The following information was posted by National Association of Special Education Teachers in a weekly blog. Handheld Screen
Time Linked with Speech Delays in Young Children As the number of smart phones, tablets,
electronic games and other handheld screens in U.S. homes continues to grow,
some children begin using these devices before beginning to talk. New research
being presented at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting suggests these
children may be at higher risk for speech delays. Researchers will present the
abstract, "Is handheld screen time use associated with language delay in
infants?" on Saturday, May 6 at the Moscone West Convention Center in San
Francisco. The study included 894 children between ages 6 months and 2 years
participating in Target Kids!, a practice-based research network in Toronto
between 2011 and 2015.By their 18-month check-ups, 20 percent of the children
had daily average handheld device use of 28 minutes, according to their parents.
Based on a screening tool for language delay, researchers found that the more
handheld screen time a child's parent reported, the more likely the child was to
have delays in expressive speech. American Academy of Pediatrics. "Handheld screen time linked with speech delays in young children: New research being presented at the 2017 Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting suggests the more time children under 2 years old spend playing with smartphones, tablets and other handheld screens, the more likely they are to begin talking later." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 May 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170504083141.htm>. |
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