{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,30]],"date-time":"2026-05-30T01:35:59Z","timestamp":1780104959945,"version":"3.54.0"},"reference-count":7,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1774224000000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/page\/policies\/text-and-data-mining-license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Autism"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    The term\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">virtual autism<\/jats:italic>\n                    has recently been used to describe autism-like behaviors in young children following prolonged exposure to screens. The use of the word\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">autism<\/jats:italic>\n                    in this context raises conceptual and ethical concerns by reinforcing outdated ideas about parental blame, misrepresenting the nature of autism as we currently understand it, and causing misunderstanding about autism among the general public. We call for more precise and responsible language and advocate for an alternative term that better reflects the environmental basis of the phenomenon, such as\n                    <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">screen-related developmental delay<\/jats:italic>\n                    .\n                  <\/jats:p>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Lay Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      The term\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">virtual autism<\/jats:italic>\n                      has been used to describe autistic-like behaviors in young children that result from spending a lot of time using screens. Using the word\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">autism<\/jats:italic>\n                      in this context can cause confusion. It may lead people to wrongly believe that autism is caused by screen use and bring back outdated ideas that blame parents. We argue that this term can be misleading for parents, teachers, and the general public. Instead, we suggest using a clearer term like\n                      <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">screen-related developmental delay<\/jats:italic>\n                      to better reflect the environmental causes of these behaviors.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1177\/13623613261434478","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T22:54:07Z","timestamp":1774306447000},"page":"1632-1634","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Why the Term \u2018Virtual Autism\u2019 Warrants Caution"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"30","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0696-0403","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lisa JG","family":"Krijnen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7530-3354","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anke M","family":"Scheeren","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0004-1699-0579","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alvin van","family":"Asselt","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0572-6893","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sander","family":"Begeer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2706-7040","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rachel D","family":"Plak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_2_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1176\/appi.books.9780890425596","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.books.9780890425596"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Ashraf A. Azmat R. (2025). The growing prevalence of virtual autism: A cause for concern. Journal of Health and Rehabilitation Research 5(1). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.61919\/jhrr.v5i1.1752","DOI":"10.61919\/jhrr.v5i1.1752"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lord C. Charman T. Havdahl A. Carbone P. Anagnostou E. Boyd B. Carr T. de Vries P. J. Dissanayake C. Divan G. Freitag C. M. Gotelli M. M. Kasari C. Knapp M. Mundy P. Plank A. Scahill L. Servili C. Shattuck P. . . .McCauley J. B. (2022). The Lancet Commission on the future of care and clinical research in autism. The Lancet 399(10321) 271\u2013334. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0140-6736(21)01541-5","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(21)01541-5"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Parellada M. Penzol M. J. Pina L. Moreno C. Gonz\u00e1lez-Vioque E. Zalsman G. Arango C. (2014). The neurobiology of autism spectrum disorders. European Psychiatry 29(1) 11\u201319. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.eurpsy.2013.02.005","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eurpsy.2013.02.005"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Tick B. Bolton P. Happ\u00e9 F. Rutter M. Rijsdijk F. (2016). Heritability of autism spectrum disorders: A meta-analysis of twin studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines 57(5). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/jcpp.12499","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpp.12499"},{"key":"e_1_3_2_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yenkoyan K. Mkhitaryan M. Bj\u00f8rklund G. (2024). Environmental risk factors in autism spectrum disorder: A narrative review. Current Medicinal Chemistry 31(17). https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2174\/0109298673252471231121045529","DOI":"10.2174\/0109298673252471231121045529"},{"issue":"13","key":"e_1_3_2_8_1","article-title":"The consumption of virtual environment more than 4 hours\/day, in the children between 0-3 years old, can cause a syndrome similar with the autism spectrum disorder","volume":"11372","author":"Zamfir M. T.","year":"2018","unstructured":"Zamfir M. T. (2018). The consumption of virtual environment more than 4 hours\/day, in the children between 0-3 years old, can cause a syndrome similar with the autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Romanian Literary Studies, 11372(13).","journal-title":"Journal of Romanian Literary Studies"}],"container-title":["Autism"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/13623613261434478","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1177\/13623613261434478","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1177\/13623613261434478","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,20]],"date-time":"2026-05-20T12:17:23Z","timestamp":1779279443000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/journals.sagepub.com\/doi\/10.1177\/13623613261434478"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]]},"references-count":7,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1177\/13623613261434478"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/13623613261434478","relation":{},"ISSN":["1362-3613","1461-7005"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1362-3613","type":"print"},{"value":"1461-7005","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]]}}}