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Welcome to S-O-S Best of the Best (BoB), Edition 7. The topic is media as it relates to invisible special needs. Media is defined as “the means of communication, as radio and television, newspapers, and magazines, that reach or influence people widely.” (dictionary.com)
Most bloggers have shared their personal experiences with media, be it viewing TV, using the computer, playing video games, or reading magazines. Some bloggers have explained how media can be beneficial for children with special needs, while other bloggers have recounted negative experiences. Most bloggers have also provided advice on how they handle media in their homes. Although posts may contain all these components, they have been categorized based on the majority of their content.
Advice for Handling Media
Amanda Lebron from Rage Against the {washing} Machine presents Mini Media Mavens as a guest writer at The Scoop on Poop. Amanda acknowledges that there are negatives to media, such as commercialism. But as she puts it, “…I also believe in teaching them [her children] to harness and use media themselves.”
Chi Yon Barbosa presents Mom, you have a message from Twitter! posted at Parenting a Child with Aspergers Syndrome. Chi outlines the media rules that she enforces with her children, but questions if she also needs rules for herself. “I have been consistent regarding rules about use of electronics for the kids, but there is no one to stop me from getting out of control as my husband is gone 9 months out of the year.”
Floortime Lite Mama presents Screen time and the Autistic child posted at Floortime Lite Mama. Instead of limiting her son’s screen time, Floortime Lite Mama lists the things she wants in her son’s day, such as reading time, outside time, etc. But she believes that the internet will be a positive influence in her son’s future and states, “I can see R connecting with other like minded people through social media – better than I see him connecting through ‘play dates’.”
Gavin Bollard presents The Media–What are we really trying to censor? posted at Life with Aspergers. Gavin tackles the big topic of censorship in the media. He believes that the benefits of media depends on the type of media and the learning style of the child. Gavin summarized, “The media is a gestation point for ideas – your job as a parent is to censor the dangerous ideas while ensuring that the morality and safety of the remaining ideas is well understood.”
Kim Wombles presents Wired and Then Some posted at Countering…. Kim’s family goes back and forth from being wired to shutting off all of their electronics. Kim suggests, “Teaching our children how to incorporate being wired into the world while not being ruled by it is a very important skill to learn, and it’s one that should be practiced for a portion of every day…”
Lisa Quinones-Fontanez presents Managing Screen Time. Easier Said Than Done. posted at Autism Wonderland. Lisa shares how TV can provide “teachable moments” and how her son is willing to work for electronics. She also states “… that an afternoon of hardcore TV watching isn’t going to be his downfall.”
TheFowler4Group presents Media and your special needs child…all in 1,300 words! posted at Look at My Eyes. TheFowler4Group bite off a lot when they present how they “handle media such as print, published, electronic, broadcast and video games.” Very good advice was offered when TheFowler4Group said, “TV programs are not made for children with special needs…be careful about plopping your child down when other parents say, ‘oh that’s totally fine’….that might not be the case.”
Positive Experiences with Media
Alysia Butler presents Free Bird posted at Try Defying Gravity. Alysia shares how her son’s electronic game playing is teaching “him game play skills that he wasn’t getting from a regular board game.” As her son learns sportsmanship and more from the game Free Bird, Alysia wrote that she herself started to play the game and “The rush I felt that night was one that I had not felt in a while.”
Jean Myles presents Brain Rotting Fun? posted at Mommy to Two Boys. Jean admits that there was a time in her son’s life where “…the only alternative to tantrums, self injurious behavior, the constant filling and dumping, or spinning in circles was TV.” Although those days are long gone, Jean does “love when I get a minute to myself as Chuggington is blaring from the playroom.”
Pamela Hutchins presents Dork-a-palooza posted at Road to Joy. Pamela shares a vlog of her son’s high school robotic competition. As she explains, “…if you don’t already have ADHD before you go to one, you’ll feel like you do while you’re there.”
Penny Williams presents Passing the Time posted at a mom’s view of ADHD. Penny has found that giving her son the electronic camera helps him pass the time during various family outings. She found that “Not only did it keep him from whining the entire hour but, who knows, he may become quite the photographer.” I encourage you to look at some of his sample snapshots–some have an artsy appeal even though they were taken inside an automotive store!
Pia presents In Defense of Media posted at The Crack and the Light. Pia starts her post with taking a stand on media by stating, “I am going to go out on a limb and say that I think the effects might be… oh, what is the word???…. oh, yeah, BAD.” But she has much more to share. You won’t want to miss her points and she actually segues into defending media for special needs kids!
Tim Tucker presents A Case for Kids Repeatedly Watching the Same TV Show posted at Both Hands and a Flashlight. Tim’s son likes to watch a handful of TV shows over and over again. But in this post, Tim states “I’m going to argue that there are conditions in which it’s not only functional but possibly a critical component to a child’s learning, autistic or not.” You’ll find Tim’s theory interesting and worth the read.
Trish Doerrler presents Harnessing the Power of Electronic Media for a Child with Autism posted at In So Many Words. Trish acknowledges that her son is very visual and “At some point along the way, I realized that I should be taking advantage of his strong preference for videos and other electronic media rather than simply lamenting how hard it was to engage him in other ways.” Find out how she uses electronic media to her son’s advantage.
Negative Experiences with Media
Anara Midgett presents Media and Kids with Special Needs posted at able2able. Anara recounts her own fears as she first entered the blogging world. As she remembers, “It didn’t help that before I started blogging a well respected friend told me that Special Needs bloggers who post pictures of their child, accept items for review or charge for ads are viewed as making money off their Special Needs child.” Find out how she came to terms with these feelings.
Danette Schott presents Beware What TV May be Teaching Your Special Needs Child! posted at Help! S-O-S for Parents. Danette shares how her daughter copied scenes from a TV show she watched and acted them out in school. She concludes with “Try to make your TV viewing decisions based on their developmental age and not their chronological age.”
D.S. Walker presents The Good, the Bad, the Ugly of Media Use posted at dswalkerauthor. D.S. points out both the good and bad of media. She provides advise on managing media and asserts “They [children] are accountable for their actions on the Internet, but parents need to remember that until their child reaches legal age, the parent is also accountable.”
Jen Troester presents Breaking Up With Cable on Living life, with a side of Autism. Jen allowed her daughter to watch Spongebob until she concluded that “Spongebob isn’t so funny anymore when your kid starts telling you to shut-up, or using other not so savory words.” Jen finally made the decision that it was best for her family to go cable-less.
Lori Lite presents Media and Our Children “Do You Know What Your Children are Watching?” posted at Stress Free Kids. With her own teenage daughter, Lori recently watched an episode of Glee glamorizing underage drinking. Lori provides concrete parenting tips for television or internet viewing. Lori states, “Parenting awareness and involvement is paramount to counteract traumatizing and damaging media messages.“
Mark Bertin presents Mindfulness and Media: Use It, Enjoy It, but Don’t Let It Rule Your World posted at Psychology Today: The Family ADHD Solution. Mark takes a look at how media has evolved over time and summarizes recent research. “They [studies] have suggested that increased media hours may even correlate with academic and attention problems.” He outlines clear action steps that parents can take to control the amount and type of media their child experiences.
Martianne Stanger presents Media and Our Boy’s Mind posted at Training Happy Hearts. Martianne does a superb job in describing “...how a seemingly innocuous Magic School Bus video became the impetus for one of my most frightening parenting moments to date.” This is all I really need to say. Please read her post to get the whole story.
Michele Borba presents 5 Dangers of Too Sexy, Too Soon Ads Aimed at Our Girls posted at Reality Check. Michele looks at the dangers of the “prolific negative, over-sexualized images advertisers are aiming at our daughters.” She goes on to state, “Our best hope is to help our daughters learn—and as early as possible—that real happiness isn’t borrowed or copied, but lies within” and presents ways to counter these negative media images.
Sharon Fuentes presents Mama Gets Her Groove On & Does Damage Control…DAMN I’m Good! posted at Mama’s Turn Now. Sharon writes about the recent press on the world coming to an end. Since it was all over the media, Sharon realized, “Well I knew I better say something to my usually overly anxious kids so they would be prepared should someone at school start talking all doom and destruction with them.”
Tammy Murphy presents My Screen Junkie Might Need an Intervention posted at Tammy Time. Tammy describes trying to get her 11-year old son off of various media in order to write a school essay. She concludes, “I need to give some serious thought—again—to a game plan to curb his ever-increasing screen time.” Does this sound like your child? Read and find out!
Tiffani Lawton presents Online Social Skills: Are You a Good Digital Citizen? posted at OUR Journey THRU Autism. Tiffani begins her post stating, “Cybersafety is an important component to National Safety Month, especially with children on the spectrum who may struggle with offline social skills.” She presents information on cyberbullying and online social skills.
Yuji Fukunaga presents A Warning About Unsupervised Internet Usage posted at Hanabi Boy. Yuji was initially thrilled that his son could use the computer independently which allowed Yuji and his wife some downtime from having to be with him almost 24/7. Unfortunately, Yuji’s son found a site, “And it is all because I was too lazy to monitor his Internet activities.” A must read for parents who want to avoid this same pitfall!
Previous BoB Posts
Anxiety and Stress (Edition 6)
Autism and Treatment Options (Edition 1)
Social & Play Skills (Edition 2)
Disclaimer: Please note, the opinions expressed in each referenced post in S-O-S Best of the Best are entirely that of its author and the inclusion of these posts does not constitute an endorsement by S-O-S Research.
About Danette Schott, M.A.
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