9246! We are so happy you discovered this information and that you are making such a difference for your child! Keep up the good work! And yes, you rightly acknowledge it was KZbin platform and algorithms that brought us together.

Start speech therapy

Hello - perhaps mom will share, but it comes down to turning off the screens and interacting closely with your child when the child is awake. Constantly looking in your child's eyes when you speak to him and saying his name will eventually get through to him. Over time, he will likely begin to pay attention when you say it. Wishing you the best of luck. As Robin says, it's not easy, but incredibly worth the effort!!!

@@thedurablehuman2814 thank you for replying ! I have already done everythg mentioned... but it seems my daughter needs a extra bit of help to out of the screen zone in her head. I also all the mom's out there best of luck !

​@@thedurablehuman2814 hello screen time reduce babies intelligence?

Fantastic you are seeing progress right away! You are now going to have to become your own best advocate since your medical advisers aren't aware that symptoms that can be screen-induced in very young children. Keep up the great work, despite that, yes, many other kids "watch TV"! (A lot of them end up developing screen-induced symptoms, too!)

Does your child stimm?

Hi, my daughter is the same age as your little one, what was her symptoms before you removed all screens? Thank you.

@@glazelrabbon4574 -not much eye contact or response to name -no joint attention -would not bring toys to me -no pointing -no waving -no receptive and expressive language -no babbling -would line up toys Now, 3 months later all those symptoms went away. She’s starting to understand simple commands like “throw it in the trash” “pick it up” etc. She still has no words but she babbles a lot now and has learn some sign language which she uses to communicate and that has helped a lot with the meltdowns which she used to have a lot of, now she has the normal toddler meltdowns/tantrums. She brings me toys to play with her she loves being around people now. Waves to say hi and bye.

Poor eye contact No response to name No pointing Did not like people Line up toys No talking not even babbling She’s is now the complete opposite of those things. She is like a different child. But it was not just taking the screens away, we started interacting with her a lot. A lot of play time everyday, going to parks almost everyday. She is not talking yet but she is imitating a lot of animal sounds and gestures. She had a lot meltdowns for the first 2 months of screen removal. Now she has normal toddler meltdowns/tantrums. It was the hardest 2 months but so worth it.

Hi hows yoir baby now

@@werejodelleshe is improving everyday. She is not fully talking yet but has a few words now like “mama, papa, hi, Wawa (water), ball and wow. For us these few words mean a lot because I thought she would never talk. Tries to repeat some other words now but she is not very consistent with them so that’s why I didn’t mention them. She also Imitates some animal sounds. Likes to interact with other people and play with other kids. She no longer lines up toys. A big one for us was when she started pretend play. I don’t really see any autism trays anymore except for the speech delay. Although the progress ahas been slow is definitely there. It has been 8 months since we stopped screen time.

Hello! Sending you huge congratulations for realizing your daughter is being affected by screen viewing and for taking the huge and important step of removing screen time. Please, please have patience as you stay the course. Many parents have realized that it takes about as much time for troubling behavior to go away as it did for it to arrive. That means, if she was over-watching screens for 6 months, for instance, it will take about six months of non-screen living for symptoms to greatly improve. Make sure and watch all the Virtual Autism videos, including by mom Robin, for inspiration. You can also ask Robin questions by making a comment on the post durablehuman.com/VirtualAutism.

Thank you! I watched all the videos you suggested and they I have helped me so much. I will keep going and do what your videos suggest.

Hi - asked our resident mom expert Robin about this, and here's what she had to say (very encouraging!!!): 🙂What you are describing sounds like very typical and normal behavior for a child of this age and at this point in the screen removal process. Her brain, with your help, is rewiring itself from a state of being affected by screen over exposure to being in a state of normalcy. It is a huge undertaking! Even with children not affected by screen overuse, tantrums and crying happen often during times of routine changes, overstimulation, and developmental leaps. Your daughter is going through all three right now. I would expect nothing less than multiple meltdowns and lots of tears during this period of her recovery. I would like to point out that the clinginess to you at the park is a good sign. It shows that your daughter is looking to you for comfort, that she is realizing her parent is there to soothe and protect her. It's a great sign of her progress. Please join us on the Durable Human website. Read all the information and watch all the videos here, and seek support in the comments section. Good luck, you are doing great. I would also like to add that the beginning is the hardest part. She won't be melting down and sad the entire time. Month 12 of recovery is nothing like month 1.

Thank you for your response. So my daughter has always been clingy I think because I breastfed her until she was 1 1/2. I’m just so worried because she seems to get triggered so easily. Even at home when I try to interact with her she will just have a meltdown while we’re playing. When I try to teach her body parts she gets bothered. Idk if that’s because she was just not used to me really interacting with her that much before. The only time she seems happy to interact is when I sing nursery rhymes to her. She always wants to be where I am but when I start to play with her after just a few minutes she just starts to get bothered and starts to have a meltdown. I really try to make things fun in many ways possible. Another thing that has me worried is that she will rather line up things rather than playing the right way. That’s what I’m trying to focus on right now to show her how to play with certain toys. For example, we have stacking rings and I show her how stack them by grabbing her hands and cheer for her when she does it but she will only do it once after that she wants to line them up. The same with other toys that you are suppose to stack or put them inside.

@@LilianaPacheco-k7p how is your baby girl now mam ?

It did for my son. One thing i think helped was us reading to him. The more words he learned the less frustrated he was, hence less arm flapping and swimming sounds We read 5+ short stories per day

Hi @lg6757 - Yes, if your child's stimming is related to screen exposure, stopping his exposure may also stop the stimming. But you really do have to stop his exposure and double down on lots of face to face talking, reading, play and activities. Researchers are seeing that worrisome symptoms can often return when the screen viewing is started up again.

Hello! Thank you for your questions. The following answer comes from Robin, a mom who has been in your same position: "Hello, I have been through the screen removal process with my own son who was showing autism symptoms. He is now fine. It is great that your daughter has shown improvement since removing screens. That is a sign that this is the right path for her. It is very common for autistic symptoms to seem to worsen at first when removing screens. This is called stimming, and is a self-soothing behavior these kids use when they're feeling stressed. The eye corner, the laughing, all of it you mentioned are stims. My name is Robin and my son's story is also under this channel on a video titled A Mother Speaks. Please also join us on the Durable Human website. There is a blog post with lots of collected information on virtual autism titled: Virtual Autism: A New Threat to Toddlers. There you can read lots of information on virtual autism as well as join in the comments section where parents support each other."

Hi. Thanks for writing in. It usually takes at least as long to undo screen-related autistic-like symptoms as it did for them to form. For example, if a child has excess screen exposure for 9 months, it will take at least 9 months to unwind the symptoms. Patience and diligence is needed, but other parents like you report the effort is incredibly worth it! Please view all the videos available here and read everything at durablehuman.com/ToddlerScreenSyndrome. Wishing you the BEST - and feel free to keep in touch!

Hi @natalieferrer6304. Thanks for writing in. As early development specialist Lori Frome writes on DurableHuman.com, "if the child is still under the age of 5 years we have really good results." Please watch the videos here and review the post at durablehuman.com/ToddlerScreenSyndrome. Making sure that your child stops watching screens of any kind will be important, as well as putting down your own phone and turning the TV off when you are together, and keeping TV from just playing in the background. Fill what used to be screen time with lots of social interaction with you and others and also plenty of daily outdoor and indoor unplugged play. Reading paper books together every day will also help his language learning. You may also want to obtain professional services, such as speech therapy as long as screens aren't involved. At school, he should also not be exposed to or using screens at this time. Read this for advice on how to talk to schools about tech use: durablehuman.com/ScreenAwareKit. Parents of kids 5 and older can benefit from reading "Reset Your Child's Brain" by Victoria Dunckley. Wishing you the best of luck. It takes determination and time, but- yes- he definitely can be helped!

@@thedurablehuman2814 thank you so much!

@@natalieferrer6304 Keep in touch!

Hi @audreylarsgard7461! Glad you discovered us! Did you follow the same path as Robin and her son? Has your daughter made similar progress? Will check with Robin about your Q and get back to you!

@@thedurablehuman2814 thanks for getting back to me and for checking with Robin. I did follow a similar path starting around 18 months when we realized my daughter was showing signs of autism. She was also obsessed with the show Cocomelon and would watch it on repeat for 2-3 hours a day. With screen removal and increasing parent-child interaction, we saw huge improvements in joint attention and communication. She's now 33 months, and was recently assessed by a developmental pediatrician. Unfortunately she did still receive an autism diagnosis but all her clinicians were impressed with the improvements she's made and said that she will likely continue to improve, and may even drop the diagnosis in the future. We are very hopeful.

@@YellowheadHomestead OK! Sounds like you are moving forward! Robin says head over to the Durable Human post on Toddler Screen Syndrome and post your questions. She will be keeping an eye on and can answer you there. durablehuman.com/ToddlerScreenSyndrome

​@@thedurablehuman2814thanks! I left a post for her over there. 😊

How is ur son now? My daughter is same

Thank you so much for getting in touch and for recognizing your son had too much time with screens. The experts do say that results are best when all screen exposure is stopped and that time is replaced with high quality talk, play and other interactions with loved ones, especially you! Symptoms of too much screen exposure usually show up in the second year of life if excessive viewing began in the first. I hope you have reviewed the other videos here on Virtual Autism as well as the info at durablehuman.com/Virtual Autism. There are free resources available with every post. After you have all that info under your belt, it may be easier to explain to others why you are doing what you are doing to help your son. Experts in this field are also working to try to get daycares and preschools to understand that screens are not a good idea, particularly under age 3. Older than that, only 1 hour of total screen time a day is recommended. Therefore, I hope you can adjust your family lifestyle and setup to help your child continue to be screen free. Thanks again for writing and for all the hard work you are doing for your son. As Robin says, it pays off wonderfully!

@@thedurablehuman2814 thank you for your response. It is much appreciated 🙏

As for how long the screens should be gone for, I would say there is no official time when they can become a VERY small part of your child's life again, but I would wait until all symptoms have resolved and language is within normal range for their age, AND more importantly I would not let the child see any media like I described in my previous comment. No quick cuts, nothing that looks like anything he was watching before you removed screens from the environment. My son, now almost 3 and completely rehabilitated, will watch 20 minutes or so once or twice a week of very slow live action footage of tractors plowing a field or trains slowly chugging along. He is not mesmerized by the images on the screen, he is supervised the entire time, and we make sure it's a very social activity where we talk about the tractors and what they're doing etc. What I have found since embarking on this journey with my son is that screens became so much less appealing to everyone in the house. There's so many other more important things we do now, even if it's just a family walk or doing the dishes with the kids. Before the removal of screens I would have let my son watch TV while I did chores alone. Now I have a little helper and we have tons of laughs the entire time.

@Robin Hull Thank you for responding Robin!! And all your input. Where I live there aren't many activities for small kids under age 3. So we spend majority of our day outside taking walks, playing with our dogs in the yard, going to the beach, going to the parks for socialization. My son definitely has made huge improvements!! He is now starting to string along Sentences such as: I want Eat.. I did reach out at 19 months to Early Intervention and he did qualify, however they have been coming for about 3 months and I started screen removal in the middle of his therapy. His therapist finally said she has no concerns for autism as this point because he is advancing so quickly. I told her I removed screens and he's been making great progress. I plan to keep minimal screen time until age 5, for when he starts school.. And your right, once we removed the screens (cancelled our cable), I feel so much more connected with my son. I enjoy every moment we share together! Thank you for sharing your story to the public and for allowing us worried mothers to get back to our children. In the beginning it was an adjustment, but anyone can get through it with the right mindset. So parents please help your children, and spend that quality time with them because we will never get that time back!. Thanks again for all your efforts. God bless you all.

(here is my "first" comment I referenced. Having some tech issues on my end) Jessica , first and foremost I want to say congratulations. This is Robin here, the mother from the video. Here are two tips for helping others to understand 1) Tell them the statistics. In 1975 1 in 5000 children were diagnosed with autism. Glancing at the CDC website just now, it's up to 1 in 36. Changes in the criteria for diagnosis alone cannot account for such a huge jump in numbers. This information works better for helping older family members that remember a time when autism was rare. 2) Explain to them the science behind screen-induced autistic behavior aka Virtual Autism. This helps people who think the idea that screen use being an environmental trigger for autism sounds like a conspiracy theory, to understand. The best way to do this would be to really understand the mechanics behind virtual autism yourself. Start by reading all the info in the Durable Human post that Jennifer Madden linked to in her comment previously. After that, read and watch every video and article you can find that features Lori Frome, a prominent voice in the community that is shining light on Virtual Autism. She breaks down the science behind why virtual autism happens but I will also explain it roughly here for you and anyone reading: A baby is constantly looking around exploring with their eyes and ears, and when they're older they are crawling around and exploring with all five senses . Babies change their gaze every five seconds or so. It is how they evolved to gather information about their environment. A baby that isn't exposed to screens would be looking from their parents to their siblings, up at the clouds, at curtains blowing in the wind, turning their gaze to the noisy dishes clattering in the sink, touching the dog coming up to give them a lick, crawling around inspecting toys and tasting them, essentially using all 5 senses to continuously take in information about the world. TV shows for children have figured out how to mimic a baby or young child's attention span and have a scene cut every 3-5 seconds. This mesmerizes a baby and causes them to lock onto the screen for much longer periods of time, because the screen is essentially moving to a "new" image rapidly for them. This allows babies to satisfy that natural urge to constantly be looking for new sensory input, but with a fraction of the effort on their part. Over time the child's brain wires itself to derive pleasure and dopamine from the rapid movements of the screen instead of from real life sensory inputs like their mother's laugh and smile or playing in water. Not only is the child's brain adapting itself to this screen addicted state, but every hour the child spends of their limited wake time watching screens (babies sleep a lot!) That is time the baby is immobilized physically and essentially blinded to the happenings going on around them. So two things caused by screen use converge to create virtual autism. 1) the child's sponge-like brain has absorbed and studied screens instead of people and the child's environment and now is wired to better consume screens and the desire to socialize and explore the world outside of screens is severely diminished because of this 2) all the hours spent immobilized and cut off from the world around them are resulting in huge deficits in age appropriate milestones across the board be it social, language, motor skills, sleep, etc The goal with the screen removal protocol PLUS high quality and quantities of social interaction is to not only remove the source of the issue, screens, but then also to help the child to undo the delays and to rewire the brain to be able to derive pleasure from the child's environment and social interactions.

Please any body help on this day by day i am losing as baby is not at all seeing at eyes

Hi @subhashini nalamothu. Sorry for taking a while to respond. I can see how worried you are about your daughter, but take some solace in that you stopped screens, which is so crucial as a starting point. If you watch Lori Frome's and Robin's videos, you will see that it will probably take months and a lot of effort to try and bring your daughter back into your shared world. Please make sure and watch the videos to learn what to do. It's very important to interact with your daughter as much as possible throughout the day, or place her with people who will interact with her when you can't be there. A lot of parents say it's like starting over. So keep talking, and be patient and don't give up. As like when she was a baby, you can't always tell when she is listening, but she is. It may help to join a private support group of parents who have had your same experience. Here’s the link to the group: chat.whatsapp.com/Fz9FQggeuU0G2HBaMUyuck Wishing you the best of luck as you continue with your journey. I will leave you with this thought from Robin that she sends out to all parents struggling as you are: "I can’t say that I ever fully relaxed during my son’s recovery, I worried the entire time, even as he made huge leaps in progress. But at the same time I also had a lot of fun, and I felt myself becoming even closer to him as I got to watch and help him grow, and to get to know him as we navigated this journey. Looking back, this was more than just a second chance, more than just the correction of one issue, more than simply remedial work for a developmental delay… This process brought me my son back but it also showed me a better way to live and enjoy our short time here with each other. It also both humbled me and at the same time built my confidence as a parent and human being up higher than ever before. It brought me the most intense pain of regret in my life-and at the same time the most profound feelings gratitude, a gratitude that fills me every day and hasn’t waned or flickered even once. These are very conflicting feelings but they make perfect sense to me, and I have a feeling they make sense to you and to anyone else that has been or is going through this."

Hi @Rajbir Singh. What evidence shows around the world is that, because it takes months for behavioral changes to become evident in a young child after hours of daily screen exposure, it will take months for a child to regain a typical behavioral trajectory after stopping screen exposure and greatly increasing social interaction. It is not a fast process, but progress can be seen even days after screens are turned off for the child and electronic toys are put away.

@@thedurablehuman2814 Thanks for this explanation.i have been struggling hard and doing everything possible to regain what we lost. Behaviours are changing, still anxiety in mind that for how long this will be continue. my kid is 31months old. videos like this gives me hope. Hope for the best outcome. In your case studies can kids recover fully?

@@RajbirSingh-sy7sv Yes, there are at least 3 bona fide examples (including Robin's) of a former ASD diagnosis in a young child that was completely dropped. In other words, after screen removal and intensive social interaction, the child was deemed by their therapists to no longer have an ASD diagnosis. For more examples, learn about Dr. Karen Heffler's research at kzbin.info/www/bejne/i4KQpmSrZtiMkLc

@@RajbirSingh-sy7svHey how’s your son doing? Mine is at yours age. Thank you🤍

Hi @Laura Bryan Bryan. Thanks for getting in touch. Yes, kids who have been overexposed to screens may develop sensitivities to food textures, smells and noise. Try not to get too concerned about labels. If you have a little loved one experiencing what you think may be screen-induced symptoms, try stopping exposure to all screens, including TV on in the background, your devices and electronic toys and really ramp up your talking, playing, reading, and other types of face-to-face interactions and see if there is an improvement. It doesn't happen overnight, but progress often begins fairly quickly.

Hi, we talk mostly here about screen-related problems for kids under age 5. For help and info about older kids, please check out the book "Reset Your Child's Brain" by psychiatrist Victoria Dunckley: amzn.to/3TihIPK

Congratulations for making so much progress with your son! You are working on it and it sounds like you have professionals also following his progress. Please try to be patient as your move forward with this journey. It will take months, so take stock of the little steps along the way. Pointing, beginning to speak, eating well - these are all excellent signs. It takes a while for toddlers to use things like spoons and forks. : ) Try not to think about labels at this point. Just keep working in a positive direction and feel JOY in the little things!

Hello, hope all is well. How is your little one doing now?

How is your baby now

@@salmatomno610 he’s doing very well. speaking in sentences and asking questions and what not. we didn’t cut out tv completely, just in moderation

Yes! It is absolutely a sign of recovery! Don't worry about any label (virtual autism, autism, or whatever). The idea is he is becoming more interactive and attentive! Are there signs his language is coming back?

@@thedurablehuman2814 yes randomly use to say amma, va, tha, Vendam like that…

Hi how’s your baby doing now? I’m worried because my daughter (20 months old) has been exposed to so much screen and now it has been 3 weeks since I stopped screen and she’s having so many melt downs at home and when we are out.

@@LilianaPacheco-k7phe improved lot … speaking few words repeating after us… still we r in screen free not fully recovered yet… improvements are there in all the side

Hey - please try to look on the bright side! Focus on what you HAVE realized and be PROUD of what you are doing for your son. So many people unfortunately have not made the connection. Keep up the good work, watch all the videos, read durablehuman.com/ToddlerScreenSyndrome and stay in touch!

hey i found my comment!!! thank you. i still feel horrible. we’ve done no screens since then and he’s doing amazing. just hope he can make a full recovery. i see other comments who stopped screens around 18 months which makes me nervous bc i didn’t figure it out until he was 3. thank you so much!

My child is 3.5 and im just stopping screens it's taken me a long time to make the link 😢 like you said most comments people have stopped screens alot younger. Have you seen a great improvement in your child can I ask? Looking for some hope. My child has food sensory issues aswell as lines up/categorises things etc. Did your child show any other classic autism signs like this also? I'm trying to figure out if my child is ASD and made worse with screens or if the screens have caused it. Thank you

@@Pandaeyeshey hey!! so far it has seemed to help. i had the tv on all day for background noise. his eye contact is much better, responding to his name and speaking more. he doesn’t have any sensory issues like eating besides certain noises. my son does a bunch of eye tracking and balancing items so i wonder if he does have a little bit of classic autism. have you started yet?

@@Pandaeyeshey Hi there! So great you have figured out to stop screens! Try not to worry about your child's age or any sort of diagnosis. The brain under age 5 is still quite maleable, or "plastic", and adjusts to its environment, which will now be screen-free and hopefully filled with all sorts of wonderful back-and-forth interaction, play, and reading with you and other loving adults. The idea is to try the screen-free approach and see if it makes a difference. Hope you've seen all the info and resources at durablehuman.com/ToddlerScreenSyndrome

Good luck! You can DO THIS!!!

How is your kid now?

Hi. How’s your little one doing now?

Hi..it's been a year..no screens completely and it has been such a long journey..it's like teaching him everything from scratch..please if any one has doubt that it's not the screens..it is the screen it messed up with my baby's brain..so right now he understands more(he never used to do that) he does things like eat and pee on his own - never did that..he is imitating actions finallyy.. apparently the doc said that part of his brain was dormant..am glad it's finally getting to respond ..he has eye contact and respond to his name ..it's taking longer than I expected but he is better..saying a few words now..am praying he says more words this year since he is 3 now so I can take him to school next year..it's been such a journey.but I can see progress .so fellow mamas if you are on the same track as me good luck . praying for our babies to talk ..they will talk.. InshaAllah

And all the autism signs have disappeared like flapping..hyperness..saying things over and over..he is playing with other kids ..just waiting 4 him talk more

Hi @Tabassum Fatima. This is a very new area of study and observation, but Lori Frome son's Max does indicate that the screen removal/high social interaction protocol does stick!!

That said, she has made sure that Max has continued to be as screen-free as possible, even in school.

Thanks for listing out such good advice, @AltamashRahman. For many children with firmly established toddler screen syndrome brought on by early and excessive screen viewing, no screen viewing at all by the child is advised while the child is adjusting to a human-centric, rather than tech-centric environment. Those is the child's environment should also refrain from using screens in the presence of the child.

Wishing you ALL the BEST in your efforts! Nothing may be MORE worth it! You will learn so much about managing your journey if you watch all the experts' videos here and read the information and comments at durablehuman.com/VirtualAutism!

@kerrie, how’s your son ?

@@farhiamire7025 We've been screen free for about 8-9 months now. He started babbling again just a week after screen removal. The first month or 2 were very difficult. He had so many melt downs to to learn how to emotionally regulate himself. But now he's like a different kid, almost 0 meltdowns. He's so much happier! He started eating way more and gaining weight. He notices the world around him. Recently he started mimicking animal sounds that we make and is starting to sing along with songs we sing. He's learning sign language and is all around making good progress. The process is slow and trying... But he has really come so far along!

@@kerrie7449 you're doing a great job! Please keep us posted on your son's progress. We're rooting for you!

This is so good to hear, gives me hope. I’m going through the same thing with my daughter who is 20 month we have been a month without screen we have seen some progress like eye contact and turning when we call her name. How’s your child doing now?

@Kav Varath I hear your frustration and it's clear you are trying hard to help your daughter. What is being shown in the research is that children displaying the kind of behavior you describe benefit most when all exposure to screens is stopped, including TV on in the background, even when you have to do something. I encourage you to watch the videos on the Virtual Autism playlist for much more information and tips. Also see the information at durablehuman.com/ToddlerScreenSyndrome, including the comments. Wishing you strength and courage on your journey.

Hello @Kav Varath. Sorry for late reply. For some reason, missed your comment. Has your daughter made any progress in last 3 months? The experts on this channel recommend stopping all screen exposure and greatly increasing your and other loved ones' back-and-forth talking and play with her. Have you been able to do that?

@thedurablehuman2814 Thank you for getting back to me. She was improving during Christmas time and recently my sister came over and she has three boys. They don't engage with her and that made her routine off and now she doesn't want to do anything such as brush her teeth or potty. She repeats word or sentences after me and she talks to herself about it. She will say her name and I couldn't tell if she forgot her name. I also have a son who has autism. He's 2 years old and he's been bitting and hitting. I'm not sure what to do 😞

Thank you for your important message. Babyhood is ONCE and is a totally special and unique time of life, the only time in life when the brain is building very very fast and responds to its environment, which must include touch, talk, exploration at the baby's own pace. The only time in a life a person is truly free and unplugged to discover who they are with the ability to spend full time finding out how their minds and bodies work. Tech distracts from that vital process.

Hi, hope all is well. How is your child doing now after screen removal?

How is your little one doing after screen removal?

@Mayank Thanks for writing in and bravo for your efforts helping your son. Glad you asked this because some brand new research shows that young children who have experienced the effects of excessive and early screen use will rebound if they are exposed later to screens after having recovered. The experts advise that you watch TV only when your child is not around (like after his bedtime) and that anything he does on the tablet will likely make his earlier symptoms flare up. No screens at all are recommended for him, even if the content seems educational. The time should instead be spent playing with you and other family members, being involved with household routines, and playing with open-ended non electronic toys like blocks, playdoh, and chalk. See more info at durablehuman.com/ToddlerScreenSyndrome. I'll be posting a video about the new research as soon as I can get it together!

Beautiful! Thanks for writing about your progress. Keep up the good hard work. Hope you also keep in touch.

Hi! How is your baby doing now?

@@LilianaPacheco-k7p so awesome. He’s 2 now. 3 in April Says more words than I can count. Conversational. Totally amazing little boy So glad we stopped shows like cocomelon and tv all together until it was developmentally appropriate :) We also did speech and occupational therapy which helped him but also helped show us tools on how to help his developing brain.

⁠​⁠​⁠@@golf_hacks490so glad to hear! Gives me hope. My daughters was exposed to so much screen time specially cocomelon as well. She has a month with no screen time and I see some progress already with eye contact and listening to her name. My daughter is 20 months and She has no words but I hope speech therapy helps.

It's easy to understand that you are skeptical. This is all so new. There is research and treatment in many places in the world and a documentary underway that will have evidence from real families. Some parents do have photos. One shows a toddler standing 2 feet from a 65-inch TV that is on the floor. The child was about the same height as some of the characters in the made-for-babies TV content he was watching. He would stand in front of the TV for hours. It stands to reason this would have an affect on his brain development. He did develop the condition being called virtual autism, then she stopped him from viewing screens and started intensive face to face interaction with him. He continues to lose more and more aspects of the condition and she is so so relieved. You can see research from all over the world at autismandscreens.org.

It is true my son also suffer from autism virtual after one year of no screen and therapy autism gone and start to speak like he is living the life again he still delay but much better

Keep hope up, it will get you through rough times.❤ How old is your child?

@@raziachoudhry6474 She's 2

@@thedurablehuman2814 It's false hope. For me, it's just stories that present this hope that may not be real. Again, I just would like visuals. I've seen every aspect of autism but this one on a visual platform. If you guys were suggesting therapy along with the results then I would find it more believable. I'm trying hard to be hopeful, but again it's hard.

Salam, my child is showing all the symptoms of Autism from age 15 month to 3 year old of age. During this time he watch too much of smartphone and TV. We think he had virtual autism as he responded well when he is just 4 month old old. He smile to us, saying mama baba crawling but slowly he stop calling mama baba. We r really worried. How your child is progressing after cut off screen time. Did he start responding his name, playing with others and how long it took to came to normal life. Please guide us

Wa Alaikum Asalam Arbab! Yes, my son was all normal till the age of almost 10 months or maybe 11 months, but then slowly he developed autism like symptoms without me realizing it. I thought he was just a late talker. Then on youtube i came to know about this virtual autism term and how it effect children with too much exposure of baby cartoons and screen addiction. I removed screen totally from home, I hid my ph from him and check for messages and calls while he was busy with something else. No ipad or tab, and luckily my 85 inches tv screen was broken by my son while showing tantrums 😂. And after that i never got new tv. YES, he is improving day by day, in the start his progress was slow but Alhamdolillah now he is improving well. He is going to school, and doing good. He hasnt start talking yet but i feel his focus and attention has improved a lot. Now he responds to his name, and he does follow my requests almost 70% of the times. First almost 3 weeks or I would say almost one month was very hard but then he was okay without screen. How old is your son now?

@@raziachoudhry6474thanks for reply. My son is 3 year old. I cut off his screen a week ago. He shows tantrum sometime but not bad but so far no progress in listening or responding or playing with others. Me and wife thinks may be he is like that since he born but thanks to the old videos when he is only few months old. He is laughing and playing with us. Responding on name call and eye contact was normal but he is watching TV since he is 7 month old. We were worried about his situation so I got to see this video and learn about virtual autism. And see your comments got some hope that this is reversible. We pray for all. May Allah give all kids good health

Cutting off screen time only will not help as much, be busy with him, play with him, interact with him, engage with him, try keeping him with you guys for the most part. That will help, think about this way, when child is born he doesn’t start talking, a foundation is developed for 15 months or 18 months, child starts developing language understanding, and then he starts speaking. After removing screen, treat him as a young new born, his language skills will be developed soon, his focus will be better gradually, his attention span will get better, and eventually he will start speaking. In sha Allah. Would you believe my son’s first word was “Allah”. There were many words he spoke, he pointed towards objects, but he gradually lost his skills. Its been almost a year, since I removed all the baby cartoons for him, and now he is gradually he is toward building communication skill, paying attention and stuff like that. On this durable human youTube channel, there are two video with guest speaker Lori Frome. Listen to those, you find answers to many of your questions. Good luck.

@@raziachoudhry6474 thanks million sister. You give us courage and motivation. In Shaa Allah he will OK. In Shaa Allah your son progress continue and May Allah show our kids right path of life

Thank you for watching and sharing your thoughts, Razia. Tributes to you for discovering that screens were causing problems with you son and bravo that he's successful in school right now! Babies can't really look away from the screen with so many fast-changing images. No one warned anybody about that. Everything is just so new now with mobile devices babies can use alone and a lot of content that is habit-forming. You are courageous to speak up and an inspiration to others! I'm sure Robin will appreciate your good wishes! Best of luck with the upcoming school year and onward~~~

Thanks for you encouragement. I have watched your both webinars with Lori countless times. Whenever I was stressed about my sons behavior, I always referred back to your sessions. I remembered Lori’s own son’s story. He was 3.5 years old when Lori suspected that her son might be suffering virtual autism and she started work on him. I also remember that she said in one of the sessions that severely effected kids can become normal with 2 to 2 and a half years, and children who are intervened early can catch up with one year or one and a half year, of course with parents’ HARD WORK . I wish you share more stories of children, who got help late like Lori’s son, I mean at the age of 3 or 4. And how long it took them to come to normal behavior. I would appreciate if Lori can update us about her son. How old os he now, and did he catch up COMPLETELY? Thank you so much for the great service you are doing ❤❤

@@raziachoudhry6474 I know you will warm Lori's heart with your words. You have great questions about those "older" kids. I will check in with Lori about when she can give us an update.

Thanks. Looking forward to listening Lori’s valuable input. ❤

@@raziachoudhry6474 I checked in with Lori, about her son who is in 2nd grade. She says he is doing "Amazing! [He] told his teachers on his own yesterday. "I feel like you are using too much tech for my personal learning style." They resumed paper and pencil. I meet with them in mid October to make sure they are compliment with his IEP...but he is kicked out of all special Ed and only retains an IEP due to Residual Autism- a diagnosis here that means...they still have autism but all symptoms have resided! Just saying... a kid can never quite get better in the system with this "neurological disorder" that we've discovered can be rewired under the right conditions. There is nothing in life like empowering a child to stand up for his wellness and rights especially when it comes to liberties we all have such as to education in the least restrictive environment. Tech impedes that for him...he was meant to have multiple learning modalities and be social."

Hi, @Yangi Blon and thanks for your interest. I would encourage you to watch both of Lori Frome's videos on this channel and download the materials she recommends. You will see that she doesn't want parents to focus on a particular term, but to be guided by the child's behavior. By following her suggestions (which are based on research by other early childhood behavioral specialists) you will see how your child responds when stopped from exposure to any screen media and electronic toys in the household and elsewhere while greatly increasing face-to-face interaction with people such as yourself, through talking, play, reading, and involvement in everyday routines. Feel free to stay in touch and be sure to read through the comments of other parents following this issue here at The Durable Human.