Sources

Virtual Autism cites more than four hundred sources in its notes and references. These are the key studies behind the articles on this website.

  • Kuhl PK, Tsao FM, Liu HM. Foreign-language experience in infancy: effects of short-term exposure and social interaction on phonetic learning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2003;100(15):9096-9101. doi:10.1073/pnas.1532872100

  • Christakis DA, Gilkerson J, Richards JA, et al. Audible television and decreased adult words, infant vocalizations, and conversational turns: a population-based study. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 2009;163(6):554-558.

  • Kushima M, Kojima R, Shinohara R, et al; Japan Environment and Children’s Study Group. Association between screen time exposure in children at 1 year of age and autism spectrum disorder at 3 years of age: the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. JAMA Pediatrics. 2022;176(4):384-391. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.5778

  • Ophir Y, Rosenberg H, Tikochinski R, Dalyot S, Lipshits-Braziler Y. Screen time and autism spectrum disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Network Open. 2023;6(12):e2346775. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.46775

  • Heffler KF, Sienko DM, Subedi K, McCann KA, Bennett DS. Association of early-life social and digital media experiences with development of autism spectrum disorder-like symptoms. JAMA Pediatrics. 2020;174(7):690-696. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.0230

  • World Health Organization. Guidelines on Physical Activity, Sedentary Behaviour and Sleep for Children Under 5 Years of Age. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2019.

National and international screen-time guidance is summarized on the guidelines page; the book’s appendix C gives a source for each country.

Further research

Two groups keep public lists of research on screens and young children: Autism and Electronic Screens (autismandscreens.org) and GAINING, the Global Alliance for Inspiring Non-tech Infant Nurturing and Growth (mybabygains.org). Every identifiable study on their lists is cited in the book, in the References or in Further Research.

In October 2026 the book’s sources were also checked against a search of PubMed and the Crossref database for studies of screens and autism or autism-like signs, for studies of screen use by autistic children and for writing about the phrase “virtual autism” itself, in English and other languages. What that search found is listed in the book’s Further Research section; chapter 6 and appendix E explain what the main studies can and cannot show.

Also: Healthy Screen Habits Podcast, season 14, episode 11, “Virtual Autism - A Stone Unturned” (November 12, 2025), with Wilder Nicholson and Lori Frome; transcript at healthyscreenhabits.org.

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